"The feeling we bring over live is something special. You have to see it - you can't download it."

About a week before their first-ever concert in Sofia, Bulgaria, scheduled for October 30, 2008 at the Universiada Hall, Juno Reactor's mastermind Ben Watkins revealed what to expect from the show in support of the London-based electronic project's current album, "Gods & Monsters"...

Vassil Varbanov: Hello Ben! How are you?

Ben Watkins: I'm good, thanks!

V. V.: Where are you at the moment?

B. W.: I'm in Brighton, England.

Atanas Ruskov: By the seaside, heh?

B. W.: He-he... You know, you sound like you could be English.

A. R.: Could be, but unfortunately I'm not.

V. V.: What are you up to now?

B. W.: Waking up. I've been in the studio until 3 o'clock in the morning and had to get up really early as well...

A. R.: Are you one of those people that get grumpy when they get up early in the morning?

B. W.: It depends. I need coffee.

V. V.: Tell us something more about the latest Juno Reactor album, "Gods & Monsters".

B. W.: It's like a different type of journey to all the other albums. It's more tempered... I've got more songs to it... I've got this singer called Ghetto Priest that I stole from a band called Asian Dub Foundation...

A. R.: We love them! We brought them over in Bulgaria a few times.

B. W.: Next time you should keep them!

A. R.: Ha-ha, you don't want them back? Or just Ghetto Priest?

B. W.: Ghetto Priest is not with them anymore. You can keep the rest.

V. V.: We can see that you have Dr. Das playing on the album.

B. W.: Yeah, he's a great bass player. And he left ADF as well! All the good people left!

V. V.: What should we expect from the upcoming Juno Reactor performance in Sofia, Bulgaria on October 30, 2008?

B. W.: The whole live magical experience. We've got 3D, plus ten musicians on stage from all corners of the earth - Japan, Africa, America, the UK... It's a completely new experience.

A. R.: Ben, what have you been listening to lately?

B. W.: A lot of dub-step.

A. R.: How do you see yourself in the future in terms of releasing stuff - do you wanna do it on your own or via labels?

B. W.: I still like labels. Labels do a lot of black work for you. I think we should sign to Universal... The band is such a great live band now and that's an important part of our music - to play it live. The value of the recorded work is less, but it actually tells the story of the band, so if I could I would get signed to Universal worldwide. We can tour all over the world without any problems, so I don't need a label for tour support and stuff... Well, it's a big problem actually, ha-ha - not only financially, but also because getting the Africans into any country is incredibly hard. It's a logistical nightmare! What makes it all worth it is when we're on stage - there's not a band at the moment that is as different. And the feeling we bring over live is something special. You have to see it - you can't download it.

V. V.: We know that Dr. Das and this guitarist Steve Stevens have played on "Gods & Monsters". On the other hand, we know that you can play all instruments on earth...

B. W.: Ha-ha-ha, do I?

V. V.: So what's the truth with this latest Juno Reactor album?

B. W.: I think I'm good at composing. When I'm ready I love working with great musicians... like Mike Garson. I think possibly the very first gig I ever went to Mike Garson was playing piano for David Bowie. I found him on MySpace, as I needed a great piano player, so I sent him an e-mail and he agreed.

V. V.: Something like two weeks after your gig here we're gonna have the Stereo MCs in Sofia. Do you know them?

B. W.: No. They're from Bristol, huh?

A. R.: No, they're from Nottingham and live in Brixton now. By the way, shall this be your first time in Bulgaria?

B. W.: Yes.

A. R.: So what have you heard about this country?

B. W.: Mainly the Bulgarian choirs. I love them.

V. V.: You've scored music for movies like "The Matrix", "Mortal Combat" and many more. Is there any new film you'd like to write the music to?

B. W.: I would have loved to work on "The Orphanage". I loved the director, Juan Antonio Bayona. Also... I loved "Hellboy", he-he... Pretty much every film I see I could have done a better job, ha-ha!

V. V.: Are you interested in soccer?

B. W.: Sometimes. I don't support one team - I just like the good stories that are a bit of unusual within football.

Copyright: Tangra Mega Rock