Donny Benét: The Man, the Myth, the Character
A decade and a half of delighting audiences, six studio albums and countless tours across the globe; Donny Benét is Australia’s favourite 80s-Italo-synth-pop-funk-disco-dance character. Benét’s Live 25 tour across Europe, the UK and Australia marks his highly anticipated return to Adelaide, gifting local audiences the dance party of the century.
Interview Millah Hansberry // Photo supplied
No stranger to the stage is Australian synth pop prince Donny Benét. Since the 2010s, he’s been dazzling audiences with his sexed-up party tracks and retro flair, bringing laughter and genuinely earnest ‘80s inspired synth pop to modern ears. Ask global star The Weeknd, who cites Benét’s 2018 track ‘Konichiwa’ as an influence on his album After Hours – Donny is a master. Born from Ben Waples’ happy accident, Donny is now a global joy-spreader, making disco hot again. Off the back of his 2024 LP Infinite Desires and Live 25 tour across the globe, Benét hopped on a Zoom call with The Note to offer some insights on the wild journey and his upcoming Adelaide show.
Before Donny Benét came to life, you were already an accomplished and well-studied musician. What was your path in music leading up to the character, and what inspired you to create him?
Before Donny, I was a classical jazz double bassist. I’ve got a masters in jazz double bass. In my 20s, I started getting into composing and recording weird electric bass glitch electronica stuff at home. I bought a drum machine on a tour in Japan and I was really getting into Prince; kind of escaping from being a jazz musician.
This was the MySpace era; the internet utopia. People hanging out, putting up weird musical projects, having weird aliases. Putting up a backstory behind Donny Benét was part of that. Once I released this new music, a friend of mine set me up with Rice is Nice who put the music out into the world. A lot of music press at the time took it seriously and got really pissed when they found that it wasn’t. I’ve always termed Donny as a ‘beautiful accident’.
How do you tend to balance the tongue-in-cheek persona of Donny with the sincerity of the music that you create?
It’s evolved over the years. My first record Don’t Hold Back was like a jazz record. I recorded each song in a day. Musically at the beginning, it was very lo-fi and kind of frenetic. Now it’s a bit more polished as my tastes have gotten better. I tried to be smart now in putting multiple meanings in songs, because at the beginning, it was viewed as an ‘80s slapstick thing.
What pulled you towards the ‘80s funk disco synth-pop sound?
It’s the music that features the bass. Funk is very rhythmic and melodic, so that era of music has the bass as the predominant instrument. Playing music like jazz or classical requires a lot of studying and analysis, and it kind of sucked all the fun out of doing it. Coming from that jazz freelance background, the last thing I wanted to do when I came home was to make more highbrow music. So I went back to a happy place, which was funk.
READ MORE: Touch Sensitive: Taking You To Paradise
Your latest album Infinite Desires was packed with emotional and introspective tracks, which left a lot of the Donny bravado at the door. What made you decide to create this album?
It was written during COVID. The prior record, Mr. Experience, was ready to go when COVID hit. That was the classic Donny – that bravado, party persona. With Infinite Desires, it was hard to avoid personal growth. The tricky thing with COVID was there was nothing to say, but I was pretty stoked how it came out. It was my first one releasing on my own label, which was so cool.
You’ve been touring through Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand and the US. How have you been finding international audiences compare to Aussie audiences back at home?
Great, and kind of similar. I’m very fortunate that I’ve got a great audience around the world. Every time I play somewhere new, the venue managers will email saying “it was such fun, he has the nicest audience”. They’re just sweethearts. I think people that are coming to the shows are just looking to have a good time and feel good about themselves. I’m definitely not an oil painting, but I’m confident and happy in my being. And I think that that is reflected in the music.
You’re coming to Adelaide in September for a solo set. What should audiences expect from this type of Donny Benét show?
I’m playing solo, which is a slightly different show. The music is that ‘80s disco sound to a backing tack and it’s a flamboyant costume and a performance. When I’m playing with the band, it’s less of a performance. I love doing both of them. It’ll just be a good, fun night. Everyone will feel good. I always think of music and the arts as a form of escapism. Like watching a film. I got a lot of shit when I started Donny’s character, and I’m like, ‘well you do realise that Sean Connery’s not a secret agent? He’s playing a role in a film.’ If you can get people to come to a show and leave all their trouble behind for the week, that’s a successful occasion.
What’s next for Donny Benét? Are there any surprises in the works?
There’ll be some new music coming soon. I’ll keep on touring and writing music until people don’t want it anymore or until I stop enjoying it!
Catch Donny Benét at Lion Arts Factory on Friday 26 September. Tickets on sale now via moshtix.com.au.
