The Gaslamp Killer

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The Gaslamp Killer in Los Angeles, 2009

The Gaslamp Killer (real name William Benjamin Bensussen , born November 7, 1982 ) is an American DJ and producer of hip-hop and electronic music . Influences of psychedelics , world music and dubstep are attributed to his music .

Life and career

Bensussen grew up in San Diego, California and comes from a Jewish family of Turkish / Lebanese / Lithuanian origin. He chose his stage name based on the Gaslamp Quarter of his hometown, where he made his first steps as a DJ.

As a teenager, he was a regular at various raves in San Diego and gained experience with drugs that brought him into conflict with the police on several occasions. He was eventually expelled from high school for his behavior . Because of his parents' threat to send him to a kibbutz in Israel, he finally stopped his dissolute life. Nevertheless, he remained active in the music scene and also worked in record stores and put on an extensive record collection himself. After graduating from high school, he first moved to San Francisco , then to Los Angeles .

In Los Angeles he became part of the up-and-coming DJ and producer scene around Flying Lotus , which initially centered around the weekly club night Low End Theory (named after the album The Low End Theory by A Tribe Called Quest ). Flying Lotus finally signed him for his label Brainfeeder . The aesthetic of The Gaslamp Killer's music during this time was strongly influenced by the feeling of being a nerd and an outsider.

A defining experience for The Gaslamp Killer was the unexpected death of his brother in Israel in March 2010, which he learned about while touring Australia. In the aftermath of this event, he isolated himself from his surroundings and concentrated only on his work. At the same time, however, his problems with alcohol and other drugs also revived until he finally made a conscious decision to abstain for a while. During this period he produced his debut album Breakthrough , which was finally released in 2012.

In July 2013, The Gaslamp Killer suffered a serious accident with his scooter , in which he was almost killed from internal bleeding. As a result, his spleen had to be removed. Against the advice of his doctors, he went back to work just a few weeks later. In November of the same year he recorded a live album with the fourteen-member band The Gaslamp Killer Experience in Los Angeles, which was released in April 2015.

music

El-P described Breakthrough , The Gaslamp Killer's first album, as one of the first contemporary electronic albums that didn't sound electronic. The song ideas could only come from a producer who has specialized in the psychedelic for many years. The Allmusic Guide also emphasizes the influence of dubstep and world music on the producer's hip-hop beats.

Since Breakthrough , The Gaslamp Killer has also worked with real instrumentalists; In his Pitchfork review of the debut album, Nate Patrin particularly praises the energy of the live drums and rates the publication with 7.7 out of ten points. Paul MacInnes' assessment in the Guardian , which awarded three out of five stars, was less positive . MacInnes described the album as powerful and hypnotic, but criticized the fact that its sound now sounds familiar and that it appears "organic" and "retro" for a pioneer of the Los Angeles music scene. Several reviewers highlight the influence of Turkish music on The Gaslamp Killer as shaping the style.

The Gaslamp Killer Experience: Live in Los Angeles took the development towards live instrumentation even further than Breakthrough : With the help of fourteen musicians from Los Angeles, The Gaslamp Killer tried to translate his compositions into the music of a whole band on this album. Jason Newman particularly emphasized the track Apparitions in Rolling Stone , which instead of the half-length original version, brought a "frenetic crescendo" to the stage.

Discography

Albums

  • Breakthrough (2012)
  • The Gaslamp Killer Experience: Live in Los Angeles (2014)
  • Instrumental Pathy (2016)

EP

  • The Killer Robots (2008) with Free the Robots
  • My Troubled Mind (2009)
  • Death Gate (2010)

Web links

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b Joshua Glazer: Gaslamp Killer at the center of the LA beat , Los Angeles Times on November 20, 2010, viewed on November 21, 2015
  2. ↑ Own information on Facebook , November 7, 2014, seen on November 21, 2015
  3. ↑ John Lewis: The Gaslamp Killer: A bright spark hits the decks , metro.co.uk, October 18, 2010, viewed November 22, 2015
  4. ↑ a b c d e Jeff Weiss: The Gaslamp Killer Confronts Tragedy and Finds His Way Forward , LA Weekly September 27, 2012, viewed November 22, 2015
  5. ↑ Jeff Weiss, The Gaslamp Killer's Near-Death Account , LA Weekly, July 17, 2013, viewed November 22, 2015
  6. ^ A b Jason Newman: After Near-Fatal Accident, Gaslamp Killer Returns With New Live Album , Rolling Stone , April 8, 2015, seen November 22, 2015
  7. ↑ a b Allmusic , as seen on November 22, 2015
  8. ↑ Nate Patrin on Pitchfork , September 19, 2012, viewed November 22, 2015
  9. ↑ Paul MacInnes, The Gaslamp Killer: Breakthrough - review , theguardian.com, September 13, 2012, viewed November 22, 2015
personal data
SURNAME The Gaslamp Killer
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bensussen, William Benjamin (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American producer of hip hop and electronic music and DJ
DATE OF BIRTH November 7, 1982