BENNY*CEE is a MAN OF MANY TALENTS. WITH A STRONG SPORTING BACKGROUND BEHIND HIM, HE HAS SINCE TURNED HIS ATTENTIONS TO MUSIC. FROM RUGBY PLAYER, to coach, to events, to dj and now music producer, BENNY CULLEN HAS HIS SIGHTS SET ON THE WORLD’S LARGEST STAGES
fc kowloon were lucky enough to spend some time with Benny as he THROWS down a set in kowloon’s sham shui po neighbourhood.
BENNY*CEE 一位才華橫溢的人物。擁有堅實的運動背景，他現在投向音樂。從欖球運動員、教練，到活動策劃、DJ，現在再到音樂製作人，Benny Cullen 正將目光投向全球最大的舞台。
FC Kowloon有幸能夠在Benny於深水埗街區演出期間共度了一段時間。
Thanks for joining us for this set Benny. 20 gigs in July; Tell us how it’s gone so far and what’s to come. Benny，謝謝你來客串這場演出。你在七月裡有二十場表演；能否跟我們分享一下到目前為止的情況，以及未來的計劃？
So basically the tour across July, across 20 locations, came from a previous project, which is actually based around men’s health. So in November 2022, my best friend George and I rowed at 20 different locations. So we actually took two rowing machines all across Hong Kong. The reason for that was to educate people on the road, as well as create fun, interesting content and to have way more fun than we would if we just simply rowed in a gym. So we called ourselves the Million Metre Men and tried to raise a million dollars. So we rowed 50,000 meters at every location to get us to the million so that was an awful lot of work to get through. And I sort of realised, well, if I can row and take rowing machines all across Hong Kong, I can definitely do the same for a DJ tour. So the new piece of kit that I’ve got, the [AlphaTheta] Omnis-Duo, which you’ll see in the FC Kowloon YouTube set, has the capability to go anywhere. It’s battery powered, so I don’t need to worry about mains. So the idea came from there.
這次七月的巡演涵蓋了二十個地點，靈感源自於之前一個與男性健康有關的項目。2022年11月，我和我最好的朋友George在二十個不同的地點划划船機。我們把兩台划船機帶到了香港的各個地方。原因是希望能在路上教育大家，同時在社交平台上創造有趣的內容。 這樣比起在健身房划船要更有趣。因此，我們自稱為「百萬米男」（Million Metre Men），並嘗試籌集一百萬美元。為了達到一百萬米的目標，我們在每個地點劃了50,000米。可想而知這是一項非常艱鉅的工作。那時我意識到：如果我能夠把划船機帶到香港每個角落，那麼DJ巡演，我也一定可以做到。你們會在FC Kowloon的YouTube演出上看到我新得到的設備 – [AlphaTheta] Omnis-Duo。這台設備是電池供電的，所以我不用擔心電源問題，可以隨我而行。這個念頭就是這樣誕生的。
What’s been your main takeaway from this in terms of what you have learned? 從這次經歷中，你最大的收穫是什麼？
The main takeaway from it has been putting myself out there even more than I already do. I’m a confident person and have no problem posting content and putting myself outside of my comfort zone. However, rocking up to random places, to crowds that perhaps aren’t used to house music, or being me, and pushing myself even further has been the main takeaway, knowing that I can continue to do that. There’s a good feeling on the other side of fear, and I really enjoy that.
我從中體會到的主要是要更加勇敢地走出自己的舒適圈。我本是一個有自信的人，對於發布內容和挑戰自己，我並不感到困難。然而，隨意走到某個地方，對著可能不習慣電子音樂的觀眾，或者對著我（一位外國人）的時侯，推動自己更進一步（去克服這些困難）就是我在這些經歷裡得到最大的收穫。這次經歷讓我意識到我是可以繼續地這樣做。我非常享受那種越過了恐懼後良好的感覺。
Given your background and many talents, tell us a little about your journey and how you got to here, pursuing your dream of being in music. 鑑於您的背景和才華，能否談談你追尋音樂夢想的旅程？
My journey to this point with music has been long and winding. It started at a young age, but to be honest, it wasn’t until we started an events company in 2018 did I finally pluck up the courage to decide I wanted to finally DJ. Music has been a big part of my life, like it has for many people from childhood. And yeah, it was probably in the last two years I started taking the DJing more seriously, and then a year ago, finally started playing in clubs and took a residency.
我的音樂之路漫長而曲折。雖然我年輕時就對音樂有興趣，但說實話，直到2018年我們創辦了一家活動公司，我才鼓起勇氣決定要成為一名DJ。音樂一直是我生活很重要的一部分，就跟許多人一樣從童年開始。我大約在過去兩年才開始更認真地對待DJ這個嗜好，然後一年前終於開始在夜場演出並接下了駐場工作。
After doing that for a year, decided that this is kind of what I want to do for the next five to 10 years. And if you want to go to the top, which I do, you have to start making music. So in January, I started music production, and have been doing that for a little while now. And yeah, I start a music school in September, which is called an Artist Development Program, where they take 15 students per year, and their students from the academy that I’m going into have gone on to perform at the biggest festivals and get signed to the biggest record labels, so they’ve got a really good track record. So yeah, that’s how I got here. Through sports, music events and experiences.
