Perses, also known as Benjamin McGillivary, is a heavy hitting bass music producer based in Los Angeles. Under his old alias, Crystalize, he saw support from legendary artists like Tiesto, Bro Safari, and RL Grime. Perses is a genre-bending project, that looks to bring together both the heavy and melodic sides of Bass Music to represent his namesake Perses the Greek Titan God of Destruction and Peace.
When asked about the reason behind choosing Perses, Benjamin says
“ The reason I went with Perses is that it has the heavy and pretty sides are already mapped out for me. I liked Perses because I could take the anger and dark feelings and emotions that I was feeling from losing Crystalize and use them for the Destruction side of the project (heavier side), and then let those feelings go and be freed from them with the Peace side of the project (prettier side). ”
Perses recently released his latest original track “ Aevum ” , released via Recall Records. Listen to this banger while you read the interview ahead.
With just 4 tracks now, PERSES is the new hype in the whole bass music scene. What do you feel about it?
“ That’s a very big statement, thank you so much! I’m very happy with how the new project is going and all the support I’ve been getting. I have been hiding out and keeping my head down and on the main goal. Keeping in my own lane and making the music I like! ”
All the releases till now have some really awesome artwork, how important do you feel it is package music visually?
“ In today’s music scene, it’s extremely important to have a visually appealing brand as well. Unfortunately, music isn’t always the most important thing in today’s music scene as it was before. It’s sad but I have some plans to try to bring my vision of the music scene back to the music.
Shout out to the extremely talented two guys who have designed artwork for Perses. The amazing Austin Soloman who has also designed for Joyryde, NGHTMRE, and Habstrakt! He designed the art for the first four tracks, You can find his brands here: Deltvmedia and RuthlessYouth.
The very talented Nick Butenhoff designed the art behind my first original (Aevum) and is the in house designer for Recall Records. You can find his brand here: CHØKE Designs. ”
With a whole new sound and delivery, the releases under Perses seem to touch newer aspects of bass music. What are future your plans with performances?
“ I have been honing my sound a lot more and really focusing on growing and learning as an artist as much as I can to create different music and separate myself from the rest of the music scene. I have a full performance I’m working on for the debut of the project. The debut of Perses will be special, perfect time and perfect place. This project is very special to me and signifies a lot, so the first performance must be special. ”
Having a huge experience with your previous project (Crystalize), was it easier to work with a completely brand new project?
“ Having experience with my old project Crystalize has definitely helped with the transition to Perses. It has taught what to do and what to focus on. With Perses, it’s all about the music and creating a different experience for the listener and the fans while focusing on writing music that I want to write.
But, there’s always going to be hardships along the way of any project. Starting a new project is very difficult to build momentum from scratch. It’s pretty discouraging at times. ”
Leaving such a long project like Crystalize would have been a very difficult choice for you, what were the thoughts running in your mind while thinking of this decision?
“ Honestly, it was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make. The Crystalize socials we’re hacked and with so much negativity resulting from that, I started to lose the inspiration I once felt and started becoming very exhausted. I could have continued trying to rebuild the brand, and start new socials or I could have started brand new with a completely new project and a fresh start!
On one hand, although my Crystalize project was tainted, it had a special part of my heart and was my baby. I had Crystalize for 7+ years, a huge portion of my life was dedicated to growing Crystalize. On the other hand, a completely fresh start and new direction sounded super appealing. There is not as much stress with a new project to continue at a certain level or a certain style of music! I could do what I wanted and that’s what sounded the best. Redefine me as a musician! ”
What would be your suggestions to the producers who haven’t launched yet, or are very new to it?
“ I would tell them this: Relax. Nothing happens in a day. Everything takes time. Be patient. Be hard working. Work on your craft. Get your brand right. Be a good and genuine person and surround yourself with good people. But most importantly, have fun and do what you want to do. Don’t ever lose sight of that or do music for anyone else. It’ll save you a lot of heartache and headache in the long run! ”
I’m so happy that Perses has been so well received! I owe it all to the people around me, my fans, and the artists I believe in, on top of, my team over at Impakt Entertainment, Ben Fauser, Alfredo Martinez, and Mitchell Brohannes. But most importantly, I want to thank my backbone, my girlfriend Mely Hernandez. Without her and the inspiration she gives me, nothing would ever be possible and no music would be made!
I want to take a quick second to shout out some artists who I think are killing it right now: Stuftkrust, Vertekz, Ghosts Are Real, Cherney, Finderz Keeperz, Jaron, Lucchii, Shockface, Coffin, Fransis Derelle, Atarii, Deadlyft, Nazaar, MSFT, Jaysyx, Herbalistek, and Neon Feather.
Also, Thank You Bass Stud for your interest in the new project! All the support makes me motivated to continue this wild journey and really keep being weird with my music! Much love and respect!