Grammy-Nominated Producer Alissia Benveniste Makes Magic, Inside and Outside the Studio

Grammy-Nominated Producer Alissia Benveniste Makes Magic, Inside and Outside the Studio Since graduating a decade ago, bassist Benveniste has been exploring collaborations with legends and forging new creative connections.

By

Maura Johnston

December 16, 2024

Alissia Benveniste BM '14

Alissia Benveniste BM '14 had a lot of buzz surrounding her when she graduated from Berklee. The producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist had already been gathering attention for bringing funk to a new generation while pursuing her bass major. Then, she says, everything snowballed very quickly once she graduated.

She began putting videos on YouTube of her playing bass, and people took notice. Prince called; so did Bootsy Collins. A lot of labels just immediately wanted to sign me. It was very overwhelming, she recalls. But she kept her head about herself and resisted anyone's attempts to place her into a box. I was very grounded, she says. I was always careful to make sure that I stood on my ground and really let them know, No, this is what I do. I love to produce. I love to be in the studio.'

That keen sense of self has helped Benveniste become an in-demand producer and songwriter. The Collins call led to her working with the funk legend on his 2017 album World Wide Funk, and she's since compiled a laundry list of credits as a bassist and a producer, getting in the studio with a slew of top-tier artists like Mark Ronson, Calvin Harris, and Anderson .Paak. In 2017, she opened her studio, the Spaceship, in New York. She's flaunted her ability to simultaneously make beats and shed bass at venues around the globe. And, in 2023, she earned her first Grammy nomination when Mary J. Blige's Good Morning Gorgeous, which features Benveniste's songwriting and production work on the glittery Heart Without the Heartbreak, was a contender for Album of the Year. In November 2024, she was nominated for a Grammy in the Producer of the Year (Non-Classical) category.

I was always careful to make sure that I stood on my ground and really let them know, No, this is what I do. I love to produce. I love to be in the studio.'

- Alissia Benveniste BM '14

Benveniste's collaborative talents also extend to her Boogie Nights events, which came about after she saw the connections she was fostering between artists, DJs, designers, and other creatives both in and out of the studio. I was like, We need a place that includes all these creatives for them to connect,' she says, adding that she was looking for something that wasn't an event where people are paid and have a job to do. We just need a place where everybody can come, can dance, can have fun, but [where] creatives can also connect with each other.

Her talents for making connections and studio magic are going to come to full bloom on her forthcoming album, which, she says, will be collaboration-heavy. I didn't want to limit myself to only work on something of mine, she said. When someone has a vision, I love to help them make it come to life. Benveniste looked at star-studded albums by the likes of Harris and Ronson and realized that not a lot of female producers had released similar projects-so she was going to take control and not only execute her vision but also show off her evolution as an artist. I love hearing certain artists on different types of songs and trying to see what comes out of it, she said. It's also a new phase that I'm entering musically.

Despite leaving Berklee a decade ago, Benveniste's drive to gain enlightenment and understanding from each one of her experiences and connections has only grown stronger. There's always something to learn, she says. You take that knowledge, and you develop it and make it your own.

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