Meet Benny's Backyard Project

I've known Benny for a number of years now through playing football together in our younger years. I have seen the progression he has taken to get into DJ'ing and was amazed by the impressive content Benny's Backyard Project was creating through music.

Benny's Backyard Project consists of a Dj'ing duo, Mattheu, and Benny as well as Darren producing epic content behind the camera. The mixture of talent between the three of them is very authentic and relatable to the music scene that has emerged over the years.

They all share a passion for music, creating vibes, and bringing people together through beats. Benny's Backyard Project mixes both House music and Drum and Bass, but they have expressed that they have an appreciation for all music genres.

Head on over to @bennysbackyardproject to give them some love and subscribe to the Benny's Backyard project to see their full DJ sets and to make your Lockdown a little more entertaining.

Meet Benny's Backyard Project...

HOW LONG HAS BENNY'S BACKYARD PROJECT BEEN GOING? HOW DID THIS COME ABOUT?

Benny’s Backyard Project begun as a passion project, aiming to provide opportunities for local, and up and coming DJs to showcase their talent, in an intimate, ambient, boiler room typesetting. Consisting of Benny Daniel and Mattheu Pong being the designated button pushers and hosts, and Darren Nguyen putting in all the hard work behind the lens. Believe it or not, Benny’s Backyard Project was indeed Benny’s Backyard Project a few years ago, but we thought it had a nice ring to it, given that it was pretty much a second home for us and all of our mates.

Matty broke into the scene around midway through 2020 playing a sold-out Studio alongside Sly Chaos and TwentyTwo, and it did not take long for Benny to follow suit soon after. Together as of late, Matty and Benny have had the opportunity to play a handful of epic events including Totara Records sold-out Summer Sendoff, Destination Unknown, Invades The Races Day Party at Ellerslie Event Centre, a fair few GeorgeFM features, as well as various club venues and local sends across Auckland.

We began this journey in March 2020, releasing our first episode just before the April lockdown. We initially didn’t have a well-thought-out plan of what we wanted to achieve or the direction we wanted to head in, but after the first couple of episodes, we started to pick up major traction which helped guide us.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELVES?

We would describe ourselves as some of the best mates and very passionate individuals, especially anything regarding music.

WHAT MUSIC DO YOU CREATE?

We (Benny and Matty) both have a massive passion for all types of music, definitely a driving force towards our ambitions not only to mix but hopefully produce in the future. With so many genres out there, we’ve stuck to mixing the two we love most; being house or drum and bass. Darren on the other hand unfortunately cannot mix but is extremely talented behind a camera and the media and production side of what we do.

WHERE DO YOU FIND YOUR INSPIRATION FROM?

We have spent countless hours watching various recorded sets from outlets such as Boiler Room, Cercle, Keep Hush, and the fellas over at Sounds of the Local to name a few and thought why we couldn’t create something as epic.

Regarding the DJing side of things, we have always had a very similar taste in music which inspires what we do. On the drum and bass side of things, artists such as Alix Perez, Bredren, Monty, and QZB covering the dark minimal, and deep liquid of the genre. On the housey side of things, Cloonee, Billy Kenny, and Disclosure were big inspirations in the style of music we mix.

WHAT DOES YOUR WORKSPACE LOOK LIKE? WHAT ARE THE ESSENTIAL ITEMS?

Laptop, USBs, decks, headphones, speakers, alcohol.

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR ASPIRING DJ'S?

Considering we are still aspiring DJs it’s a bit hard to give some. But, I guess if we had to, we’d say just stay passionate about what you do, and put together sets that not only appeal to the audience but yourselves as well.

WHAT IS THE BIGGER PICTURE FOR BENNY'S BACKYARD PROJECT?

As a platform, we would love to grow enough to be well-known across the country and pull in bigger artists, recording sets in special and scenic locations. The dream for us is to play at Rhythm and Vines, Northern Bass, and push towards the festival scene more regularly.

WHATS THE HARDEST THING ABOUT WHAT YOU DO?

The most difficult thing for us is finding the time to put into Benny’s Backyard Project. With all of us very focused on work and other activities outside of that, time is something we’re lacking. Finding a moment for all of us to be free is pretty rare these days, which makes it harder to organise set recordings and creative meetings.

HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE CREATIVITY? HOW DO YOU PUT THIS TO PRACTICE IN YOUR WORK?

We would define creativity as doing something that allows you to express yourself. We think that being passionate and enjoying what you do, really reflects on the work that is produced. We are constantly trying to improve what we do and always thinking of different, new ideas, rather than the same repetitiveness that occurs after a while.