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RadioSEGA Interviews... Bentley Jones

It's been a long time coming, but we can finally publish our exclusive interview with the one and only Bentley Jones. Hit the jump to find out if your question was answered by BJ.

Welcome to another RadioSEGA Interviews... This time, we bring you the long-awaited interview with one of the most loved musicians in the SEGA fan scene, Bentley Jones!

LeeBro, Bentley Jones, Phunkstar... Many names for one really talented musician. Find out more about his background and what he man has is store for the fans in the near future. Also, check his answers to some of your own questions.

RadioSEGA: Hi, Bentley, and thanks for granting us this interview! Let's start from the beginning. What got you into singing and remixing in the first place and which of the two came first?
Bentley Jones: Remixing came first. Singing was entirely the fault of an artist manager I was working with at the time. When writing for other people he said ‘these demos sound good. You should record some songs yourself.’ I was quite happy working for other people, but it just kinda happened.
 
RS: Did you grow up as a SEGA-only gamer or were you a Nintendo fan as well?
BJ: I liked Nintendo and I played Mario and Starfox, but my house was a SEGA house. We had only SEGA consoles up until the Nintendo 64 – and even then I had a Dreamcast too!
 
RS: You started making a name for yourself as an OC ReMixer. And all your remixes were from Sonic the Hedgehog games. Any particular reason for that?
BJ: The OC thing was kinda a hobby when I was growing up. I’d just started experimenting with music production and OC was a good platform for that before I broke into doing commercial remixes for labels. I grew up playing Sonic so I knew the source material inside and out so it was natural to start there.
 
RS: From what I know, it was your work on OC ReMix that got you to get noticed by SEGA, am I right? How did that happen?
BJ: No, that’s not right. There was a showreel of my latest work that had been circulating at that time that ended up with Sonic Team. After hearing that they contacted me and asked if I wanted to work on the series.
 
RS: Another highlight in your career is the Remix Factory. Could you tell us how RF came to be?
BJ: It actually just started as another pseudonym so that labels would take me more seriously! After that it became a bit of a brand and an opportunity to collaborate with lots of different people. It’s still going strong; this year is our 10th anniversary. 
 
 
RS: At some point, you decided to take on a stage name or pseudonym. Why Bentley Jones?
BJ: I was involved in a band project at the time that needed a name. Even back then a lot of my work was orientating towards Japan so to highlight the culture difference we wanted a name that was quintessentially British-sounding. After the group dissolved I carried on and my first label liked it so it stuck!
 
RS: Also, why do you sign your remixes under Phunkstar?
BJ: After my artist work took off I started doing even more commercial remixes. So it was partially to stop myself from being pigeon-holed as a dance artist that I wanted another pseudonym for my dance music. The other consideration was with fellow remixers Bimbo Jones – I didn’t want to confuse people by having a similar remix name.
 
 
RS: You're pretty big in Japan (no pun intended… really!) When and why did you start learning Japanese?
BJ: I only started learning when I signed the deal for my first album. I thought it would be useful to know at least a little bit. Since then I’ve only studied intermittently when I’ve had time so I’m still not very good! My management’s current plan is to spend more time there next year so I’ll probably do some serious studying then to get it up to scratch.
 
RS: Thinking of the audiences, where do you prefer to play live? In the West or in Japan?
BJ: Absolutely nothing against my Western fans, but I prefer performing in Japan! I get crazy nervous when there are people I know in the audience – which is often the case in the UK or US. I’m usually in Japan alone with my staff so it feels very different.
 
RS: Dreams of an Absolution is a huge favourite among Sonic and SEGA music fans. Where did the inspiration for the song come from? Just the plot for Silver's story or something else?
BJ: I was given a script of the game to reference when I was writing the lyrics. I liked the whole past/future perspective and thought it was something that most people can relate to – despite being the theme of a time-travelling silver hedgehog with telekinetic powers!! That’s probably why it has a slight romantic and melancholy undertone to it. I wanted the song to be relevant to Silver, but I also wanted people to enjoy it separately as a song with its own identity. 
 
RS: Our readers are wondering: What are your favourite Sonic and SEGA games? [Question by SonicFan]
BJ: Even now, I’d probably say it’s between Sonic 3 & Knuckles (see what I did there?!) and Sonic Adventure. It was so exciting to see the first fully 3D Sonic canon game that I think it’ll always have a place in many people’s hearts.
 
RS: MTwinny would like to know if, granted you had the chance, you'd be up for another appearance at Summer of Sonic and/or Sonic Boom.
BJ: Absolutely! It was mentioned to me a little while ago by one of the organisers. If I could make the time I’d totally do it.
 
RS: RW26 BLAZE, who was on your birthday livestream as 'MrRW26' by the way, asks if Top of the Pops carried on still, you'd like to go on it? He would also like you to represent the UK for next year's Eurovision!
BJ: Haha! Yes to TOTP! My heart broke a little when it was cancelled. I think every aspiring UK artist at the time dreamed of performing on that show. Eurovision is a little trickier, what with all the political attachments it has. Plus the UK industry is quite snobby about it. Even if you do well in Eurovision, UK labels don’t really care – and some will even see it as a negative!
 
