Italian DJ, record producer and remixer
Benny Benassi
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Benassi in 2020
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Birth name
| Marco Benassi
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Also known as
| - Benny B.
- Benny Bee
- KMC
- Benassi Bros.
- Blue Storm
- AL.BEN
- Bat67
- FB
|
---|
Born
| (
1967-07-13
)
13 July 1967
(age 56)
[1]
Milan
, Italy
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Origin
| Reggio Emilia
, Italy
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Genres
| |
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Occupation(s)
| - DJ
- record producer
- remixer
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Instrument(s)
| - Keyboards
- synthesizer
- music sequencer
- drum machine
- turntables
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Years active
| 1985?present
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Labels
| |
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Member of
| Benassi Bros.
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Website
| bennybenassi
.com
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Musical artist
Marco
"
Benny
"
Benassi
(
Italian pronunciation:
[?marko
?b?nni
be?nassi]
; born 13 July 1967) is an Italian DJ,
record producer
and remixer. He is widely seen as a pioneer of
electro house
, a genre brought into the mainstream by his 2002 summer club hit "
Satisfaction
".
[3]
He started his career as DJ along with his cousin
Alessandro "Alle" Benassi
, forming the electronica duo
Benassi Bros.
Although he began to gain popularity with his pseudonym in 1997 by releasing the song "Electric Flying", his first international hit was "I Feel So Fine", launched in 2001 under the nickname KMC.
In 2003, Benassi released his first solo debut album,
Hypnotica
, to positive reviews. Known as a pioneer album for electro-house, it incorporates electroclash sounds, many elements of house music and MacInTalk voices, and won the
European Border Breakers Award
. The following year, the debut album of the Benassi Bros.,
Pumphonia
, was released. Their track "Illusion" became very popular in the American club scene, finally peaking at number 4 on
Hot Dance Club Play
. Following "Hit My Heart" peaked at 15.
In 2008, his remix of
Public Enemy
's "
Bring the Noise
" won the
Grammy Award
for
Best Remixed Recording
at the
50th Grammy Awards
. In 2009, Benassi also entered the Top 100 DJs list from
DJ Mag
at #26,
[4]
while in 2011 was rated #7 on DJ Poll Top 100 by
DJ List
web site.
[5]
Career
[
edit
]
Early days
[
edit
]
A native of
Milan
and raised in
Reggio Emilia
, DJ and producer Benassi, started DJing alongside cousin Alle Benassi in the late 1980s in their hometown, before moving to
Larry Pignagnoli
's Off Limits production studio in the mid-1990s, creating music for various acts, including
Whigfield
, J.K. and Ally & Jo.
[6]
In 2001, Benassi, under the name KMC, released his first hit called "I Feel So Fine", with vocals by
Dhany
. The track first climbed the charts in Benassi's native Italy, and soon became a #1 hit in the UK club charts.
[1]
Moving from house to electro, "
Satisfaction
" took Benassi's success worldwide a year later with high-profile DJs like
Carl Cox
,
Darren Emerson
, and
Roger Sanchez
offering praises. The track reached #2 in the
UK Singles Chart
[7]
after the
Ministry of Sound
record company replaced the original video (an almost still picture of the band, overlaid with graphics) with a video of models using power tools.
2003?04:
Hypnotica
[
edit
]
In 2003 Benny Benassi released his first solo debut album
Hypnotica
(he won the European Border Breakers Award
[8]
in 2005 which racked up the most sales for an Italian album outside Italy).
2005?07:
Pumphonia
and
…Phobia
[
edit
]
Benassi often works with vocalists Paul French and Violeta, who are collectively known as The Biz. He produced a group with cousin Alle, called
Benassi Bros.
, a project designed to shine the spotlight on the two Biz vocalists, Paul French and Violeta Claudia and other guest singers. A year after the release of
Hypnotica
, the album
Pumphonia
marked their first full-length release, and in 2005, Benassi Bros. released their second album
…Phobia
.
