There is always a common thread with Ben Abrahams. In dj parlance his years of experience playing records in places like Byron Bay, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane speaks volumes for a man who epitomizes positive dance floor energy and enthusiasm. A self-confessed house music addict, Ben saw the first wave of acid house hit Sydney in 1989, long before words like tribal, deep and progressive had become house music folklore, and has never looked back. In the early nineties Ben found himself djing at house clubs like Flow at Marz (Oxford St), Chinese Laundry, The Bentley Bar, Site, Q-bar and Cauldron. Then with news of free outdoor beach parties and a vibrant scene Ben hitchhiked record box in hand to Byron Bay.

Ben soon became one of the areas most sought after djs, with his Friday night radio show on Bay F.M., Saturday nights at The Carpark (now Play) and Sundays at the Railway Hotel. His eclectic mix of house, techno, breaks and funk seemed to fit perfectly with Byron's Balearic vibe and he quickly became a sunrise favorite at many outdoor full-moon gatherings. Brisbane in 1994 saw Ben being booked for large Brisbane events like Seismic, Adventjah and Thunderdome, while at the same time he ran his own Friday night club Acid Drop at the now closed Tube and put on a series of infamous parties - Bass Invader and Kinky Techno. Over the next 12 months Acid Drop moved to a bigger venue La Discotheque and became Watch Your Head and quickly garnered a strong reputation for being one of the only places in town to hear proper house and breakbeat.

In 1998 Ben decided to take on the largest scene in the country - Melbourne. He started Spacefunk at a basement venue in the city, and as the night gained momentum he soon found himself being snapped up by Earthcore (the biggest outdoor electronic music festival in the southern hemisphere) for their club night Freebase at One Six One (upstairs cnr High & Chapel St). This led to a residency and his first main floor outdoors sunrise set to 700+ people at the Lake Eildon Millennium New Years Eve Festival. The next 3 years saw Ben as a regular fixture on the main floor at Earthcore's massive parties, supporting the likes of the Orb and Ken Ishi, and djing to thousands at the famous Brunswick St and St Kilda Festivals..

Melbourne uberclub Monkey also found an interest in Ben's sound, and after his first guest spot was given a residency at their Sunday night club, quickly securing peak time main room sets at their biggest parties. It was at Monkey that Ben earned his reputation as one of the most exciting and entertaining djs in Melbourne, being chosen to support house legends Clive Henry (Peace Division), Huggy (20:20 Vision), Terry Francis (Wiggle) and Hippe and Halo at Melbourne venues The Palace, QBH and Seven.

Following these successes, Ben was chosen to program, compile and mix the first release in Earthcore's mix cd series, which was quickly touted as one of the year's best. It blended bottom heavy house from the Odori All-stars with breaks from Meat Katie to the acid house sounds of Rocket, from DJ Garth's imprint Greyhound Recordings, to the New York tek-house of Floppy Sounds. Ben's trademark smooth mixing style and solid bassline driven grooves scored him cd of the week in Tekno Renegade, Beat Magazine and HR. This led to djing dates around the country and guest spots at Revolver, Honkytonks, The Lounge, Seven and Room 680 in Melbourne, with showcase gigs djing before Groove Armada at the Forum and DJ Garth at Loquegroove.

During 2001 - 2002 his new club Goodtimes on Saturday nights at One Six One opened to a full house. For Ben, Goodtimes was an opportunity to control the flow of the night, djing every week for 6 hours, and employing an eclectic music policy that moved from deep house to breakbeat to old school funk and disco - with just a dash of punk aesthetic. Because of Goodtimes' musical reputation and no attitude door policy that rewarded regular patrons, the club was consistently packed every week and it became famously difficult to gain entry.

In 2003 Ben and his partner Katharine moved to the north coast of NSW and established Motion Theory, choosing The Billinudgel Hotel just outside Byron Bay as home for their monthly party Strange Brew. It wasn't long before he was playing at Baja (Gold Coast) with his weekly dose of acid house packing the intimate venue. Around this time Ben held residencies at Byron Bay venues C-Moog, La La Land and The Tabernacle. By late 2003 Ben had dj'd with Fred Everything at Strange Brew, Chris Lum, Ron Carrol and Dano (Red Melon Records), played the main floor at Summafielddayz and has played two years in a row to packed dance floors at Splendor in the Grass (Byron Bay).

Fast forward to 2005, Ben's night Motion:Theory at Elsewhere has taken hold as one of the strongest club nights in Queensland, providing punters week in, week out with quality underground music. Over the next 2 years we see names such as The Lawnchair Generals and The Electric Press play at Motion:Theory, while Ben is chosen to support Spirit Catcher, Joakim . But the general consensus tells us that we love our local djs. So we said yes, with a roster that was all-local most of the time.

Bring on the All-Stars, Katharine, Thomas J, Dj Kris, Strawberry Syme, Matt Crawford , Rhys Lewellyn and Dan Webber .It is over the next two years that Dj Ben Abrahams and the Motion:Theory All-Stars found their place in clubland history by delivering such quality that the club, Elsewhere and its djs won the trophy for "best music offering in a nightclub in Australia" at the 2007 Bar Awards in Sydney, which they followed up with a nomination in 2008....hard work you would think for a small club on the gold coast. testament to the simple fact that quality breeds quality.

With over 230 capacity nights in a row the Motion:Theory train rolls onwards.

Ben has since moved to a big house in Miami(Gold Coast) has a new dog, Busta, and has been busy running his weekly Saturday night at Surfers Paradise club Elsewhere, while laying the ground work for his label Motion:Theory: Music - their first release planned for early 2009. Ben is looking forward to pushing the Motion:Theory sound through summer and has a busy gig schedule with dates in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane...

Elsewhere Bar won Best Music for a Club in Australia at the Sydney Bar Awards 2008 and the trophy was accepted by owner Benny Rhoney and Ben Abrahams.  The list of djs who've been fortunate enough to play on the night can be seen at www.elsewherebar.com MotionTheory Music.  

See with your ears.

You can catch Ben and the slightly-sideways acid house sound of Motion:Theory at Elsewhere every Saturday night from midnight till dawn - The Music Speaks For Itself, See With Your Ears.