Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Dragon.
Hi Ben, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Looking back, my journey has unfolded in so many unexpected ways.
As a kid, I moved around a lot because my father was in the airline industry, and his work took him to many places. I’m grateful that I was able to travel the world at such a young age, but at the time, it was difficult to start over each time we moved to a new city or country.
When I first moved to London, I was depressed because I had gone from having so many great friendships back home in the US to an international private school where the kids were extremely wealthy and came from all over the world, speaking multiple languages. It was a stark difference and pretty tough making new friends to say the least.
One day, my mom came home with the coolest-looking black electric guitar with a panther face on the front panel. She had found it in a random garage sale and thought I would enjoy it. As fate would have it, the guitar became my first instrument and musical obsession!
From that point, creating music changed my life and became part of my identity. I made new friends and ended up playing in an indie rock band with some kids from school and began writing songs. In addition, I was exposed to a mind-blowing plethora of dance music coming out of the UK that wasn’t being played in America.
When I finally moved back to the States, I landed in LA, where I eventually met one of my mentors and closest friends, Mack McKinney. His dad played bass for Michael Jackson, and he was producing some of the biggest records being played on the radio, which went on to receive Grammy awards.
Over the years, I learned a lot about making timeless records from countless studio sessions working with singers, songwriters, musicians, and other producers. I later began using this knowledge to make dance music. That opened my world of production into a crazy rabbit hole, which led me to start my own record label, “Fire To My Ears,” and gave me the opportunity to play major clubs and festivals around the world.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Growing up as a child of immigrants from the Philippines, my parents were happy that I loved music but would never support me taking it seriously as a career. I wasn’t going to give up on my dreams so easily.
As a result, I ended up going through college at UC Irvine, where I received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering so that I could one day support myself in a traditional (respectable) line of work other than music. I have to admit, this was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever accomplished as my engineering class started with over 300 students and come graduation, there were less than 50. It was intense!
All of this was just so that I could have enough money to be completely independent and be able to do whatever I wanted with or without the blessing of my parents. Fortunately, I was able to make some incredible friendships and connections from school that have been invaluable to this day.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a music producer, DJ, and dancer who fuses a vast array of musical influences both commercial and underground to bring people together.
One of the biggest things that sets me apart is my connection to the music through dance and my life growing up all around the world in music meccas from Chicago, London, and Los Angeles.
My passion for house music really started though when I discovered rave culture. I was attending underground parties and became enamored with the house dance style that originated in New York. I was fortunate to attend the iconic “Focus” nightclub in Orange County during a period of time when all of the best dancers of all styles came all the way from San Francisco to San Diego and beyond every week to battle in dance cyphers that filled up the entire club. The music was always incredible–deep and soulful. The resident DJs, Josh Billings and Nonfiction, were fantastic selectors, and they brought in all of the biggest house legends to play there, from Kaskade, DJ Dan, Mark Farina, Doc Martin, and the list goes on.
I was so obsessed with becoming good at house dancing that I would go to multiple parties every week and listen to the music every waking moment. Eventually, this pushed me to make the music that I loved dancing to and gave me a unique perspective of what it feels like when the music hits you on the dance floor.
Over time, I began releasing some records that became well-known in the underground house scene, and this led me to come full circle and play some of my biggest nights at Focus, where it all started. I’m thankful for those experiences, which also led me to play around the world, including the UK, Berlin, Amsterdam, the Philippines, and all around the US.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
I really value genuine friendships, staying true to your morals, and just being a good human overall. I meet a lot of fake people in the entertainment industry who won’t hesitate to take advantage of others just to get ahead.
I want to look back knowing that I always tried my best to be a positive influence and spread love and kindness as much as possible.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bendragonmusic.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ben.dragon/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/bendragon
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/bendragon
- Other: https://audius.co/bendragon
Image Credits
Jeffrey Rattanong Some Dude Named Devs Mack McKinney
