Review Fix Exclusive: Benedict Sinister Talks ‘Going Away’ And More

Review Fix chats with singer/songwriter Benedict Sinister about his origin in music, goals, signature style and so much more.

Review Fix: How did you get involved in music?

Benedict Sinister: I was looking for a job where I couldsleep in till noon, travel the world, and party every night. But I failed my airline pilot’s exam. 

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Sinister: I collect together music and lyric ideas and then piece them together like a jigsaw puzzle. In other words, for all you undergrads reading this, my praxis is an example of “counter-bricolage” – I repackage content from different cultures to try to make my product seem cool.

Review Fix: What inspires you?

Sinister: Other songs, movies, literature. I am a big believer in the art of appropriation, but also in giving credit. I a quote and name more other artists than any artist in history. My current single “Going Away” references Gainsbourg, Verlaine, Jacques Brel, Paolo Nutini, Jeff Buckley, Paul Simon, Nic Roeg, Leonard Cohen, Jimmy Webb, Lana del Rey, The Velvet Underground, Lorca, and  Hemingway.

Review Fix: What does music mean to you?

Sinister: Music is an art form that allows me to unleash my love of provocation, my absurdist sense of humour, my forbidden desires, my weird obsessions and my guilty confessions – without the risk that anyone of any importance will ever notice.

Review Fix: How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you?

Sinister: Leftfield euro house lounge with an adult alternative edge – think Daft Punk meets Tom Waites. 

Review Fix: How are your live shows different from your studio work?

Sinister: Live, I’ve been known to perform completely naked except for elaborate body paint based on Yayoi Kusama paintings and an ancient penis sheath I retrieved from the highlands of Papua New Guinea. In the studio I accessorise with gloves so I don’t get body paint on the mixing desk.

Review Fix: What inspired your latest single?

Sinister: “Going Away” is a break-up song for the hook-up era. Although the lyrics are very sad, the house lounge tip just keeps rolling along – reflecting the fact that, after so many relationships, these days people simply don’t feel the emotions they used to when they broke up in the past.

Review Fix: What are your goals for 2021? 

Sinister: It’s already been a huge year for me as I scored my first Top Ten hit with “Going Away” on the UK Club charts, which has been a lifelong goal. 

Review Fix: What’s next?

Sinister: I’m confident I’m going to beat Connor McGregor in a VERZUZ face-off on the Sondheim songbook, though I hear he does do a hysterical blue version of “The Ladies Who Lunch.”

Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add? 

Sinister: I’m working on a new reality show combining elements of Love Island with I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, taking buff and bodacious singles to Dallol, an Ethiopian ghost town where the temperature is 38 degrees all year round and the massive salt deposits have killed all the plants. Anyone wanting to be a contestant should hit me up on Insta and @benedictsinister.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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