RS: Dr Scottnik asks: Where do you get the inspiration for your songs?
BJ: Absolutely anywhere!! A lot of my ballads I try and write from personal experience, or the experiences of someone close to me. It helps give them a more genuine perspective I think. I just wrote an up-tempo track for a J-boyband about partying on the edge of a black hole!! It’s entirely random depending on the day.
 
RS: And finally, ZonicZoneCop asks: What video games music do you most enjoy?
BJ: I can’t think of anything specific right now. So many games these days are licensing out commercial music, which is cool in one way but a bit of a boring marketing ploy. In terms of scores, I like arrangements and compositions that take risks – which is why I can’t think of a specific title right now. With the demise and shrinking of the games industry – along with the movie industry – studios and producers are playing it safe by hiring the same composers over and over. And in turn, they produce the same “safe” music that they have been for years. Scores that step out of the box catch my attention. 
 
RS: This is a bit related to the last question but if you were going to a desert island and could only take the soundtrack to one SEGA game with you, what would it be and why?
BJ: Gah! That’s a toughie. Off the top of my head, either Sonic Adventure or Bayonetta, for nostalgic purposes!
 
RS: You have shared in your VLOG once that commercial recording companies don't like their artists to be involved in video game music and vice versa. Do you have any idea why that is?
BJ: I get asked this a lot because it seems to surprise people. I think it’s simply down to marketing. Record labels don’t think game music is “cool” and identify it as an entirely different market. And likewise, some games studios don’t think it’s “cool” that I’m a pop artist and I write for other pop artists. Doing both has actually been quite damaging. I have to keep my game work under wraps to keep the labels happy and I’ve actually lost opportunities from game studios that discover that I’m also a pop artist – despite them loving my work and also being relatively successful in both areas!
 
RS: Can we expect more work on SEGA games in the future, be it in your own name or through the Remix Factory?
BJ: Absolutely! I still work on quite a few game projects when I have time, but because my artist and writing work is getting bigger and bigger it’ll probably be kinda low key for the reasons given in the last question.
 
RS: You're quite young but have already a prolific career in the industry. What's it been like working with huge stars and video game music legends?
BJ: Haha! A mixed bag to be honest! I’m simply a huge music fan, so to have had the opportunity to work with the artists and composers that I have has been bittersweet. Some are great and are an absolute pleasure to work with. But when you get to work with someone that you highly respect, only to find out that they’re not a very nice person it’s kinda heartbreaking. Actually there was one Japanese composer who contacted my record label trying to muscle in on my record deal! And there was an English composer who sent me death threats after I was given the main theme of a game we both worked on. But I like to think that I learn from those experiences and they teach me what not to do with my own work!
 
RS: Looking back at what you've achieved so far, what are the fondest memories you have of your work?
BJ: To be honest, I’m having a blast right now! I’ve just joined Avex in Japan which is something that I’ve been working towards for years so it feels great – even if I am working harder than ever! Looking back though, my fondest memory is probably my first single in Japan. Simply because it wasn’t supposed to amount to anything, it didn’t have any promotion prior to its release and then it went top 5. It was insane.
 
RS: You're an eclecticist when it comes to music. What can we expect from your upcoming album in terms of exploring new genres?
BJ: There’s a little bit of a battle going on right now about my next album in terms of who is releasing it… So I can’t really say too much right now. A label will always want it to be commercially viable, so then it’s my job to push the envelope within those boundaries. I’m always experimenting with different styles and influences, but if things keep going the way they’re heading it’ll simply be focused on solid hooks and great melodies regardless of genre. 
 
RS: Following the release of ICUCM, can we look forward to more duets in the new album?
BJ: Most likely. I’m working on a lot of projects for a lot of other artists right now, so at some point I’ll say ‘hey, do you wanna help me with my album now?’ Haha!
 
 
RS: You've signed a new deal with Avex. What do you expect from this new contract?
BJ: The difference with this contract is that I’m not being pigeon-holed in terms of creativity. They recognise that I work best in all genres, not just the most obvious from a marketing perspective (like dance and club music) and that’s exactly what I’m doing right now. I’m writing and producing all kinds of music for all kinds of artists which is likely going to keep me occupied for the rest of this year. A new Japan album has been brought up and I’m carefully considering it… if it goes ahead it’ll happen next year. In the meantime I’m still free to put out my own music whenever I have time which is exactly what I’ll do.
 
 
RS: Is there anything else you can share with us concerning your upcoming album or any of your future projects?
BJ: I wouldn’t want to tempt fate… But I think a lot of people are going to be surprised by what we have planned for the next 12 months…
 
RS: Last question: I know you probably have very little time for yourself, but what games are inside your consoles right now?
BJ: I’m anticipating the release of GTA5 so I’ve been playing GTA4 while working in the studio! Also checking out DMC as I didn’t get the chance when it was first released.
 
RS: Thanks again for the opportunity, Bentley! We hope to keep hearing from you in the future!

17th September, 2013 - 16:48 GMT KC Article viewed 3337 times 0 Comments

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