Benwal

Under the name Benwal, Gijs van Ringen has been building a career from Groningen within the Dutch electronic scene. Active under this alias since 2022, the DJ and producer shapes a sound at the intersection of hard trance, hard house, rave and house, with a strong 1990s imprint: euphoric pads, bold build-ups, taut rhythms and a sense of movement designed for both clubs and festival formats. After a set at Pleinvrees Festival in Groningen in 2022, Benwal was invited to play Eurosonic Noorderslag in early 2023 and subsequently completed a string of dates in varied contexts. His releases as Benwal include the singles “Just Go” and “Aydee” (2023), the latter released on Berlin’s Speedmaster Records, followed by “Rush (I Don’t Wanna Wait)” in 2024 on Club Heart Broken. In 2024 Benwal also appeared on several Dutch bills, including A State of Trance, Dauwpop, Zomerparkfeest, Lowlands and Into the Woods during ADE. His evolution is grounded in a DJ practice nourished by rave culture, long sets and studio work carried out notably with Jonathan Kruizenga.