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Most people hear about Syracuse University through their college admissions counselors, alumni or even brochures in the mail. But Ben Fritz’s introduction to SU was a little different. He heard about the university through Drew Taggart, one of the members of the Electronic Dance Music group The Chainsmokers.

When Fritz first met The Chainsmokers in 2016 at Ultra Music Festival in Miami he wasn’t just there to enjoy the yearly EDM festival, he was there to network. And it paid off.

Fritz has been DJing since he was 11 years old and took the Ultra Stage in 2017 at the age of 15, making him the youngest performer to ever take the stage at Ultra, Fritz said. The previous record was held by Martin Garix, who performed at Ultra in 2014 at age 17.

But he’s not just a DJ. Fritz is currently a freshman at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications in the Bandier Program.

In their conversation in 2016, Fritz asked Taggart about his education and how it led to his success with The Chainsmokers. Taggart expressed his positive experience at the Bandier Program.

“It’s such a good program because it teaches you how to read a contract, you know what’s actually going on in the business, you’re not missing those small details that can really screw you over,” Fritz said. “I’m so happy that he taught me about that because I don’t think I’d be here if he didn’t tell me.”

Fritz goes by the DJ name BenSpence, a combination of his first name Benjamin and his middle name Spencer. He describes his music as a mix between electric house, deep house and bass house music. He added that it’s not quite dubstep, but has a faster pace.

Ben Fritz, otherwise known as the DJ BenSpence, has performed at the Ultra Music Festival for three years. Courtesy of Ben Fritz

Fritz was introduced to EDM by his dad, who would listen to trance music, a sector of EDM, when he worked out.

Fritz added he was fascinated by the EDM music, as it was different from anything he’d ever heard before.

“I was just like what the f*ck is this because I was just listening to what, Camp Rock?” he said.

A turning point in his fascination with EDM music happened when he was 11 years old. Avicii, the world-famous Swedish DJ who started releasing music when he was 16, was performing in Baltimore, not too far from Fritz’s home in Rockville, Maryland.

He and his dad sent an email to Avicii describing Fritz’s love for EDM and his struggles with being taken seriously as a very young DJ. Avicii wrote back telling them to go to his show in Baltimore so that they could discuss his music career. The two began a mentorship that carried on until Avicii’s death in 2018.

“He’s the one that kind of told me if you want to do something, go for it, you’re not going to be happy if you go get some random job that you need for bread,” Fritz said. “That hit hard.”

In 2017, Fritz got his opportunity to perform at Ultra from Ray Steinman, the production director, and one of the executive producers at Ultra Music Festivals. Steinman and Fritz had a mutual family friend and Steinman had been providing Fritz and his dad with tickets to the festival for two years before BenSpence’s first performance.

Steinman said that he was surprised that Fritz stuck with his love for EDM, as kids often change their music taste as they grow up. Steinman added he’s not a big fan of EDM but when Fritz asked if he could get a slot at the music festival, Steinman agreed to pass his new mix onto the programming directors to see if he could get a slot.

There are certain stages that are reserved for new talent, Steinman said, and when Fritz submitted a sample mix to the heads of programming he impressed them enough for them to give him a shot.

“A lot of people try to get on any stage, do anything and perform whatever they can at festivals all around the world, so to get any kind of slot is great,” Steinman said. “So his music cut the mustard.”

In addition to his first performance at Ultra in 2017, Fritz performed at the festival in 2018 and 2019. He was supposed to perform again in 2020, but couldn’t because of the coronavirus pandemic.

He said that when performing he gets “jittery” until the first song begins and everyone starts getting into the music. He likes to interact with the crowd more than the average DJ, for example, by instructing them to create a mosh pit.

“I’ve been on both sides,” he said. “I’ve been in the audience and I’ve also been the DJ, so I’m trying to give that experience that I want to get.”

Although Fritz said the lack of live shows is “killing the industry,” it is also providing up and coming artists like himself to put their work out to a wider audience using the internet and streaming services.

On Aug. 27, Fritz released a new song, titled “Unstable,” about what it was like to be in quarantine during the pandemic. He wanted to demonstrate the awkwardness of adjusting back into society as COVID-19 regulations are progressively lifted.

“I didn’t feel like I was back in control,” Fritz said.

Fritz has performed at many different venues besides Ultra. One of which is Soundcheck, a club in Washington, D.C., that is completely soundproof, he said. Soundcheck is also where he met Zack Martino, a DJ and producer from New York City who has around 703,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. Fritz opened for Martino at Soundcheck in the summer of 2019.

Martino said he often gives Fritz advice on his new music. Martino added that Fritz is a very humble person, despite all that he has accomplished.

“The sounds he’s using are very different from what a lot of other artists are doing,” Martino said. “And over time I think once it catches other people’s attention it’s going to make him really stand out.”

Fritz hopes to build the BenSpence brand up during his time at SU and eventually create a record label with other artists, he said.

While at SU, Fritz said he wants to perform at Juice Jam or Mayfest, or even perform virtually given the current situation with the coronavirus.

“I’m hoping to just share the vibe with everyone,” he said. “Especially here because everything’s not so great right now so I’m just trying to lighten the mood, give the people something to do even if it’s just joining in virtually or whatever.”

Published on September 2, 2020 at 10:29 pm

Contact Sydney: sabergan@syr.edu