Lucas Benjamin (NL)

Lucas’ first encounters with music started at an early age. As the son of a DJ and musician he was automatically nourished with a broad selection of sounds. Although his true passion for music evolved when he started b-boying (breakdancing) at the age of twelve. Unifying his mind, body and soul with tribal drumbreaks, powerful horn sections and soulful vocals made him experience the true essence of jazz, soul and funk. Besides being a dancer he also had a great interest in music and its history. And so he spent hours and hours in recordstores, educating himself by analysing numerous lp’s and cd’s. He didn’t buy them yet though, he only studied, since the little money he had went to travelling expenses: he tried to attend every dance battle there was in The Netherlands. This dedication eventually led to victories on the dance-floor which gave him some more financial possibilities. And so he could finally start his vinyl collection. Lucas debuted using the moniker 'DJ Lu-Chi'sz' and started to pursue miraculous melodies and challenging rhythms. He did this together with his friend Joey Lewing also known as 'DJ Nobunaga'. As the DJ team ‘Bomb-Collectors’ their common goal was to discover hidden gems and play something out of the ordinary. Due to their unique sounds their reputation soon disseminated globally. And as part of the success of their b-boy crew Extraordinary Gentlemen (EXG) they soon got the chance to travel worldwide both as dancers and as DJ’s. This continued for a couple of years until there was a breaking point on the 24th of April 2011. On a b-boy battle in Bordeaux Lucas made an unfortunate fall and dislocated his elbow. The accident resulted in a six-month recovery in which he couldn’t dance at all. In the following hurtful period Lucas found his comfort in music and got deeper into it than ever. During this time his perspective changed and this made him decide to stop competing in dance battles. He now fully focused on DJ-ing. As an act of gratitude towards the first generation who were teaching him when he was a kid he started teaching dance classes and workshops. Making it full circle and help to keep the culture alive for generations to follow. In 2011 Lucas started an online mixtape-series called 'Music is what Feelings sound like', where he played all kinds of songs that he had stories and experiences with. He aimed to touch people in a different way than he could do when he would play somewhere. He wanted to help people grow emotionally and spiritually which made him receive many stories of people who were touched by his mixtapes. For the ones that became curious: they are still online. Besides dance events Lucas started playing at various parties, festivals and theatre shows. Which made him travel to places like Hawaï, Sydney, Sao Paulo, New York, Berlin and London. In 2014 he lived in Japan for 3 months to discover the musical scene and culture of Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe. After this inspirational journey he decided it was time to change his DJ name from 'Lu-Chi'sz' to his real name 'Lucas Benjamin'. In 2014 he was asked by the renowned Wicked Jazz Sounds-movement in Amsterdam to join them. You can frequently see/hear him play at their weekly club-night at the Sugarfactory in Amsterdam or on Red Light Radio. Also, in 2015 he became a curator for 22tracks.com where he fills up the 'Originals' playlist and in 2016 also the 'Funk/Jazz' playlist. In 2016 he started the MORE BOUNCE - Collective together with L33, Rob Manga and Dean High. Their music is based in Funk, and focusses on the thriving Modern/Future Funk scene in combination with 70's/80's Boogie-Funk. Through the years he gained a lot of knowledge and experience. Not only about music but also how to connect with the audience and how to take them on an uplifting journey.