Ben Malone is fast becoming one of the UK’s most influential tastemaker DJs, representing a diverse range of underground dance music. Every week, Ben broadcasts the best in brand new dance music across the UK on KISS FM UK’s ‘Saturday Night Kiss’ (SNK), alongside big names such as Solardo, MK, Leftwing : Kody, and Low Steppa. Malone is also the Label Manager, UK, for Armada Music; the largest independent dance music label in the world, with a roster of world-class talent spanning House, Techno, Melodic, Progressive, Trance, and commercial dance music.
Currently, Ben is behind the launch of this year’s edition of his ‘Future Five’ series on KISS FM. We caught up with him to learn more about the show, his job as Armada UK’s Label Manager, his origins, and what the future has in store for the blossoming tastemaker.
EG: Hi Ben! Welcome to EG! It’s a pleasure to have you with us. How’s your year so far? What have you been up to these days?
Ben Malone: Hey! Thanks for having me! Do you know what? It’s been super busy actually! It was really nice to have a proper break over Christmas and come back into 2022 feeling fresh! And yeah, it’s been a busy start to the year, with lots of radio, finishing off some music, and looking forward to the year ahead!
EG: Congratulation on the launch of your 2022 ‘Future Five’ series on KISS FM! What was the reception to the first episode like?
Ben Malone: Thanks! I love doing the ‘Future Five’ each year, it’s such an exciting opportunity to really look at who’s been smashing it over the last year and who’s set for big things in the next 12 months! My show is always about new talent, but it often tends to be based around new releases; the ‘Future Five’ is a chance to highlight those artists that have been consistently in form.
It’s always exciting unveiling the list, and the reaction has been amazing! It’s also been great to get the artists into the KISS FM studios in person, something we weren’t able to do last year with Covid! And yeah, the reaction has been great!
EG: Can you explain to our readers what ‘Future Five’ is all about?
Ben Malone: Yep! So, the ‘Future Five’ is essentially my top pick of artists that are going to break out this year. We look over all the artists that I’ve supported in the previous year (which is normally well over 1000!), see what trajectory they’re on – and narrow it down to five before inviting them in on the show, across a five-week period in January to do a guest mix and interview!
EG: And how do you go about finding and selecting the right talent? Does one have to be an ‘artist’ in every sense of the word? (in reference to some being shy, or not caring much about their image, etc)
Ben Malone: It all comes down to music at the end of the day! The beauty of radio is that it doesn’t matter what someone sounds or looks like, how many followers they have on Instagram – all we care about is the music!
That said, I’m also looking for consistency – one breakout track isn’t necessarily what we’re after; and likewise, we’re also looking at potential over the next year, so if we see someone is on the cusp of big things, that’s just as exciting as someone who has already shown signs of breaking out in the previous year.
My show all year is about uncovering these breakout artists who are pushing boundaries with their sound, so often I have a good idea of who might make the list from quite far in advance – this year I had two of the names locked in from September last year!
“My show is always about new talent, but it often tends to be based around new releases; the ‘Future Five’ is a chance to highlight those artists that have been consistently in form”
EG: Have you seen the impact the inclusion in ‘Future Five’ can have? Do you stay in touch with the artists?
Ben Malone: Yeah for sure; it’s been amazing to see so many previous ‘Future Five’ artists go on to absolutely slay it! It’s amazing what difference a year can make, and looking back at what the previous year’s ‘Future Five’ have achieved in the last 12 months is always another highlight!
Looking at last year’s ‘Future Five’, we had Maur, who went on to collaborate with Solardo in 2021; Junior Simba who recently played his Warehouse Project debut show and is making some incredible music; Maine who is taking over the house and tech world; but also back to 2020 with artists like Tibasko who are touring all over Europe and playing every festival there is now!
I can’t claim that inclusion in the list is the only reason for that success of course, haha! But we make a point to support them on the show and across the KISS network over the year!
