Ben Turner @ Dance Music 101

Ben Turner, co-founder of the International Music Summit Ibiza and co-founder of the AFEM / Association for Electronic Music


- Life: when was the moment you figured out that Dance Music was meant to you?

A Boy’s Own party in a mansion house in Blackheath hosted by Flowered Up. It was 1992 I think. The band took hostage of the house. I met Terry Farley for the first time on the stairs. I went into a private bedroom and the lead singer of Flowered Up was on the bed surrounded by friends (and ladies). The music blew my mind; the positive spirit was life-changing and people were positive about life. I think that if there is one thing overlooked about our scene is it the feeling – the positivity of the music; the global community. The spirit in that house today I will take with me from the rave to the grave…

- Laugh: when was the last time you had real fun?

Last night! I went on the rampage with my IMS partner Pete Tong post Grammys… We ended up at Mark Ronson’s house party – and on the dance floor with a capacity of 30 people were Florence (from the Machine); Jay-Z and Beyonce; Lilly Allen and a host of DJ Friends we’ve grown up with. Weirdly the other DJ was John Favreau! I had a total blast. Again – being surrounded by good music makes me happy. Being surrounded by bad music makes me miserable.

- Love: name the one thing you love more than anything – and why is that?

Watching a life-changing film. When I watched 21 Grams in a New York cinema on my own, I was deeply affected for a long period of time. Deep, dark, films about the real world, inspire me greatly. And when you put electronic music into the mix on a film like this, it really impacts.

- Past: name a significant moment in your career in Dance Music – and why is that?

I think seeing the Association for Electronic Music come together is very significant. You as a conference have been supportive of the idea and I think over time people will all realise the huge importance of encouraging our industry to speak with one voice over matters which hurt us all. We should be more positive as a global community. We give off this image, so lets actually truly galvanise, fight together, think together, make change together… That’s part of my ethos, anyway…

- Present: what do you think that is trending today in music, clubs and festivals?

Immersive theatre is something people really want today. They want to feel a part of the course of change of the evening and not just be a spectator. Dance music has always been about the immersive sense, ever since I first watched The Shamen live in Oxford and I couldn’t even see the stage or where I was meant to be looking. Its natural for our world to adopt this approach. And likewise with VR. Its clear its important to our music to adopt new technologies first.

- Future: where is industry heading in the years to come?

I hope in a more connected, more unified way. AFEM, IMS, RMC – we’re all trying to put a focus on things that are important together as a community. The dance community is a very special industry, I hope we can keep it that way.