Before the algorithms, before the streaming numbers, before every producer had a laptop and a dream — there was a kid in Reggio Emilia pressing his body against the speakers, letting the bass move through him like a second heartbeat. That kid became Benny Benassi.
More than two decades after Satisfaction rewired what dance music could sound like, he’s back with Feel The Bass, a full-length album on Ultra Records that reads less like a meticulously planned concept and more like a collection of records made for the love of the dancefloor. The Italian icon talks about the physical language of sound, what makes a record truly recognizable, and why, after all this time, the dancefloor is still where everything begins and ends.
You’ve been in the game for over two decades now. Take us back to the very beginning, what first pulled you toward electronic music, and was there a moment where you thought about doing it professionally?
As a kid, I was lucky enough to grow up in Reggio Emilia, which was full of clubs back then. It was normal for us to go to the disco, especially on Sunday afternoons at first. I became obsessed watching the DJ work. We eventually became friends, and he’d let me listen through his old Sennheiser headphones to hear what was happening while he mixed. That was my first real contact with DJing. We’re talking ’84–’85, the era of Italo disco and the first electronic bands like Depeche Mode. That’s when I fell in love with this world.
Growing up in Italy, how much did your local scene shape your sound early on? Was there a particular club, city or community that felt like home base when you were finding your feet?
The Italian scene heavily influenced my sound. Reggio Emilia and Northern Italy were packed with clubs, such as Marabù, with an incredible energy. It was that environment that allowed me to take my first steps and shape my musical identity.
Your album Feel The Bass drops May 1st via Ultra Records. What was the seed of the whole project? Was there a track, a conversation or a feeling that made you realize it was time for a full album?
The spark for the project came from a specific feeling: the feeling of the bass. When I was a kid standing in front of the speakers at the club, feeling the air displacement from the woofers… it was physical. I went to the disco specifically for that. When the idea for Feel The Bass came up in the studio with my team, the spark ignited immediately. Everything was born from there.
The tracklist reads like a real journey: progressive, funky, ballroom, deep house. Was that range intentional from the start, or did the album find its own shape as you were making it?
The album took shape along the way. I received so many demos, especially from young artists I really respect. I listened to everything and chose what truly moved me and what I would actually play in my sets. My sets are always very varied: I go from funky vibes to electro and deeper moments. I never prepare my sets in a rigid way. I build them based on the dancefloor, on the feeling. The album was born the same way, between received tracks and ideas developed day by day in the studio with my team.
You collaborated with ARTBAT, Felix Da Housecat, Fideles, Glowal. Why did you choose these particular artists? And how do you approach a collaboration to make sure it genuinely sounds like both artists and not just a feature?
The collaborations happened very naturally, always starting from the music. With ARTBAT, for example, they were the ones who reached out to work on Love Is Gonna Save Us, a track I’m very attached to. A real collaboration grew from there. It was similar with Fideles and Glowal: they sent me interesting ideas, which we then developed together in the studio. There wasn’t a specific strategy, just a clear goal: make music that works and gets people dancing in the clubs.
“Feel The Bass” is described as the mission statement of the album. What does that title mean to you personally: is it a philosophy, a feeling, a challenge to the listener?
Feel The Bass is the heart of the album. For me, it’s a physical sensation even before it’s a musical one: the way the bass feels and moves through you. In the studio, whenever I can, I crank up the volume and use speakers with powerful bass to catch every detail. It’s not just listening; it’s actually feeling the music.
When you’re deep in an album cycle versus deep in a touring cycle, are you a different person? How do you manage the mental shift between those two modes? Do you have a preference – studio vs being on tour, or does one feed the other?
For me, studio and touring are part of the same flow. On tour, I gather so many ideas: I take notes on everything, text my team, and take cues from what works on the dancefloor. At the same time, in studio I receive many demos that I sometimes test out directly in my sets. I don’t believe in locking yourself in the studio just to make an album. For me, an album is a journey that happens over time, when you feel you actually have something to say.
Your huge track “Satisfaction” didn’t just become a hit, it became a blueprint that producers are still referencing today. When you were making it, did it feel different from anything you’d done before, or did the scale of what it would become only reveal itself later? And two decades on, what’s your relationship with that track now, is it something you still feel connected to?
At that time, I was working with my cousin, Alle Benassi. When we were in the studio making Satisfaction, we had no idea what it would become. It was definitely something different, very direct, very stripped-back. But I only realized later that it would become a global benchmark. Today, it’s a track I’m still very close to. It’s part of my history, and every time I play it, something special still happens.
AI is reshaping music production at a pace that’s making a lot of producers nervous. As someone who has watched the tools of this industry evolve dramatically over two decades, how are you thinking about what AI means for electronic music specifically?
AI is a tool. Technology has always evolved quickly: from samplers to software, every time someone would say, “this isn’t music anymore.” But it’s always been that way. Today, with AI, you can generate many more ideas in less time. But the difference is always in the choice: what you keep, what actually works. Sensitivity is what counts. AI helps, but you still have to put something of yourself into it.
If a young producer came to you today, someone with genuine talent but trying to figure out how to build something lasting in this industry, what’s the one piece of advice you’d give them that you wish someone had told you earlier?
There are so many talented producers today. In the beginning, it’s important to have references, even a label to look up to, to understand which direction to take and where to send your music. But that’s just the starting point. Then, you have to find your own thing. Your record needs to be recognizable. It needs a detail, a groove, a sound that makes it unique. Something that, when you hear it, you say: “That’s it.” If it’s not recognizable, it’s unlikely to stick around.