Our friends over at The Oxford Group aren’t just party starters and hosts of some of the best nightlife events around the Northeast – they’re also talent managers constantly scouting for future stars in dance music. DJ/producers like DJ Exodus and Rowah have already been taken under The Oxford Group’s wings and now it’s time for me to highlight another member of the roster: Benthoven. Benthoven is the stage name given to Ben Tillotson who is a Boston native and producer of House, Experimental, and all things funky. Having grown up in the Boston area I always have a soft spot for Boston-based DJs and producers but Benthoven has impressed me with his writing skills. His latest track is called “Gonzo Journalism” and is a minimalistic House track infused with vocal samples from Hunter S. Thompson’s “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”. According to Wikipedia, “Gonzo journalism is a style of journalism that is written without claims of objectivity, often including the reporter as part of the story via a first-person narrative.” There’s an entire section of the Wikipedia entry dedicated to Hunter S. Thompson and I’m impressed by Benthoven’s full-circle approach when it comes to song title and what the basis of the track is founded on. As for “Gonzo Journalism”‘s composition, it reminds me of something Crookers or AC Slater would release. It’s not a Big Room House banger, but it’s not quite Deep or Tech-House either. I’m certainly going to be keeping an eye on Benthoven and I recommend you do too! (click the shopping cart icon for free download)
To show you Benthoven’s range I’ve included a couple of his other tracks that stood out to me from his SoundCloud page.