JEAN BENETONE

DJ. LIVE PERFORMER. MUSICIAN. ENTERTAINER

JEAN BENNETH – THE MAN. AKA JEAN BENETONE – THE ALTER EGO

My name is Jean Benneth. Most people in music and entertainment know me as Jean Benetone.

The story probably starts in a living room in southern Sweden. There was always music playing, hard rock, heavy metal, soul, funk, disco and R&B. Vinyl spinning, guitars screaming, bass lines shaking the room and grooves finding their way into my DNA. I was too young when George Clinton’s Mothership landed, Rick James ruled the arenas or Rainbow searched for the man on the Silver Mountain. But somehow, all of it stayed with me. It still does.

FROM ROCK TO FUNK

I’ve spent most of my life making music, as lead vocalist, drummer, percussionist, frontman, producer and DJ.

I’ve played in original bands, tribute projects and everything in between, including the Swedish electric pioneers Nouvelle Execution and Swedish-French Saint Blaise. Around 2000 came The Paper Vampires, my original music project produced and performed internationally. I managed three of Swedens most successful soulful and funky bands for more than 20 years, SOULD OUT, SUBWAY and STARFUNK. Different names. Different stages. Different eras.

One obsession: the groove. From the late ’80s I went deep into soul, funk, disco and R&B. Then hip hop opened another door. Following samples backwards, I discovered the architecture behind the music, funk, soul, jazz, breaks, synths, bass and guitars. I stopped just listening to songs. I started listening to how they were built.

THE FUNK THAT BUILT THE FUTURE

Cameo. George Clinton. Prince. Chic. Nile Rodgers. Miles Davis. George Duke. Stanley Clarke. Earth Wind & Fire, Rufus & Chaka Khan. These artists showed me that music could be sophisticated, experimental, futuristic and still completely danceable. Prince became a particular obsession. Controversy was one of those records that made an immediate impact: simple, powerful, fearless and full of attitude. To me, Prince was more than a musician.

He was an attitude. Our Jimi Hendrix.

And then there was Chic and Nile Rodgers, proof that incredibly sophisticated musicianship can sound effortless. That’s the magic I’m always chasing. The feeling! Funk never stayed in funk. It travelled into rock, new wave, post-punk, hip hop, New York underground culture and European electronic music. It became house, techno, electro and countless other forms of modern dance music.

That history matters to me. Because when you know where the groove came from, you hear where it can go next. Today, as Jean Benetone, I put all those influences into one musical universe. I’m inspired by artists and producers from Daft Punk, Cassius, Benny Benassi, Kiko Navarro and Dennis Ferrer to Chris Lake, David Penn, Joey Negro, Freejak, Angelo Ferreri, Junior Jack, The Cube Guys, Nari & Milani and many more.

Different sounds. Same mission: ENERGY.

IF I DON’T FEEL IT, I DON’T PLAY IT.

That’s probably my simplest philosophy. Whether I’m playing a club, performing at an event or stepping on stage with my DJ LIVE setup, I’m not interested in simply operating equipment. People don’t come to a dance floor for that. They come for a feeling. An atmosphere. A memory. A surprise. A moment when everyone in the room suddenly moves together.

That’s what I want to create. To escape the ordinary.

I don’t really believe in genres anymore. I believe in good music, rhythm, attitude, musicianship and energy. And I believe the best party music is the music that makes strangers feel connected by the same beat. That’s the magic. After all these years, I’m still chasing it. Because it makes me FEEL GOOD!

Yours sincerely // JB