The name Ben Pearce may make some people nostalgic of summer memories in the Ibiza sun or with your arms up at a festival with the smash hit What I Might Do blaring over club dancefloors.
With a vast array of superstar DJs from Seth Troxler to Carl Cox inviting Ben to share the decks with them, it’s safe to say that this guy is not going unnoticed in the music scene and his dedication to his musical knowledge and journey is definitely paying off.
Ben is the mastermind behind DJ agency and musical ‘family’ Purp & Soul, nurturing the creative talents of ten fresh young artists, as well as keeping up the hard work himself, remixing for the likes of Le Youth, Redlight and 2ndSun.
And best of all? He’s a Manc!
MM caught up with Ben as he was setting up to grace the decks on his home soil at venue 22NQ.
“I’m never too far away from home,” he said.
“I used to live in Sale and now I’m living in the city centre! But it’s really sweet, it’s such a good night to just have fun and get to spend time with some good friends and good music really!”
The DJ has come a long way from a heavy metal and punk fan in his teenage years, to playing everywhere from Parklife, and even at Carl Cox’s huge Tuesday residence at Space in Ibiza.
He admits: “I actually never used to listen to house music much when I was younger to be honest!
“I was a proper mosher/emo/hardcore whatever you want to call it, my favourite band is Brand New and I mostly listen to bands or hip hop, or recently jazz, when I’m travelling.
“In fact I only went to see Bowling For Soup the other week!”
Ben credits each of his performances for their unique atmosphere whether it is to 8,000 Belgian ravers or in an intimate gig in Audio Brighton.
“Everywhere has its own unique atmosphere that makes it so electric,” he said.
“All venues are as good as each other for me! I was also really surprised about how awesome Parklife was last summer, I really wasn’t expecting such a big home following but the turnout was amazing!”
Even with an impressive CV playing with some of the most influential DJ’s in some of the most famous nightclubs in the world, Ben admits that like a true professional, he rarely lets nerves get the best of him.
He said: “To be honest I’m quite lucky that I rarely get nervous! I played Amnesia too this summer as well as Space and didn’t really feel any different in my nerves to any other venue.
“Wherever I am, whether it’s headlining or a warm-up, I just try to play to the crowd and bounce off their vibe!”
Since setting up his agency Purp & Soul Ben has formed a ‘close knit friendship group’.
Their bond, Ben credits, is down to sharing tracks and giving constructive feedback to each other in a relaxed atmosphere.
“I’m really happy because the label is really gathering momentum now,” he said.
“We’ve found our feet and that’s mostly because everyone’s just part of a crew together!
“It’s more than just being good musically for us, you just know when someone’s on your level! It’s important for us to keep the family close and that friendship alive in the label, it would be hard for us to take on someone a bit too eccentric or a big ego.”
And what of the DJ’s future plans with juggling so many projects?
“I don’t really have any long term plans,” he said.
“I want to keep putting out music that I love, and I want to help the guys we have signed further their careers in whichever way they feel most comfortable.
“There’s a lot of people I’d love to work with, but I think that kind of thing comes around organically, I’ve talked with a few people about working together and once it does happen it usually turns out great! I want to spend more time in the studio, I think that’s where it all stems from.
“Touring is amazing, and I love it, so it’s a hard balance sometimes. I want to eventually make some music for artists, not necessarily house.”
Ben was insistent when he spoke of the ‘death’ of the Manchester club scene and that there is too much negativity surrounding UK clubs.
He said: “The scene isn’t dying, people are just caught up too much judging what is going on instead of enjoying themselves, they stand at the back and complain there’s too many of a certain type of people and things aren’t how they used to be, back in the early days of clubs people from every walk of life used to go and enjoy it.
“Even I experienced that when I first started going out, there’s too much negativity and it usually comes from those who think they are above everyone else.
“There is definitely a huge lot for the UK to offer musically – Fabric has to be my favourite club in the UK, I’m playing there on Boxing Day and I seriously can’t wait! Also SubClub in Glasgow is incredible too! So yeah, a lot more to offer than people realise I think!”
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