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‘After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.’ - Aldous Huxley.
It all began when Benji Vaughan turned 14 and was fooling around with his electric guitar & drum machine in his bedroom. Little did he know however, that his own yellow brick road was being laid--one which would eventually contribute an instrumental role in shaping the psychedelic trance scene in Europe; guided of course, by the eccentric geniuses Simon Posford and Raja Ram, a titillating twosome if ever there was one. Oscillating between diatonic melodic content to percussive, polyphonic elements, Benji often incorporates non-traditional influences into his sounds. For instance, you’d probably be surprised to know that he’d infused the antique 1971 Korg micro synth into several portions of his album, ‘Corridor of Mirrors’.
From soulful, bobbing, downtempo grooves to eclectic, spacey psychedelic tunes, categorization doesn’t come too easily when one attempts to define his progressive sound either. Known as Prometheus, he is also the face of Younger Brother alongside Simon Posford and more recently released his solo album ‘Even Tundra’ under his own name. In his own words, “I find great music all over the place and I could never stick to simply one genre.”
As we traverse down a detailed path of questioning together, Benji digs deep as he opens up about everything from alternate dream professions to the perception of trance in ‘90s India (when he spent a fair bit of time touring the country) sacrificial virgin rituals and of course, the influence of psychedelics upon his work. Read on to view the full script.

SS: Let’s go back to the beginning. What spurred your interest in music as a profession? Enumerate upon musical influences that inspired you as a young, budding artist.
BV: I got into making music when I was 14 with my electric guitar and a drum machine. By the time I turned 18, I was into the orb, drum and bass. I recall being into Aphex Twin and I increasingly just wanted to make sequences on the drum machine. Unfortunately, my poor guitar became unemployed for 10 years. Once I was at university, I had a mac computer and a basic sampler. That’s the time I had just started making trance and techno, which was inspired by the music of Harthouse and TIP.
SS: Techno and trance was all the rage predominantly during the ‘90s. Since a large number of artists at that time worked during what would be deemed as the ‘pre - internet’ era, things must have been so different in comparison to the current scenario.
BV: “You could easily say I was obsessed with trance for about 4 or 5 years and all I listened to was X-dream, Hallucinogen, Infinity Project and ambient music by Brian Eno, the Orb. I must say that Mystical Experiences by Infinity Project particularly blew me away. During the mid ‘90s trance seemed really exciting - each artist had his or her own sound, totally defined and unique. This was inherent as everyone worked in pre-internet isolation. Besides that, everyone had very unique, non-computer based equipment so the sound they made and how they put them together was not generic or heard of. It seems to me that as software took over and everyone had access to the same (often pirated) plugins the sound has become a little dull and a formula has set in.
Back in about 2001-2002, a couple of albums completely blew me away and changed my musical direction - Kid A by Radiohead and Yoshimi by the Flaming Lips had a huge impact upon me. They opened up my ears to a broader palette in making music. Ever since, I’ve found that I find great music all over the place and I never stick to simply one genre.”
SS: Does art inspire you?
BV: “I get inspired by great art every day and when it kicks in, I need the studio like a drug. If for one reason or another I can’t go, I get really mad! Also exciting hardware and software that makes me look at the processes differently really inspires me.”
SS:

I’d read that the charity foundation Survival International asked you and Simon Posford to work together on an album they were producing. And that turned into Younger Brother’s first track. I also found it intriguing that the band name came from a tribe in Columbia, the Kogi, who called westerners Younger Brother. Could you enumerate upon the coming together of Younger Brother?
BV: Simon and I were first asked to make a track together by the charity Survival (survivalinternational.org). We were asked to make a track inspired by the Kogi tribe of Colombia. At around that time, we made 2 albums as YB. It was just Simon and I making pure electronica, but during the second album we started experimenting with instruments, that being our guitars and also got Ruu in as a guest vocalist on ‘All I want’, ‘Ribbon on branch’ and ‘Psychic gibbon’. We were having a lot of fun just doing laptop sets but we wanted to try something a bit more adventurous. So when we set out to tour during ‘Last days of gravity ‘, we brought in Ruu and built a band based on mates from the U.S. - Marc Brownstein, Tommy Hamilton and Joe Russo. All these guys are amazing and it was brilliant fun. This band then went on to be the band we used to build ‘Vaccine’ which was a very vocal and bands centered album.Now to be honest with you, I think Simon and I are ready to go really electronic again and make music with no reference to the living!SS: Is there a particular philosophy or motto that the Twisted Records family believes in?
BV: If anything, Twisted believes in being a platform for musicians to follow their muse with no reference to the outside world. We just make music we like and feel inspired by. Most importantly, we put a lot into every release. It makes for great fun in the studio but can sometimes infuriate our fans!

