Interview: Synth-Pop Artist Beny
Beny is a Toronto-based Singer & Producer. His music plays with modern Pop, laced with 80’s synths inducing a feeling of nostalgia in his listeners. The subtle use of ambient soundscapes intertwined with his smooth vocals hint at the influence he gets from artists like Pet Shop Boys, Daft Punk, and The Weeknd. Beny’s journey in music began with playing guitar in a Rock/Metal band alongside his friends. After many years of disappointing and unsuccessful projects, he eventually left the band and transitioned into music production. He luckily had the opportunity to collaborate and produce various artists from all over the world ranging in genres like Pop, EDM, Rap, & Hip-Hop. With this experience, Beny finally made the decision to shift his focus and create his own original music as a full-time vocalist. This new-age synth-pop artist has built a trustworthy network of fans and supporters to help push his music and spread it with others. He works hard and tries his best to use his creative abilities to bring good energy into the lives of his audience!
PC: @northvsn
What led to you becoming an artist?
I’ve always been inspired by art. It’s who I am at my core. Ever since I was little, I had an interest in art and creation. It has always intrigued me because each artistic piece, regardless of what it may have represented, is the perspective and vision of that specific artist during that time. It’s the way they viewed the world and navigated through it. I’ve always found that fascinating. I feel like true artists are passionate people. They feel things deeply. They experience this world with a dramatically different perspective. I’d even say they're inclined to be more empathetic than the average person who lives their life under a filter of negativity and false truths. Especially with our modern social interactions, many people are under the impression that everything is terrible and not okay and that you need a high social status to be happy. This whole concept is something I've struggled with for years. It took me a really long time to accept who I am as a person and an artist. I’m still learning to accept myself but It’s difficult when social media is programming people into having a negative outlook on the world. Only allowing us to admire material things and flashy moments in OTHER people’s lives. Worst of all, not accepting people and their new ideas. This eventually led me to realize that everything I love is in some way related to art. Art is beautiful and full of expression of self. So I fully embraced it and allowed myself to fall deep into the world of creation. I try to use my music as an outlet to inspire others to live free and happy without any ties to the toxicity we find throughout our lives. I even try blending multiple outlets of art in an attempt to entertain my audience in a unique and creative way. It’s all about allowing ourselves to be who we truly want to be!
What inspires your music?
I am heavily influenced by sounds that trigger a sense of nostalgia. I regularly listen to music like synth-pop and synth-wave and many times find myself feeling truly emotional because those songs had hit all the right notes for me. As a musician, that’s what I aspire to capture in my own music. I love to blend retro elements from the 80’s-90’s era with modern production. I also noticed that there aren’t that many synth-pop artists out there who go deep into the vocals. Granted there are exceptions but for the most part, it seems that the “Synth” genre is greatly influenced by underground sounds and long instrumentals. With my own music, I am trying to smoothly blend full Pop vocals with radio-friendly synth-wave style instrumentals.
Who are some of your influences?
My influences are classic acts like Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode, Kenny Loggins, and even Queen. I grew up listening to these classics thanks to my parents who themselves were really into those groups. Little did I know they would profoundly impact my career as an artist. It’s that “nostalgic sound” that gets me in my feelings every time! Even modern artists like The Weeknd, Daft Punk, and Miley Cyrus greatly influence me. I find it so refreshing to see big-time artists experimenting with 80’s sounds again. I think that’s great because it's allowing this generation to experience its own version of those retro vibes that our parents were always talking about. “’80s were the best time to be alive” etc… And so that’s what really influences the style and sound of my music. To transport my listeners into a world of nostalgic energy reminding them of better times.
What are some of your favorite memories from your career?
