A Quick Chat With Benjamino

Benjamino returns with Whataboutism, a soul-stirring indie track that wraps around the listener like a warm embrace, out now. A seasoned producer and artist who’s worked behind the scenes for a decade, Benjamino has crafted a signature sound—dreamy, intricate, and deeply personal. Whataboutism pulses with an anxious heartbeat, its heavy bass and rhythmic percussion mimicking the ebb and flow of self-doubt, while ethereal harmonies offer a lifeline back to reality. Written during a period of personal awakening, the song explores the internal critic and the battle to separate fear from truth. With a debut album, Cucino, on the horizon, Benjamino is ready to serve up his most ambitious work yet. We caught up with him to discuss the journey, the process, and what’s next.

Can you tell us what this track means to you and what you want people to take away from it?
To me, Whataboutism reflects on how difficult it can be to accept your true self. I have found it very easy to project my own insecurities onto other people, and often they’re completely unfounded. I’d like people to take away from this song that most of the time our biggest critic is ourselves.

Who are some of your influences, and why?
I have so many! For this song, the big three are:
Lucky Daye – I adore his blend of R&B and indie music.
Emily King – Her lyrics often cut very deep for me; I’d love for my songs to have that effect on someone as well.
Glass Beams – Those with a keen ear can probably hear some Glass Beams-esque guitar lines in the last chorus.

What's the creative process for you, from writing through to recording?
Recently I’ve begun writing lyrics and melody first and then building chords and production etc around that. Creating music in that order allows me to find the message of the song first and then essentially produce the track with a brief in mind. I’m lucky that my day job is as a recording engineer at a bunch of studios in Sydney like Kiln Studios and Offbeat Collective. Most of my recording/producing has been at those two places in the last few months.

What do you think makes a great song?
A great song will create vivid imagery – it builds a place that you can go to in your mind when you listen to that song.

If you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be and why?
Tough question but Victoria Monet would be my pick – she writes such amazing melodies and that often creates really interesting chord progressions. I’m obsessed with that stuff!

When not working on music, what other creative outlet/s do you have?
I like to do exercise, mostly running, swimming and cycling. But I also love watching sport, listening to podcasts and reading. Outside of that, doom scrolling on TikTok takes up the rest of my time.

Who are some local bands we should check out?
Meadowhip – she writes incredible R&B and Soul music in Wollongong. The perfect blend of whimsy and existentialism.
Miramar – Live show and stage presence is second to none, plus they can write a tune! Can’t hype these guys up enough.

Winter or summer and why?
I love pretty sunsets and wearing cool jackets so it has to be winter.

What do you have planned for 2025?
I’m releasing one song at the end of every month until my album comes out at the end of the year. That’s taking up most of my time now, as you could imagine! Hopefully I’ll sneak in a few shows around the country in the second half of the year as well.

Interviewsaustralianmusicscene1 April 2025