Read the AUG ISSUE #80 of Athleisure Mag and see 9PLAYLIST | Benny Benassi in mag.
PHOTO CREDIT | Daniele Badolato/Juventus FC Via Getty Images
In this month’s issue, our cover story is with World Cup Champion, Juventus F.C. and the France National Team Midfielder footballer, Paul Pogba. We caught up with him to talk about his passion for the game, his excitement to play for Juventus again, what it was like to win the World Cup with the French National team in 2018 and more. With STARZ’s POWER BOOK III: Raising Kanan Season 2 out now, we caught up with the show’s creator Sascha Penn and two of it’s stars Hailey Kilgore and Omar Dorsey to talk about what we can expect, what it’s like getting into that 90’s frame of mind and more. We also interview CFDA jewelry designer Sheryl Lowe of Sheryl Lowe Jewelry. We talk about how she went from a MUA in film/TV to creating this line, creating an additional line MR.LOWE. where her husband Rob Lowe and children have modeled for it and the importance of philanthropy within her collection. This Labor Day Weekend, Electric Zoo is back from Sept 2nd – 4th and we give you a heads up on what you can expect at this year’s festival on Randall’s Island here in NY. We also talk with Cheat Codes, a trio DJ/Producer trio who will also perform at this year’s event. We talk about them drawing 3 albums in under 2 years during the pandemic, how they create their music and their upcoming country project with Dolly Parton, Jimmie Allen and more. We also caught up with The Queen of Bounce, Big Freedia to talk about Bounce, No Kids Hungry and working with Beyonce.
This month’s 9PLAYLIST comes from EDM DJ/Producer Benny Benassi (cover of DEC ISSUE #60) and choreographer, dance fitness founder of the NW Method Nicole Winhoffer has one as well. Our 9DRIP comes from our STARZ’s POWER BOOK III: Raising Kanan’s, Omar Dorsey and the Queen of Bounce, Big Freedia. Our 63MIX ROUTIN3S comes from last month’s JUL ISSUE #79 cover and UFC World Champ and TUF Season 30 winner Julianna Peña. Our The 9LIST STORI3S comes from PGA golfer Justin Thomas and The 9LIST STORI3S comes from Leylah Fernandez, Felix Aliassime and Carlos Alcaraz who will be playing in this year’s US Open.
Our monthly feature, The Art of the Snack shares a stunning spot that’s known for their mussels in the Meat Packing District, Mollusca. This month’s Athleisure List comes from Bear Donut and RANG NYC. As always, we have our monthly roundups of some of our favorite finds.
Read the AUG ISSUE #80.
2020 has been quite a year and one of the ways that many of us have gotten through it is through music. We're so excited to have one of our favorite artists, Benny Benassi as our cover and to end the year with! Known for his hits such as Satisfaction and his single with Jeremih - LOVELIFE. Benny has spent this year in training for a triathalon, making great music and continuing to keep the positive vibes going. Our photo-shoot took us virtually to Italy and he gives us more insight into how he got into the industry, his love of music and what he has been working on!
ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you fall in love with music and want to create it?
BENNY BENASSI: I've always loved music and I’ve always tried to express myself through it since I was little.
AM: How do you define your music style?
BB: Eclectic and pretty wide-ranging, now. I guess the dictionary definition would be house music or electro house music. I work in that genre but I like to alternate a powerful dirty club sound with radio-friendly songs with lyrics and voices that inspire and move me.
AM: How do you stay inspired when it comes to creating new sounds?
BB: I listen to my old vinyls with my production team and I try to draw inspiration from them. Suddenly we hit upon a sound or a mood or just a kind of energy that gets us going and off we go to try to make some good new music that looks to the future while planting its roots in the past.
AM: What was your journey in becoming a DJ and producer?
BB: As I said, I've always loved music. I had this dream of becoming the DJ, the one selecting the music. But in the early days, I had to make do with being on the dancefloor for a while, not just dancing but listening and learning! I yearned to produce my own music and to find my own sound one day. So I asked my cousin Alle who was training to be a classical musician to give me a hand. We grew up in the same apartment block and we ended up producing music together right until 2018!
AM: When you begin a new project, what’s your creative process?
BB: The creativity is a team dynamic. The process is sometimes started by something we heard on an old record as we talked about earlier. Sometimes it’s a sound or a riff from one of the team, we build on it. Then we have listening sessions and just go through all the musical ideas we have on the boil, we analyze them together and decide which tracks to develop. The best ones make it all the way! We work a lot with songwriters from all around the world, too. They send us songs or we send them our music to write over.
AM: We're huge fans of Satisfaction and you have created a number of songs that are in our playlists from your remix of Bob Marley's Jammin', Chris Brown's Beautiful People and more. What have been some of your favorite songs that you have created/collaborated with?
BB: Skrillex’s remix of “Cinema” is one of them - his energy and talent played an important role in my artistic growth. Also, his remix recently hit 100million streams on Spotify, I’m really happy that he applied his amazing skill to this track! Also, Bob Marley is such an inspiration for all of us - he taught us to love life. I had the honour to remix Jammin’, it means a lot to me.
AM: What do you think it is about Satis-faction that people love so much?
