Channelling the energy of the most classic of political punk, they bring the fight to the stage with cutting lyrics and a rip-roaring delivery that feels as uncompromising as it is sincere. This is accompanied by a sound rooted in acid house and EDM more broadly, which makes every set feel like an old-school basement rave. The blend of rousing political lyrics and relentless beats is guaranteed to make it impossible for anyone attending to keep still: if you step into a Benefits set, you can expect to be dragged away with the flow, and to be left with something to think about afterwards.
They gave a very good demonstration of exactly that at this year’s Sŵn Festival, where they tackled an early afternoon slot - not the easiest of tasks for any band - and still managed to raise the energy levels of the room before their first song was even over. We caught up with them after their set to discuss politics in music, what punk means in the present day, and where it all started.
Introduce yourselves for your readers in just a few words.
Kingsley: I am Kingsley, and I sing and make loud noises in Benefits.
Robbie: And I am Robbie, and I just make loud noises in Benefits.
You have been described, of course, as a very political outfit. Why is it so important to address politics through music right now?
Because everything is political, especially if it’s something that you care about. Waking up in the morning is political. It’s always shocking when bands don’t come out with a stance or are not vocal about their beliefs. Doing that is a political act in itself. Not having a political stance is a political stance. These are troubling times, and if you have a platform, you have some sort of voice; you should use it, it’s as simple as that. Especially with musicians, you shouldn’t have a boss; if you are in a band, you should be able to say anything. So if musicians aren’t able to say anything, then… It’s just a reflection of who you are. With any band, what they present to the world is a reflection of who they are and what they believe in. So that’s what we are doing. When we go on stage and we talk about Palestine, or we talk about trans rights, or homophobia, or classism, this is stuff we would talk about anywhere. But it gets much more powerful if you do it to the music.
Your music has that kind of classic punk rage, but also has a very EDM sound to it. Do you feel like EDM is the new vessel for the punk spirit?
Yeah, punk spirit is the right way of looking at it. We’ve been described many times as a punk band, which we are totally fine with. Even though punks, classic punks, think we are nothing of the sort because we don’t have spiky hair, and we don’t have guitars, and we don’t say “oi”, right? But for us punk is not a style of music. It’s a belief, it’s an attitude. The Prodigy are punk, Greta Thunberg is punk. Keir Starmer isn’t punk. Nigel Farage isn’t punk. Punk is a mindset, is not a style of music, so, of course, EDM as a punk is natural.
Is this your first time in Cardiff?
With this band, it’s the third time, but we have been here a few times. We have played Clwb Ifor Bach, and we played once at the University with a band called Empire State Bastard. So yeah, we have been to Cardiff several times and we have never seen any of it. Just the castle briefly, and that main street where all the bars are open until late at night, and it’s kind of terrifying but also really joyous at the same time. It’s like an intense 24-hour stag or hen party, it’s beautiful.
Do you have a favourite venue or festival that you have really enjoyed playing?
There was a festival we played in Chiusi in Italy, which was unbelievable. We played on a tiny island in the South of France a couple of years ago. The weather was blistering hot, and it was in a very posh part of the South of France, and we don’t think they appreciated having these scruffy Northern noisy people interrupt their bliss on this idyllic island. It was fantastic.
Any favourite artists that you’re listening to right now?
There are loads, and we are lucky to be friends with a lot of these people as well. Three years ago, when we started, we were more music fans than musicians, really, so when we started, we were always a bit starstruck with every person we met, but now we are lucky enough to be friends with people like Antony Szmierek, or Meryl Streek, from Dublin.
There are all sorts of cool people. Lambrini Girls are really good as well. Anything that’s got a bit of fire to it is something we are attracted to. It doesn’t have to be punk, it doesn’t have to be electronic, it doesn’t have to be guitar or anything. That spark can come from a folk artist as well, Richard Dawson or someone like that. As long as it’s got a spark and an excitement to it, we’re like a moth to that flame. And that music is kind of a resistance in a way.
What would you say is to blame for your music?
Brexit. The initial thing, when we started, we were writing songs purely about Brexit. Not pro Brexit, of course, kind of the opposite. Then that developed into a project that started building up during COVID. So the things that are to blame for this band are Brexit and Covid. And then just getting annoyed by rich, selfish people and not being able to do anything about that. So it’s music instead.
Chiara Strazzulla
Images: Lucy Craig
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