.gay Music Monday Feature: Benjamin Koll
Are you ready to get funky?
Because this week's .gay Music Monday Feature, we've got a sweet treat for you: an interview with the soulful, eclectic musician and producer Benjamin Koll.
While his sound makes you feel happy and uplifted, his stage presence is powerful and oh-so-sexy! But what we love the most about Benjamin is his commitment to creating music that speaks to his community, especially his fellow bears.
Get to know this papa bear in our chat below.
What inspired you to start playing and making music?
My granny told me I was asking for a piano before I could even talk. As long as I can remember, I've had this craving inside of me to put all this music out there. I didn't have the resources to really study music as a kid, so I started DJing in clubs and on the radio. I did that for 7 years until I saved enough money to study on my own, then I spent 4 years studying music while working in a recording studio, and the moment I felt ready, I opened my own place and released my first single. The third one was number one (my first at the time), and things took off from there.
What do you like most about playing music?
That it's a healing force for me and for others. You can really influence your reality with it and change things. Your choices matter and your voice is amplified. I've seen it happen, and it's a beautiful thing. Whenever I have a hard moment, I just have to sit at the piano and play. After many years as a producer, working for others in the background, I'm learning what it's like to be in the front row, and it requires honesty. That's a challenge these days.
How would you describe the music that you typically create?
I'm a very eclectic musician and producer. I've worked in many different styles throughout my career, and I'm always studying, researching, and learning new things. I try to incorporate some of that into my albums now as Benjamin Koll, but I'm also determined to make songs for them that I would like to listen to myself. I love funk, R&B, soul, and house music, but I also listen to a lot of 70's rock and early electronica albums. You'll find a mix of that and a lot of little references here and there.
Why do you think it’s important to be out and proud in the music industry?
Absolutely. In the 90s and early 2000s, I had to constantly fight to be openly gay in the Spanish industry, first as a solo producer and later as a production team. My business partner and I were always openly gay, in the media, at meetings... it was a constant struggle but totally worth it, and I'm happy and proud of it, especially because it wasn't about me being a celebrity or anything like that, but more about giving visibility, proving that we meant business, that we could be valuable and open doors for future generations. There's still a lot of work to be done, but I'm happy to have been a part of that fight.
As an LGBTQ+ artist, what do you want to convey with your music?
My first album was called "Songs For A Better Future," and the reason for that was because music has been a huge part of my inner life since childhood, and even though I was lucky enough to be surrounded by so much talent in the seventies and eighties, there was always something missing that made me feel alone and kind of alien in the world. Not many songs really talked about me, what I felt, or what I liked. I was always looking for secret messages or answers from my favorite artists, but I got very few.
I'm trying to build a collection of albums with songs that speak to my community, my fellow bears, and anyone in the LBGTQ+ world who wants or needs to listen. These are the songs I wished I had when I was a kid growing up, and I hope they'll help them feel less alone and more happy and proud of themselves.
Visit www.BenjaminKoll.gay for more.
