Hi Ben. It has been over a year since we last spoke to you and in that time we see your gigs have taken you around the world from Canada to Australia. How has it all been going?

Hi mate, good to speak to you again & looking forward to coming back down to Insekt! It’s been a fantastic year for me gig wise & as you say I’ve been lucky enough to play overseas a few times. My favourite of the overseas gigs would have to be over in Canada, I played in Calgary & then up in Edmonton. The gig in Calgary was organized by a lad called Ben (Rodi Style) & he is one of the best up & coming talents I have seen in a long time. His djing is perfect & his productions are awesome too! The gig in Edmonton was a blast too, it was for the guys at Y Afterhours (an afterhours club if you didn’t guess!) & they really looked after me. I was only in Edmonton for about 24hrs & had to get straight on the plane home from the afterparty. It wasn’t the best flight I’ve ever had! I’m back over there again in May so really looking forward to it!

I was also lucky enough to play at Creamfields & the Love Leeds festival both of which were fantastic. It’s a real honour to play at major festivals such as these.

As far as this year goes, I’m looking forward to going back over to Ibiza in the last week of June & then the plethora of Vicious Circle Events that we have got coming up!

Your productions have also gone from strength to strength with 5 of your tracks being signed to Vicious Circle, which must be great?

I have been in the very lucky position of working with Paul Maddox on most of the tracks I’ve done for VC. He is an absolute wizard in the studio & without him I would be nothing! It was always an ambition of mine to have some tracks on Vicious Circle so when Glaz started taking them I was a happy Ben! I’ve recently had my cellar converted into a studio & now have a new pc so will be spending much more time on my own cracking on with Cubase! I’ve also had a little go at some dirty house stuff after spending all of the summer last year listening to it at DC10, but it’s really just for my own amusement.

Your Hit The Beat remix, as featured on the I Love VC CD, has been causing a bit of a stir around the clubs. Will this be seeing a release?

The original of Hit The Beat is one of my favourite VC tracks so I jumped at the chance to have a go at remixing it. Originally it was just going to be featured on the I Love VC cd & not see a release, but it may now see the light of day as an exclusive download from VC’s new download site http://www.vcmp3.com

I have really enjoyed getting my teeth stuck into a few remixes this year & have been especially happy with Mad Dogs & my forthcoming mix of F1 – Alright on toolbox.

We hear there is an interesting new mix CD due out from yourself, can you tell us more about that?

I’ve been putting together a mix of my favourite VC Classics, it’s been a real pleasure mixing the old tracks that I had forgotten about! It is going to be called ‘A Retrospective Of Vicious Circle’ & will be available in the shops on 24th April. Another little twist in the tale of this cd is that it is now going to be mixed by myself & Glaz back to back!

And also a special launch party due for this I presume?

Haha of course! We are having a party to celebrate on Saturday 22nd April at the Fridge in London. We have been working on the lineup for a very long time & for me it’s got all my favourite dj’s playing. All the info is available on http://www.ilovevc.com There will also be club tour later on in the year.

What new tracks do you have in the pipeline to showcase at this?

You’ll all just have to wait & see I’m afraid! There will be plenty of new material in there but also a smattering of classics as always!

Which other producers are doing it for you at the moment?

Marc, Glaz & Justin always impress me with their tracks & also Frank Farrell, Dave Owens. Riggsy, James Searles. The new groovy hard house that Maddox has been doing has been quality too. He played an awesome set at the Tidy Weekender last weekend, pure class!

What can we find Ben Stevens doing outside the studio and your gigs? We hear sleeping is one of your favourite pass times.

Haha I love a good shnooze yeah! My main pastimes recently have been getting on with the studio at home & finishing off decorating my house. Its almost all done now, just the kitchen to finish. It will be a massive relief when it’s all done! I spend a lot of my free time over in Manchester with my girlfriend & my mates & also up in Leeds with some good friends. I have also been working on a new website which will be launched in a few weeks!

Probably my biggest pastime has to be looking forward to going to Parlez Vous in Bradford each month. It’s my residency & all of my best mates go each month. It’s a quality party & will never get tired of going there. They have just added a third room to the venue & have some fantastic guests lined up to play!

Your upcoming Insekt gig sees you playing alongside arguably one of the scenes greatest producers, Dom Sweeten. Are you a fan and are you looking forward to it?

I’ve never seen Dom play so I’m really looking forward to it. Hopefully he will play a load of new tracks that I’ve not heard yet!

See you down the front!