EG: Apart from your KISS FM show, you are also UK Label Manager for Armada Music, your own own ‘Under The Rhythm’ brand, and have recently gotten into production as well, which all sounds amazing. How did you first start, and how do you manage your time now?
Ben Malone: Everything started with Radio and DJing for me! I grew up as a music fan but was actually more into rock and indie until I started going to clubs aged 18. When I went to Uni I decided to get involved with the student radio station there, doing a late-night dance show, which naturally progressed into learning to DJ and starting to play clubs in Nottingham.
These days I’ve been lucky to level up a bit and work with some amazing partners, the teams at Armada and KISS are the best in the business, so it’s an honor to work with them! It was really working with the teams at those two places that inspired me to start my own artist project – and I’m still relatively new to it, but it’s exciting to put the knowledge I’ve learned in my other roles into something new!
Managing time is definitely the biggest problem though, hah! I guess I’m lucky to work with a lot of my close friends in the industry, so the lines between work and play can be quite blurred! Plus it took me a good few years to be able to work full time in this industry so I always remind myself of that and it keeps me focused!
EG: How is the music production coming? How has your sound evolved since you first started? Any incoming releases under your sleeve?
Ben Malone: The production is coming on good, thanks! I’m still new to it, with only two releases so far. I’ve wanted to do it for a long time but it was actually lockdown that gave me the time and kick up the backside to properly commit to it. I’m definitely still finding my sound and you can expect to hear quite a few different sounds in some of the releases I’m working on for 2022! But there are certain resounding themes that echo throughout all my releases and being able to fine-tune my sound whilst maintaining some core similarities excites me a lot!
There are a couple of releases I’m just tying up at the moment so expect to hear some new bits in the next couple of months!
EGe: What does your role as Armada UK’s Label Manager demand from you? What decisions you do make on a day-to-day basis? Has your approach to the job changed since you started?
Ben Malone: So, my role at Armada covers a pretty broad remit! Broadly speaking I look after our overall label strategy in the UK, working predominantly with our A&R, Marketing and Promotions, Product and Management teams. Armada’s HQ is over in Amsterdam, and as we expand in the UK it’s my job to guide that here! We’re based in Shoreditch, in the UK, and we’ve got an exciting and rapidly growing team over here!
Day to day I work primarily on A&R and Label Strategy, but I also work across key release campaigns – and of course, I host Armada’s radio show, ‘Armada Next’!
“There are certain resounding themes that echo throughout all my releases and being able to fine-tune my sound whilst maintaining some core similarities excites me a lot”
EG: Let’s dive into your studio for a bit…what’s your workflow like? Do you use analog gear? Or is it mostly inside-the-box?
Ben Malone: I’d love to tell you I’m an analog expert, but really I’ve only ever used inside-the-box instruments and effects/processing. All my music is quite melodic, so I rely heavily on certain synths like UHE Diva, Sylenth, and VPS Avenger. I have been studying some sound design in Reaktor though, using software-based modular synths, which has been really interesting and I guess is the closest I’d say I’ve come to hardware, haha!
My effects racks rely heavily on the Soundtoys collection, with a lot of LFO Tool and Endless Smile thrown in to spice things up. Some basic hardware is definitely on the agenda for this year though, I’m a DJ at heart so being hands-on in my music production feels right!
Electronic Groove: What else can we expect from Ben Malone in the future? What new milestones are you looking forward to in 2022?
Ben Malone: This year I’m focussing on my music and radio output! I’ve worked on numerous projects over the last few years; podcasts, events, campaigns, you name it – but this year I’ve decided to simplify things and let the music and radio be my focus, as really they are my two priorities! So yeah, expect to hear some more exciting features and guests on my weekly KISS shows, and some new releases with some labels that I’m super excited to be working with!
EG: Thank you for your time, Ben! We wish you all the best for the future!
Ben Malone: Thanks for having me guys!
Catch Ben Malone and his ‘Future Five’ on KISS FM, here.
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