Active in Sydney’s dance scene for over a decade, Ben Korbel is one of Australia’s most discerning DJs. A classically trained musician, the 29 year old has long been a favourite in his hometown, with regular interstate travels and a reputation that stretches all the way to London, Berlin, Naples and Ibiza. Ben’s accolades, aside from playing the French Horn in a jazz band, woodwind quintet and an orchestra, include being voted Australia’s top DJ in the OzDJTop20 (2001). In 2004, he was voted 6th in the Technics ITM 50 national DJ Poll. Ben also has a penchant for wearing costumes and fancy dress at ungodly hours of the morning though that is less relevant to this biography.
Moving towards the present day, Ben finds himself constantly chasing the sun, basing himself in Ibiza during the European Summer and returning to Australia in time for sun to shine again. In 2007, Ben based himself in East London for three months and in Ibiza for more than three months, DJing, while working on his tan and tinkering with upcoming studio projects. 2008 will again see Ben returning to Ibiza for the season.
For his time in Australia, much of this is spent with his business partners, promoting festivals and touring artists through his companies, Sounds Group and Egg Group. Sounds are responsible for the annual We Love Sounds festival which tours Australia each June and sees more than thirty thousand people through the turnstiles and features artists from DJ Shadow to Dubfire, from The Bravery and Bonde Do Role to Hans Peter Lindstrøm and Ellen Allien.
Through Sounds, Ben also ensures the Sydney underground remains vibrant, through the intimate, non-profit and uber chic Minimal Fuss parties. Minimal Fuss have played host to artists including Alex Smoke, Bjorn Wilke, Clive Henry, Circo Loco, Damian Lazarus and like minded taste makers seeking a creative sanctuary. His touring agency Egg Group, ensures that leading edge artists are brought to Australia on a regular basis, fuelling the underground scene. Egg has toured artists including Tiefschwarz, Ivan Smagghe, Will Saul, Modeselektor, M.A.N.D.Y, Ewan Pearson, Ben Watt, Ellen Allien, Nic Fanciulli, James Zabiela, Spirit Catcher, DJ Shadow, Grand National, Steve Lawler, Derrick Carter, Tiga, and more than forty others.
In Australia, Ben has performed all the usual festival and club jaunts many a time, Good Vibrations, Homebake, Future Music Festival, We Love Sounds and so on though finds it most rewarding playing alongside those who support new and exciting music styles, pushing the envelope so to speak. Sunny and Onesixone in Melbourne, Kinderspeil, Minimal Fuss and Deep As F*&! in Sydney come to mind.
Ben’s tastes, in the early days, spawned from a love of epic and progressive house, the Renaissance, Northern Exposure and Global Underground era. Over time, Ben began to appreciate the finer points of deep house, both softening with age as well as thanks to artists including Terry Lee Brown Junior, The Timewriter and Ben Watt. After ritually travelling and performing in Europe for the past six years, Ben’s style evolved to it’s current sound, which is a deep, warm blend of European house and techno, always with an inherent groove and a nod to the melancholy melodies of a progressive apprenticeship.
Twenty-four hour marathon sets by Ricardo Villalobos, Zip and Magda at Club Des Visionaire, Berlin have engrained an appreciation for the finer points of European house. Clive Henry and Dinky’s warm-ups at Circo Loco, The Parisian bunch from Families, Jerome Pacman and Dan Ghenacia, as well as many a strange morning at Cocoon. All these experiences and more have played a part in shaping Ben’s mature and developed musical persona.
In Europe, Ben performs annually at We Love Space Sundays, Ibiza, on both the Terrace and Discoteca, often guesting four to five times throughout the season. In 2007 Ben closed the Discoteca directly following Jeff Mills and in the same season, opened the Terrace, demonstrating his ability to embrace a wide range of music styles and indeed club situations. Ben has warmed up for Sasha on the main floor at Pacha Ibiza as well as playing El Divino. Ben has also played T-Bar in London for Sonica, Hector’s monthly night, as well as at the second last Stink / Crosstown Rebels party at the East London, alongside Damian Lazarus, Dinky, Matthew Styles, Peace Division, Jamie Jones and crew. Ben has regularly played The Cross in London for Renaissance, as well as The Key and AKA at The End. Ben has had the fortune of guesting at the revered Weekend Club, Berlin, alongside Ewan Pearson, as well as performing in Munster for Moguai and Friends. Naples in Italy have also had their dose of the Australian, with Ben performing for Angels of Love on multiple occasions, alongside Italy’s DJ Ralph.
In the studio, Ben’s has in 2007 for the first time worked alongside experience producers, including Mike Monday and Inxec / B:Pole (Contexterrior). The fruits of these sessions are currently under lock and key with planned developments in this sphere at a secret studio in Ibiza, Summer 2008! Watch this space.
Ben is not one to pursue the latest fad or musical trend – over more than ten years his style has remained consistent and inherently true at it’s core, warm and inviting, dark and intriguing, and importantly groove laden. As new ideas are created through new technologies and changing musical landscapes, Ben seeks to embrace these where relevant to his unique feel for sound and rhythm, while always digging deep through musical history to present a broad and rich spectrum at all times. His Electric 03 track-listing is the perfect example of this, featuring tracks as far back as 1992 and through to the present day, while all seeming modern, relevant and in their rightful place.
