Biography
From humble lo-fi beginnings in the Australian art-pop underground as well as being a long-serving, award winning bassist for The Dreamlanders with Jack Ladder, Benét has amassed a growing cult-like following across the globe with his array of danceable repertoire – made up of lavish ‘80’s synths, driving bass lines and tongue-in-cheek lyrics dealing with love and affection. His songs deal with genuine emotion served on a kitsch platter and delivered by his flamboyant persona.
Residing in Sydney, Australia, Benét burst onto the music scene in 2011 with his breakthrough album “Don’t Hold Back” and several albums later he released his piece de resistance “The Don” in 2018. Constant international touring across 2018/19 saw his audience continue to grow with fan clubs emerging in Slovakia (where he performed to a crowd of 20,000 at the Pohoda Festival), Belgium and The Netherlands. Benét also supported Mac DeMarco on his 2019 US tour, followed by a headline tour earlier this year, selling out shows in Brooklyn, LA, Washington, Seattle, Vancouver and Toronto. In March of this year, one of Donny’s most popular tracks “Konichiwa” was also included on The Weeknd’s “Handpicked Playlist”, which featured 24 songs that inspired the R&B superstar’s latest album “After Hours”.
Benét’s most recent album “Mr Experience” saw Donny make his ARIA Top 50 debut, coming in at number 26 on the charts. The global release in May of this year via Dot Dash Recordings/Remote Control Records was inspired by artists such as Bryan Ferry and Peter Gabriel, with Donny envisioning the album as a soundtrack to a dinner party set in the late 1980’s. The single “Second Dinner” had a world premiere on The Afternoon Show with Kevin Cole which was followed by a full live performance on KEXP.
To celebrate this record, Donny will be performing intimate shows in Sydney this October followed by an Australian tour in March 2021. UK and European shows will kick off in May 2021.