Born in London and raised on punk rock and hip-hop with some rave, techno, trance sounds, Ben was initially the drummer in a punk band, but he quit due to tendonitis. He started DJing in 1996 at the age of 17. After briefly spinning hip-hop, he got into drum'n'bass with ragga and jump-up styles. He DJed at bars, parties, and small venues, and lost interest after realizing he sounded like all other DJs in the area. Ben initially declined to go to college