"...one rule I have is: "There are no rules"" - Louis Benedetti

His label, Soulshine Recordings, has released a string of high quality dance tracks over the years so we thought it would be fun to find out more about the man behind the music. With that in mind, Dave Lynam caught up with Louis Benedetti to get the low-down.

So what have you been up to in the studio of late? What should we be looking out for over the next couple of months from both yourself & the label?

I am currently working on a few original productions (a couple of vocals and some instrumentals) soon to be released on Soulshine as well as a couple of remixes for other labels.

How do you manage to keep the fine line between having a formula & distinctive style, without making all your tracks sound samey?

Although, I sometimes use some of the same instruments and musicians on different projects, one rule I have is: "There are no rules" I don't use templates and don't save settings. Every time I start a project, I sample new sounds, reset my gear and start from scratch. I remove all previous projects from the computer and start the new one from scratch and at often times doing a lot of redundant steps, but at least in my own mind I have a feeling that I am starting fresh.

What inspired you to Launch Soulshine in 1997? Did you see it as the best way of getting your tunes out there?

I wanted to put out music I could no longer find on vinyl, as things were changing big time in 1997. I wanted to go back to the classic house approach first, then developing new sounds later. I remember clearly, when we first started the label, I heard so much negative feedback from older more experienced people in the business, comments such as: "Are you crazy, another label?" "Nobody is playing vocal records anymore. All kids want is to play dubs" At one time, I heard from a veteran producer, right in my face "You don't stand a chance in this business" Guess what, today he is out of business and we are here, putting out records and even getting copied by some. Now it is even more cool to say you do or play soulful music!!!!

When you take on a remix, which elements of the original track do you try to keep whilst still making the track your own?

It depends on the project, but I always go back to my first rule of thumb "There are no rules" so I listen to the original mix and take it from there. Of course, when hired by a label, I ask questions of whoever is hiring me and always try to deliver my best to the client's satisfaction without compromising on my own view and what I believe to be the best that I can do at the moment. So far we haven't had any remix projects turned down and all parties involved were more than satisfied with my work. (So I've been told!!)

Your productions are always so loud & clearer than most other vinyl! Where do you get your bits mastered?

I always had an impression that mastering played a big roll in the final product but unfortunately, I believe the art or vinyl cutting is pretty much gone and the masters of the eq are either retiring from the business, have moved to different formats or are just tired. Therefore, I try to get the sound that I want before the final product leaves the studio. Most of the time I don't even want the mastering engineer to change the eq settings. I have been cutting most of our records at Trutone and occasionally send some of our music to be mastered in London. It depends on the project but so far in the U.S. Trutone does it for us.

I’ve read in previous interviews that back in the day you were a little embarrassed to tell people you were a DJ. These days people see it as a cool thing. In your opinion, what are the significant things have changed people’s views on this?

I still don't really like sharing with people that don't have any association with the industry what I do for living. I don't know why but I believe that people most of the time have the wrong idea about the music business. I do it for the music, and that's all. I don't really care about the hype, trends or what is or isn't cool. I prefer to let my work speak for itself.

With the scene now evolving and becoming more business orientated, do you think this has a positive or negative effect on the music?

It could work both ways, the good side is that artists are going to start to learn a bit more about the business side of things and will begin to get a real sense of reality as to what it really takes financially and creatively to have a good record out. On the negative side, we will start to see more and more artists and producers compromising on their own styles and beliefs in exchange for success and money. We all have to pay the bills and it is ultimately up to each individual to take whatever road they choose and accept the consequences of their choices.

Having been around from when a DJs tools were strictly vinyl, what’s your take on all the technology that’s at a DJs disposal these days? Do you see CDJs and laptops as the way forward?

I am a die hard vinyl junkie but let me tell you how tuff it is to carry all those records overseas on a weekly basis and I must agree that I am playing much more CD's today than I ever thought I would. I am also honest to say that I don't feel I play as well with CD's as I do with vinyl but if we have good unreleased music that people need to hear, we have to make the ultimate sacrifice and deliver what we believe to be the best to our audience. I don't believe every club is properly equipped with CD gear yet but they will be sooner than later. CDJ's are here to stay.

A trademark style you have acquired over the past few years is the soulful keys in the majority of your tracks. Are you a trained musician or is it something that is quite natural & self taught?

Self taught and out of desperation. It took me a while to find the musicians that could deliver what I was looking for, meantime I needed to get things done and ended up learning a few chords by playing along with other records, and by recreating those chords I was able to learn how to develop my own melodies.

If you were able to change one thing in the scene today that really bugs you, what would it be?

I believe it is too late to change anything at this point. It is becoming a trend now to blame the producers for getting stuck to a working formula and failing to bring something new to the table and for the fact that Club Music is becoming stagnated. It may be one of the reasons, but I would like to look further into the fact that many DJ's cannot play any records that don't have a heavy kick drum or a certain sound that everybody is used to. What about diversity? If you listen to older records you will find that some of our favorite producers, Gamble & Huff, MFSB, Montana, Nile Rodgers, even funk and soul producers such as Rick James, Fred Wesley to name a few had their own distinctive sound, nevertheless it was up to the DJ'S to blend all those styles and create a program that would move the crowd for hours before becoming predictable and boring. I am sorry but it’s becoming kind of boring to play 5 or 7 hours of the same beats and bass riffs with no variations. I used to play ballads in the middle of the night back in the 70's and it was just as important as playing uptempo stuff. Now, if many of today's DJ's just want to play one style all night long, what should a Dance Music Producer who wants to sell records produce? Many DJ's, promoters and club owners think that they are mind readers and that they know what the crowd wants. You would be surprised to see how many times I've experienced big crowd reactions with unexpected unpredictable records. That's what made many of the big name DJ's to become so big. Take a shot and see what happens, you are a DJ so you should know what you are doing, right?

What came first for you, DJing or production? Who introduced you to both DJing and producing tracks?

DJ first. I've only been producing for the past 7 years. I was born a DJ before the term even existed. There was no mixer when I first learned on how to play two songs together. I had two car stereos hooked up on a guitar amp with dual input and increase or decrease the volumes as I wanted to change between tape one and tape two. That's how I first mixed two songs. There was no beat matching either. It was all about programming. Radio played a big part on my own bedroom DJ experiences.

JJazproJect would like to thank Louis for taking the time to talk to us, and Helena at Soulshine, for making this article possible. If you would like to find out more about Louis or Soulshine then you can check out their website at http://www.soulshine.net