PREMIERE: Benedict Sinister Releases New Music Video For “Ne Dramatise Pas”
by RJ Frometa
As we come to the end of another premiere week, we are teaming up with Benedict Sinister for the premiere of his new sensual video for the song “Ne Dramatise Pas,” a track that nods to 80’s electronic- pop, in particular Roxy Music (more info below) but with the addition of LA-based artist DJ Miss Beltran ends up with a quite heated, house-lounge sound and an irresistible spiced-up hook.
The video is pretty risqué and aims to illustrate the smoky vibe of the track, pay homage to 80’s romantic influences whilst in other places having some cheeky fun with eroticism and champagne.
In addition, we get to talk to Sinister about the video and what’s coming up next.
Hi Benedict, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?
Outstanding. I feel like I’ve joined the ranks of Leonard Cohen, Cat Stevens and Rodriguez – I’ve put some music out at last after years of unproductive “reclusion”. Plus the video features one of the most gorgeous women on the planet, as well as being the world’s first video with footnotes – it’s “Blurred Lines” for postgraduates.
Can you talk to us more about your latest single “Ne Dramatise Pas”?
The track is made up if material I collected from my idols as a teenager: lines from sixteen songs by Bryan Ferry, as well as quotes from Serge Gainsbourg and Karl Lagerfeld, and a joke about Charles Baudelaire. Years later, I pulled them together into a song.
Did any event in particular inspire you to write this song?
I was inspired by the passionate, impossible love affairs that were my youthful obsession.
How was the filming process and experience behind the video?
Are you asking if there was any romance during filming? Well the video features some amazing models including the Brigitte Bardot of our era, Anastasiya Scheglova. Anyway, call me an idiot but I wasn’t on set myself. I was in the editing suite though, and that was like a Saturday night Plato’s Retreat. No action for the last thirty years.
How was the recording and writing process?
The song first came together working with the composers Nils Rasmussen and Michael Sylvester in Sydney. I already had the lyrics, they had the music – we combined them and it worked great. I recorded it with the Studiopros crew in LA and in London with the very talented Ian Preston. Then I worked with the LA-based DJ, artist and engineer Miss Beltran to remix it. She did a fabulous job.
What role does LA play in your music?
I once tried writing a song about Los Angeles, called something very classy like “Let’s get LA-ed.” In researching that song, I first discovered one of my favorite artists in the world today, Benjamin Biolay, who has a song called “Los Angeles.” Not to be confused with the Sugarcult song of the same name, which is also excellent – play it and you feel like you’re in a turn of the century scripted reality show.
What is it about the ‘80s that you find so fascinating?
Prince, Madonna, Public Enemy, Duran Duran, George Michael, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Guns n’ Roses, Bruce Springsteen, Bryan Ferry, Joy Division, The Clash, The Pointer Sisters, Serge Gainsbourg, Scarface, Blade Runner, Spinal Tap, Less than Zero, Jean Baudrillard, John Hughes, Hanna Schygulla, the Brat Pack, Cindy Crawford, power dressing, post-modernism,… But I could come up with similar lists for other decades too.
Do you tend to take a different approach when you are collaborating with someone else rather than working on your own?
I don’t have all the skills required to produce music on my own, so I always work with other people. I love the collaborative process for coming up with the best material, but I also have a real need to be in charge – so other people may not be so positive about collaborating with me….
Does the new single mean we can expect a new material – how’s that coming along?
Yes I’ve recorded a whole album of adaptations and homages to other artists, mostly French – but it’s tied up in legal wrangling. It’s like my own private Chinese Democracy – it keeps getting pushed back…. I meant the Guns n’ Roses album there. But it could also apply to the Government that secretly abducted its leading movie star Fan Bing Bing for three months….
Any tentative release date or title in mind?
I plan to call the album “The French Love” – which has two meanings. First, it means oral sex – which is the best metaphor for the vocalist’s art, as it is all about bringing people pleasure with your mouth. But secondly it refers to the cliché that goes: “We Anglos can’t understand it, but the French love [Serge Gainsbourg, Johnny Hallyday, Maitre Gims, etc.].”
Any plans to hit the road?
I’ve been hitting the road a long time, but I get so distracted by all the cultural experiences, unique local sites, regional gastronomy and mixology, meeting the people who live there, and the rest, so I rarely get around to the music thing. I wrote these lines about it (with thanks to Marinetti): “From the world’s finest hotels, restaurants and bars,/ I hurl empty defiance at the stars.”
What else is happening next in Benedict Sinister’s world?
I’m working on a sex tape. We’re due to go into production later this year, just trying to make it work for everyone’s calendars.
http://ventsmagazine.com/2018/10/20/premiere-benedict-sinister-releases-new-music-video-for-ne-dramatise-pas/