One of my best memories was performing live for the first time as a solo act. At first, it was difficult accepting that not a single one of my friends showed up to support me (even after they promised to come). It was discouraging but I got over it. Luckily my parents came to cheer me on! Previously I had experience performing live on stage with my old Metal band. I was always behind the scenes but just as the guitarist. In this case, this was my first ever show alone! I was crazy nervous and really needed to take a breath. At first, the venue was quiet. Not a lot of people arrived at the location. After a couple of hours, it suddenly got SUPER packed! Once it was sufficiently full, the artists started performing their sets. Artist after artist performed but It was sad to see that there was no energy in anyone’s performance. The audience didn’t seem engaged and were pretty quiet and dry. The best moment for me was when I walked onto the stage and started singing my songs. People looked a bit confused at first because my music was completely different from everyone else’s. But there were moments where I was starting to run around on stage yelling into the mic “MAKE SOME NOISE”. That exact moment was when the audience became alive and started shouting and cheering. Then I started to notice people were actually liking my performance and saw them even pull out their phones to film me. It was honestly a surreal experience because all these artists had previously gone on and didn’t make any impact whatsoever. But my whole set was on fire and I had a tremendous amount of fun performing in front of such an active and engaged audience. It was almost intimate. Even after I had finished performing, I was backstage walking around and I'd have random people come up to shake my hand or pat me on the back telling me my performance was awesome! That whole experience is something I won’t forget. I’m looking forward to future performances.
What have been some of the greatest challenges of your career?
My greatest challenge has been finding my sound and knowing how to market it to the right audience. When I first started out about 5 years ago I was reluctant to collaborate with anyone or take any advice. Therefore I ended up stumbling over and over again with each project sounding worse and worse. I was really depressed and anxious all the time. To be honest, retrospectively looking at this I was pretty lazy and didn't commit to anything fully. Everything I did was with half-effort. I was also really conflicted with my own brand as an artist because I had not yet realized where my talents actually were. After years of trial and error I now finally figured out some sort of working system to promote my music and my brand. That’s where my other art skills come in. I’m mixing high-engagement visuals with my music to catch the attention of those who are most likely going to enjoy my 80’s retro vibes. A balanced mix of high-quality content and visuals plus some well-developed music seems to be the key! Most importantly, I feel really authentic with it. I love my job because everything I do is now aligned with who I am as a person and as an artist on almost every level of my existence. A sci-fi-loving, 80’s obsessed Pop singer who loves making art as well as building things.
Which of your songs/eps or albums is your favorite? Why is it your favorite?
I’d have to say my latest album “Artificial” is my absolute current favourite. I put an enormous amount of time and effort into the creation of this record. I didn’t receive any help in producing or writing any of the 10 songs. This whole album was a challenge for me to see if I can even accomplish such a thing FULLY on my own. And I did. I wrote, performed, produced, and mastered every single song on this album. Day after day, hour after hour, morning until night. That’s what this album took out of me. Did this for about 9 months straight. It was a bit rough at first but after a while, it became my routine. I was in the studio all day just working as hard as humanly possible. Towards the end of the album, I was feeling really good about every single song on it. That's big for me because I'm a perfectionist and I don’t settle for anything less than spectacular! So after all this time, energy and effort, I’m glad this album is out now for everyone to experience. I couldn’t be more proud of it.
PC: @northvsn
What are you most excited to bring to your fans in the next year?
I am currently working on a few big projects that I am preparing for next year! I have some collabs where I feature in other people’s music, I’ve got a few new singles in the works and I am also developing a Sci-fi short film to promote my album. So overall it's lots and lots of work but it's really fun work. I am aiming to fully entertain my fans in the most epic way possible!
What are your goals for this upcoming year?
My biggest goals for this year are to get one of my songs onto a Spotify editorial and to get my new short film some good exposure. I really want to try and use this new content as a way to establish myself even more as a synth-pop artist.
How can your fans best support you right now?
You can support me by streaming my new album “Artificial” out now on all streaming services. Specifically the songs “Time Runner” and “Endless Highway”. A follow and a like on any of my songs on Spotify go a long way in supporting me. You can also follow my Instagram page where I am always updating with new content and behind the scenes of my work!
Beny’s Links: