Hey Benathon, can you tell us a bit about your background and upbringing?
Hello. I certainly can. I grew up in South Australia, outside of the city of Adelaide in a suburb known as Elizabeth North, I don’t live there anymore, with my mother who was a full time stay at home mum. I would spend my weekends and school holiday periods with my father, who was a film projectionist up until the rollout of digital movies. We in no way lived a lavish lifestyle, but my parents made it work, and I couldn’t be more grateful for what they did for me, even if I didn’t show it at the time. I was the disruptive kid, I was always talking in school, and I had a vivid imagination. I was always coming up with stories, letting my mind wander, playing with toys, playing video games, watching cartoons, and music video shows like Video Hits growing up. My dad would always take me to the cinemas to watch movies, being in the industry, he would get a handsome discount which meant a lot of time was spent at the movies, which was always an amazing experience. We would see all kinds of movies multiple times over. I know for certain I was the reason he got sick of quite a few titles, but he would still take me to see them.
What initially drew you to a career in music?
It’s a funny story actually. Music and performing has always been in my blood. It stemmed right from the age of two or three. I was in church with my grandparents, and there was a performance by a group of girls who weren’t much older than me who were performing a choreographed routine playing an instrument called a timbrel, which is similar to a tambourine. I wanted to join them so badly that I grabbed my grandmother’s which she had brought with her that day, and I got up there with them and started going along as best I could. After I had my taste for it, I joined the group. I was the first male, at least in our congregation from my knowledge, to do so, as it was known that only women played the timbrel. From there on, my grandfather had me learn the cornet, which developed into me learning many more instruments over the years. I started writing songs when I was ten years old, I remember that my first song clocked in at over four minutes long, I wish I still had it to be honest. I remember that I used to pretend to make music videos for some of the songs that I wrote or making up performances for them, dressing up, acting out scenes, using things like streamers and tinsel to create settings. In short, I have wanted a career
in music and entertainment from a very young age.
How do you balance your personal life with your music career?
Well, music is a huge part of my life. In saying that, I do try my hardest to have a break in some way and make time for some of the things I love. If anything musical comes into my head during my downtime, I quickly try to note it down somehow so that I don’t lose it, but past that I try not to think about it too heavily until it’s time for me to get back into it. More often than not, it doesn’t work that way, and I’ll go off on a tangent with it, but the effort is there.
Congratulations on your EP “Under The Moon.” Can you give us an overview of the inspiration behind the title and theme?
Thank-you! It’s been really exciting, gratifying, and humbling to see the positive reception of my work. The title for ‘Under The Moon’ came from the title track, which I had in my workshop for a couple of years before the entire project came into fruition. The them followed shortly after, which stems from my love of movies, pop music, stories, fantasy, and science fiction, and so, I thought “well, why don’t I combine them all to tell a story of my own telling?” The story was inspired by one of my favourite movies ‘The Fifth Element’. It tells of a humanoid creature who has been found on our planet, who had no recollection of their past, their origins, or how they came to be where they are now. Found by an organisation who saw this to be an opportunity for them, they take this blank slate and decide to create a product of pop mass consumption. This entity, named by the facility as ‘Benathon’, breaks out of their confinement and is exposed to the outside world for the first time. This is where ‘Under The Moon’ takes place. It’s the initial exploration of our world, the thoughts and feelings that this being was exposed to, all raw and messy. This story is them reaching out to the world in confusion and disarray, searching for solace and understanding. The story culminates in Benathon being recaptured by the organisation and the mastermind leading them ‘The Director’. It is then that we see the experiment planned for Benathon is carried out in full force. It’s my personal take on things like growing, battling trials and coming into my skin as an artist as well as a person in general, as well as having it being my satirical take on what I like to call ‘The Art of Hollywood and the Celebrity’ which is more of the ‘classic’ tale of how a celebrity was crafted by the show business industry (music, movies, etc); How they would take a person, and craft them into this effervescent entity.
This developed from my desire since I was young, to become part of that
life.
What was the creative process like for this EP?
The creative process for me was so much fun! I won’t deny that there were some trials, tears, days where I felt like I wasn’t making any progress with the project, and everything else along the way like any project. But, I had so much fun with it all. Once I had the idea for the theme, and I had an amazing opportunity to have a professional photoshoot for free. It evolved from a thought to a visual idea, and everything essentially fell into place as I worked on everything. My thoughts kept flowing, and from all the building blocks that came along the way, out came this wondrous lovechild of mine. From the overall sound, the story, the songs to which I was going to put on the project, the structure, the influences that I wanted to display. It was a true joy turning this project from its bare bones to what is on display now.
Can you describe the overall sound and vibe of “Under The Moon”?
The overall sound and vibe for ‘Under The Moon’ is very much experimental pop, I like to call it a pop escapade. A lot of the inspiration sonically came from movie scores, which also aided in the track listing of the project, 70s and 80s Synthpop and New Wave, as well as music icons like David Bowie, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Brittney Spears, The Eurhythmics, Queen, just to name a few. A lot of the responses from listeners say that they hear a lot of Depeche Mode influence in my music, my song ‘Out Of Reach’ particularly. However, they weren’t a direct influence until very late in the process when the project was coming to its final stages, which ties into the 70s and 80s influence along with Ultravox and other acts of that time period like Duran Duran, The B-52s, and many, many more.
Which track on “Under The Moon” holds the most personal significance to you, and why?
The song that holds the most personal significance to me would have to be my song ‘Earthquake’. This song has had a hold on me ever since its initial conception. It’s a very raw song for me. It depicts that sensation of when you hit that breaking point where no matter what you try to do to stay together, it all feels like it’s falling apart with this violent magnitude, taking the world around you with it. The body trembling, your muscles hitting that point where they’ve been so tense that they release in exhaustion. When you’re at that point where you’re grasping on to something for dear life, only for it to slip away, taking a piece of you with it, hence the opening lyric of the chorus “And now I’m fading, fading away”. This song was very cathartic for me, it still is. Throughout the process of creating ‘Earthquake’, it never failed to make me cry. What made that even more intriguing through the process was that it was never at the same point of the song, or the same riff, it was always something different. I remember listening to the mastered version of it for the first time, and I ugly cried so hard that I was glad that I was in my bedroom, I was a mess, a beautiful mess. The song provides a lot of release for me, it brings me a sense of healing, and I want it to be able to do the same for anyone who listens to it as well.
What’s your songwriting process like? Do you have a specific routine or approach?
My songwriting process varies from song to song. Sometimes I’ll have an entire series of lyrics written out, sometimes it’s just a hook, or a verse. Other times it can come from producing the track first or having a melody in my head and building it from there. I have some base routines that can help me out at times, but I don’t like to keep it to a strict process, otherwise it feels like it can strip the natural development of the song and it may not turn out how my vision intended. Even then, it’s not a bad thing, it can create something better than my initial concept, or it can lead to multiple versions. I think the best routine for my creative process, and I believe any creative process, is to see where something takes you and follow it that way.
What do you hope your fans take away from “Under The Moon”?
What I hope for my fans, and anyone who comes across my music, is that ‘Under The Moon’ gives them a chance to let go. To dive into the story that I’m telling, or for them to venture off in their own way. Yes, I have the base narrative that I created. But I don’t want that to be the only thing the listener gets from it. I want them to let their imagination roam wild with each listen. I want listeners to open up their sense of adventure and find something that they can resonate with from the EP. Ultimately, I do not care if a listener dislikes my music, or myself as an artist. If they can find one thing, no matter how small it may seem, one lyric, one note even, that they resonate with, then I believe that I’ve done my job.
Do you have any tips or advice for aspiring songwriters looking to improve their craft?
Don’t stop writing. Find inspiration in whatever you find spark with. It can be anything. Not everything you write is going to be good, and that’s okay. I wrote a lot of songs for ‘Under The Moon’, yet I only went with six because they were the six that I connected with the most and felt fit the narrative best. But don’t let a song that you didn’t like stray you from your craft. Those songs you don’t like will help you realise what you do like and therefore you’ve developed further. Never stop trying, never stop writing, never stop creating, because no matter what, you’re still growing. Another thing is that if you are putting your work in places of criticism and feedback, try not to take it too heavily on the heart, easier said than done, I know. Critiquing also helps you develop from an outsider perspective and look at things from a different light. It doesn’t always feel great receiving any sort of constructive feedback that doesn’t entirely agree with your vision, but within those notes, there may be some really useful information worth trying that could ultimately work out for the better! If it doesn’t work for you, you can at least say you tried, it doesn’t work, and you move on. Whatever you do, make sure you keep your core values close to you, but don’t be afraid to try new things and hear different experiences. Beauty is in the ears of the listener and is ultimately subjective. As long as you have faith in your work and your values, you’re unstoppable.
What’s next for Benathon after “Under The Moon”? Do you have any upcoming projects or goals you’d like to share with your fans?
One thing that I cannot wait to do is perform ‘Under The Moon’ live as much as I can and in any way that I can, to take any audience on a journey and tell new iterations of this narrative in different ways! My next project I want to put a true end to this narrative. ‘Under The Moon’ serves as chapter one, and I want to conclude this narrative with a new vision that ties the story and gives it a true conclusion. In saying that, it won’t be the end of Benathon. Like they always say, one door closes, and another opens. I plan to tell many stories as they come into fruition throughout my career, and now that I have learned so much about everything that goes into creating an era, hopefully there will be less of a wait for the next era to
come along.