在這樣做了一年後，我決定這就是我未來五到十年想做的事。如果想在DJ行業達到頂峰，像我一樣，那就必須開始創作音樂。因此，我在一月份開始了音樂製作，並且已經做了一段時間了。而且，我將於九月開始就讀一所音樂學校，這是一個名為「藝人發展計劃」的課程，每年錄取15名學生。我將進入的學院的學生曾經在最大的音樂節上表演，並簽約了最大的唱片公司，他們有著非常出色的歷史紀錄。所以，這就是我如何走到這裡的過程。通過運動、音樂活動和經驗。
We’ve heard you mention previously a disconnect between sport and music/the arts; and perhaps even from a young age hiding your passion. Can you talk about that? 之前你提及過你對於體育和音樂/藝術之間感到有點脫節；也許從很小的時候就隱藏著你對這方面的熱衷。你能對此談談嗎？
After going through sport and playing rugby, I kind of came out of the back of it realising that maybe rugby wasn’t the identity I really thought I wanted. I quite frankly, wanted to fit in. It wasn’t until I finished and pursued music and business much harder that I realised there is much more to me, significantly more to me, than there is rugby. And unfortunately, it’s not just a rugby thing; it’s it’s a football thing; it’s a team sport thing; it’s a lad thing. Where if you deem to do anything, perhaps slightly outside of the norm of that sport or of that typical culture, it may be seen as… not unacceptable, but perhaps it’s just not accepted by others. Perhaps you’re to be made fun of, and there’s a huge disconnect there, because there’s huge crossover between culture, music, sport, even people’s personalities. Nobody should do one thing, in my opinion, you should have, as I say, variety; it’s the spice of life. You know, you should have different strings to your bow, and that doesn’t mean you do it professionally, but things that you enjoy doing. Different conversations, different experiences, different feelings, different things. Life is much bigger than sport, and in my opinion, when you combine the two, there’s a lot more to it.
投入過運動和打過欖球後，我發現也許欖球不是我真正想要來定義自己的東西。事實上，我想融入其中。當我追尋過音樂和事業，更比運動方面更加投入，我發現運動不是我唯一可以用來定義自己的事。不幸的是，這不僅是橄欖球的事；也是橄欖球的事。這是足球的事；這是一項團隊運動；是男人的事情。假設你想做任何稍微超出了這項運動或典型文化的規範，它可能被視為……並非不可接受，但也許只是不被其他人接受。也許你會被取笑，而這個就是一個很大的脫節位。因為在文化，音樂，運動，更何況人們的性格也存在著一定的臨界點。在我看來，沒有人應該只做一件事。正如我所說，你應該有多樣性；這是生活的調味粉。你知道，你應該有多幾門技藝。這並不會是你的專業，但，是你喜歡做的事情。不同的交談，不同的經歷，不同的感受，不同的事情。生命比運動專業更有意思。在我來看，當你將兩者結合時，生活就變得更豐富了。
What is it about Kowloon & Hong Kong that you think makes it the place to be based to pursue a career in the arts, and in your case specifically, music? 你認為九龍和香港有哪些特點成為追求藝術事業的理想基地，以你為例，特別是音樂事業？
For me, I love the history of Hong Kong. The city is full of wealth and shiny things. However, the city is built on incredible, hard work that was done many, many years ago to build on what it is today. And Kowloon is a huge part of that. What I like about Kowloon is how rugged so many parts still are; the building styles, the rundown nature of certain places, the culture, the story, the history of particular spots, particularly Sham Shai Po, are just really appealing, and significantly more appealing to me than a brand new mall that’s just been made, built somewhere on Hong Kong Island.
我熱愛香港的歷史。這座城市充滿了財富和光鮮的事物。然而，這座城市是以多年無比的精神和汗水建成，才發展成今天的樣子。
九龍在這其中佔有重要地位。我喜歡九龍的地方在於，許多區域仍然保持著原始粗獷的風貌；建築風格、某些地方的破舊狀況、文化、故事，特別是深水埗的歷史，這些都非常吸引我，遠比在港島上剛建好的新購物中心更吸引我。
I also bought my first pair of DJ decks from Sham Shui Po, and it wasn’t until after the set that I realized that so it feels like a full circle moment for me to come back here and deliver this set in where essentially my journey started.
深水埗也是我買了我的第一套DJ器材的地方。直到後來回到這裡演出，我才發覺 –– 這就是想說一個完滿的循環，因為這裡就是我旅程的起點。
Love these full circle moments that you get. Appreciate the time Benny, we’ll be supporting you on your journey. 我非常喜愛這些圓滿的感覺。感謝你的時間，Benny，我們會一路支持你的旅程。
Watch the full set on YouTube here or below.
If you want to support BENNY*CEE as an artist, along with the broader community, you can buy the FC Kowloon shirt here. Use CODE: BENNY*CEE to get 10% off.
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