SS: If not a musician, what would be your alternate, potential dream profession?
BV: Well, if I had never found music as a career, I’d like to have been a beekeeper.
SS: Which is the one performance in your career that immediately comes to mind? Where you were enthralled by the crowd and experienced one of the best connections you’ve ever had.
BV: I think a stand out set for me was when Simon and I first did a Younger Brother sound system set at Ozora. We were playing at about 10 p.m. on a Saturday evening at the festival and it was packed. It just felt like from the first note to the last, the crowd was with us and would happily follow us wherever we decided to take them… It’s a great feeling. For those people who aren’t aware, Ozora is a festival in Hungary with about 25,000 people.
SS: That sounds fantastic. I’m pretty sure most people reading this interview are likely to be aware about Ozora! Could you mention three musical inspirations that aren’t essentially defined by the psy trance genre of music?
BV: Thom Yorke, Burial, Arvo Part and anyone who just loves tinkering around in the studio making music for pleasure and not for profit.
SS: A little insight into your personal lif e - What do you do on the weekends when you’re not performing or making music, would you define yourself as an individual who is more inclined towards being a party animal, traveller or you’re likely to just unwind at home and chill out?
BV: Nowadays I have 3 kids, Arthur, Jasper and Elliot. I just love hanging out and relaxing with them and my beautiful wife, Lucinda. I still love travelling but I anyway get to do a lot of that with work. There is always that odd, big night out, but it’s normally random and never planned. Life certainly seems to get better with age. I love working. The studio is my temple and my addiction but it’s all about keeping life simple. Keeping the kids happy and the studio purring.
SS: In terms of instrumental sound what appeals to you more so than anything else?
BV: I’ve always loved playing the guitar but I think my favorite feeling is playing my Oscar Analogue synth, especially when I have a really cool sequence running or playing in the studio.

SS: Any interesting collaborations or new projects coming up in 2014?
BV: I’ll be finishing off my album with Raja Ram as the Zap, as well as some new solo stuff that will be coming up. I’m also launching a new software platform for musicians, which is really exciting.
SS: So Benji, in an absolutely random order, could you list a series of people, places, books, films and various passions that have an immense impact upon your life?
BV: All right, here you go. Stanley Kubrick, modular synths. Noam Chomsky, the future, building software and working with genius coders, wild swans, deserted beaches with my kids, snowboarding in fresh powder, red wine, Italian food, Tokyo and Spain.
SS:

Incredibly intriguing range of passions.
BV: All that in a day would be a lot of fun, but would have to include sex!SS:

Can you elaborate upon the influence of psychedelics upon your music?
BV: Very little, they were an influence on me in my early twenties. As much as they influenced a lot of my life at that time, now they are just part of the palette of influences in my life that might make an appearance in a track. I actually feel that psychedelics are a poor master in terms of art - they could lead to lazy music.
SS: You came to India once when you were 18. After touring here, what’s your perspective of the country?
BV: I have been a lover of India since I travelled there for a year when I was 18, the experience of touring and performing in India has been great. In the years to come, I hope it becomes a central aspect of my life. Its musical heritage is unsurpassed and for a musician like me, it has to be the most exciting place on earth. I had been dying to jump on a plane and do a tour over there.
SS: Any specific rituals that you’re accustomed to before or after a performance?
BV: I like a vodka tonic, a cigarette and a room full of sacrificial virgins.
SS: Hahah.. sure! If you had one advisory statement to deliver to a group of young musicians, what would that be?
BV: Only do it if you love music, not if you hate the idea of getting a proper job - it’s HARD work!
SS: If you could sum up the way you live your life in 3 words, what would that be?
BV: Never to plan.
Words: Shashwati Shankar

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