Bushwacka's Vinyl Love Affair
INTRODUCING Matt Benjamin AKA BUSHWACKA
Bushwacka rose to fame in the dance music scene in 1995 as the resident DJ at The End nightclub in London and hasn’t stopped, til lockdown graced us with its presence. As a DJ with nowhere to play, he started his eponymous sets streaming live from his home to 20,000 dance music enthusiasts around the globe.
We have caught up with the DJ and Frangipani fan ahead of his next Vinyl Love Affair
How did you get into DJing?
I used to try to learn to scratch on an old record player that was a suitcase that opened up - one half was the turntable and the other half was the speaker. That was in about 1983, when I was 11. When I was 14 I went to a disco for under 16s in the basement of a church in Ealing at a “club” called the Parrot and Palm. The DJ was an old school friend from age 8 - 11, whom I had not seen for a few years. Next day I was round his house playing on his decks. The next week I mixed my first two records together in that club. The rest is history.
Where did the name Bushwacka come from?
I used to engineer in Mr. C’s amazing recording studio “The Watershed” and the head of A & R from their label Plink Plonk named me the “Bushwacka” - based on the copious amounts of weed I used to smoke in my 20s!
When clubs open again, what would be your ultimate DJ line-up and where would this be?
It would be a handful of my heroes, Danny Tenaglia, Richie Hawtin, Carl Cox, Mr. C, DJ Marky, and Harvey - At Pikes Ibiza , for 48 hours non stop, inside and outside. Oh and I would like to play a few too.
What’s it been like as a DJ under lockdown?
Well I lost all my income with no warning from performing, and 2020 was set to be a great year of gigs for me. However I have kept my spirit alive along with many friends and fans, and performed every week online without fail with my Vinyl Love Affair live streams on Thursday evenings. I think about 2 million people have seen the stream since lockdown started. Its connected us in a different way, and the music has given some people a little light in their lives.
You’re starting a company called Listen Up Therapy, can you tell us a bit about it?
Listen Up Therapy Ltd is our new company aimed at providing therapeutic services for the creative industries and beyond. A fusion of fantastic meditation practices and a team of therapists offering counselling. We have been working on this for 18 months and its just about ready to launch. Its very exciting.
Watch Bushwacka! Live tonight playing a selection of his favourite Vinyl dancefloor belters!
Listen to his LIVE STREAM on Thursday 12th November at 7.30 PM (UK time)