Some of Benassi's
singles
have charted high in the
United Kingdom
and have been played worldwide in
clubs
. Remixes for
OutKast
,
Goldfrapp
, and
Felix da Housecat
followed. Benassi also remixes music of his contemporaries, such as
Tomcraft
and
Fischerspooner
.
In 2005, Benassi founded the record label Pump-Kin Music. The focus of the label is primarily new and unsigned producers. The stated aim of the venture is to give exposure to some of the lesser known DJ/production talent across the world.
In August 2007, Benassi released a remix of
Public Enemy's
"Bring the Noise". The video for the track was created by
Eclectic Method
and features a montage of live footage from Public Enemy. It premiered on imeem.com. In February 2008, "Bring the Noise" won a Grammy for best Remix (Dance).
2008?09:
Rock 'n' Rave
[
edit
]
His album
Rock 'n' Rave
was released on 16 June 2008. The first single from the album was "I Am Not Drunk."
Benassi also broadcasts the one-hour long
The Benny Benassi Show
on
Sirius XM Radio
's channel
Area
.
[9]
In 2009, he worked with
Madonna
on a remix for her single "
Celebration
" which was included on the official music video for the song.
On 28 October 2009,
DJ Magazine
announced the results of their annual Top 100 DJ Poll, with
Ultra Records
artist Benny Benassi placed #26, 13 spots higher than the previous year.
[10]
2010?14:
Electroman
[
edit
]
In 2010, Benassi released "Electro Sixteen", a video for Benny Benassi vs. "
Iggy Pop
", "
Electro Sixteen
," published by Ultra Records, which is an experimental music video featuring more than 15,000 photographs from his DJ set at New York's Electric Zoo Festival.
[11]
On 24 May 2010 "Spaceship", which featured
Kelis
,
apl.de.ap
and Jean-Baptiste, was selected as the Song of the Day on About.com, with the site calling Benassi's production "tight and melodic, [while] Kelis turns in a fantastic performance." The single was released via digital download on 21 August and charted at #18 on the UK Dance singles chart on 28 August."
[12]
On 23 January 2011, Benny Benassi released the music video for "Electroman", a single featuring
T-Pain
.
Benassi produced the track "
Beautiful People
", off
Chris Brown
's 2011 album
F.A.M.E.
and off Benassi's album
Electroman
, released June 7 the same year.
Electroman
includes several singles, such as "Cinema", "Electroman", "Spaceship" and "Control".
[13]
In 2012, Benassi worked a second time with Chris Brown. He contributed to "
Don't Wake Me Up
" which was released as the fourth single of Brown's fifth studio album
Fortune
. Benny Benassi also worked with Madonna, producing three tracks for her latest album
MDNA
: Second single "
Girl Gone Wild
", "I'm Addicted" and "Best Friend" (the latter is a track which can be found on the deluxe edition of the album). In addition, Benassi produced "Stardust", a track of British recording artist
Mika
's recently released studio album
The Origin of Love
. Next to them, Benny Benassi produced
Anjulie
latest single "You & I".
In 2013, Benassi collaborated with
John Legend
and
Heather Bright
respectively for the songs "Dance the Pain Away" and "Ghost". In 2014, he released the single "Shooting Helicopters", featuring
Serj Tankian
.
2015?present
[
edit
]
In 2016, Benassi worked again with Chris Brown, releasing "
Paradise
",
[14]
which was later included in his fourth studio album
Danceaholic
. The album also features collaborations with
Richard Judge
,
Marc Benjamin
,
Vassy
, and
Christian Burns
.
On June 28, 2018, he collaborated with the duo
Sofi Tukker
for the single "Everybody Needs a Kiss".
Benassi is managed by Paul Sears for Cock an Ear and Dave Frank for Milk & Honey Music.
Discography
[
edit
]
- Studio albums
Awards and nominations
[
edit
]
DJ Magazine's Top 100 DJs
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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Studio albums
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Compilation albums
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Remix albums
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Singles
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Featured singles
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Related articles
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Studio albums
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Compilation albums
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Related articles
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International
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National
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Artists
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Other
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