BB: When you’re in the studio, you don’t really think about the destiny of the track you’re working on, you just wanna make good music. It’ll go wherever it needs to go! I was working with my cousin, Alle Benassi, and we thought Satisfaction would be a good house/club record, we never imagined that it would get so much love! I don’t know why people love it so much more than some other tracks from the same period but they do! And I’m thrilled ;)
AM: We have enjoyed your single, LOVELIFEwith Jeremih, how did this come about?
BB: About a year ago I was sent a demo of the song by the publishers of the original British writers and I immediately fell in love with it, so I started working on it with my production partners, now known as the BB TEAM! We wanted to give it an electronic vibe and when we got the production to where we wanted it to be we asked Jeremih if he would like to feature on it. We truly loved J's personal interpretation of the track. He really lights it up.
AM: How do you decide on new projects that you want to take on or those who you wish to collaborate with?
BB: I always try to follow my instinct. I try to focus on the things that catch my attention and add my personal touch!
AM: These past few months in quarantine as we do our part to lower the curve forCOVID-19, how have you been passing your time and how have you been connecting with your fans?
BB: I’ve been training to take part in a triathlon in Spring! and I've been working on new music with my team. We’ve been extremely productive these last months!
AM: With many of us hearing about vaccines, are you beginning to make plans or think of in-person events that you would like to do?
BB: I just hope that everything will get back to normal as soon as possible. When things get better, I’ll be ready to party!
AM: What have you learned about yourself this year as we have all had time for self-reflection?
BB: I reflected on the importance of understanding the value of what we have and helping out people who love us. And the importance of running. It helps a lot!
AM: We hear that you’re dropping a new album at the beginning of the year. Can you tell us about it and what we can expect to hear?
BB: We’re actually working with singles in harmony with the digital stores. I’m thinking about an album but we’re still making some adjustments.
AM: When you’re not creating music, we know that you have an interest in triathlons. What is it about this sport that draws you to it?
BB: It’s a really complete sport. It helps you improve your physical condition in an unbelievable way.
AM: As we approach 2021, what are you looking forward to as we head into the new year?
BB: I’d rather not make any predictions, too much responsibility!
AM: What do you want your legacy to be when people think about the impact that you have had in music
BB: I’d love to bring a smile to the face of everyone who ever listens to my music. I wanna convey my passion for house music and make a humble contribution to the keeping that culture alive. May it live for-ever!
PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS
Athleisure Mag's virtual cover shoot was shot by Co-Founder + Celebrity Photographer Paul Farkas. Throughout this shoot, Paul used an iPhone XS, iPad Air 2, Face-time and Clos.
IG @PVFarkas
Read the Dec Issue #60 of Athleisure Mag and see By Instinct with Benny Benassi in mag.
ATHLEISURE MAG | DEC ISSUE #60
In this month’s issue as we ring in the New Year with DJ/Producer, Benny Benassi. Our virtual cover shoot took us to Italy as we talked about Benny’s career in music, the process of creating music and collaborating and more. This month, we took a moment with TNT’s Claws Niecy Nash in between completing shooting for the final season of this series. We talk about the holiday season, how she is staying connected with her family and upcoming projects. You can also hear our conversation later this season on our podcast show, Bungalow SK. We’ve always been a fan of Jen Widerstrom’s from her days in NBC’s American Gladiators as well as NBC’s Biggest Loser as well as her approach to working with her clients. We took some time to catch up with her to find out about her latest project, a challenge running from Jan 5th – March 5th with Transformation Protein. We also find out more about what she is working on and how she has maintained her positivity during these times. You can hear the full interview on our podcast show, #TRIBEGOALS later this season. We catch up with Chef Brandon Collins, the North American Mustard Sommelier of Maille to find out about the historic roots of the brand, how it’s made and how it can be used beyond being a condiment. You can also hear our conversation in full this season on our podcast show, Athleisure Kitchen. We’re always up for taking some time with ourselves with a glass of wine. We took some time to talk with Joey Wölffer who continues the legacy of running and maintaining creative inspiration to make such wines as Summer in a Bottle and more at Wölffer Estate Vineyard. While we’re enjoying the holiday season and looking forward to the beginning of the new year, we talk about how we can get on the best financial path with Grant Sabatier.
This month, EDM DJ duo, NERVO shares 9 songs that we should listen to in this month’s 9PLAYLIST. BRAVO’s Top Chef Season 14 winner, Chef, Restaurateur + TV Personality, Brooke Williamson shares her favorites and why in our 9LIST STORI3S. One of our favorite features that appear in our Dec as well as our Jan issues is known as NEW YEAR, N3W YOU: THE GOOD, THE ADD and THE BUZZ where our celebs share their thoughts on this year and what’s coming up for next year (we do have spots for the Jan issue). This month, we talk with Celebrity Makeup Artist, Author and Founder of Jones Road Beauty – Bobbi Brown, International Racing Drive and winner of the 2020 ELMS, 2020 WEC and 2020 Le Mans 24 Hour Winner – Phil Hanson and Celebrity Fitness Trainer, Entrepreneur, TV Personality and Author – Jen Widerstrom.
Our monthly feature, The Art of the Snack focuses on Alfie’s Bar + Kitchen. This month’s Athleisure List comes from Winona’s in Brooklyn and CITYROW. This month’s BING3WATCH looks at one of our favorites, HBO’s LOVECRAFT COUNTRY. As always, we have a number of our roundups that include our favorites in an array of categories that are timely to the season.
Read the Dec Issue #60 of Athleisure Mag.
