Ben Bonetti
Talking with 19-year-old musician Ben Bonetti, it quickly becomes clear that he’s juggling more than your average second-year student. Hailing from Cambridge and now based in Wellington, Ben is studying a Bachelor of Commercial Music (Practice) at Massey University, performing DJ sets, working on a solo album, and fronting his reggae-rock band Pineja.
Ben’s musical roots run deep: “I’m originally a bass player… mainly a bass player and a singer,” he says. But his skills go well beyond that. In his solo recordings, Ben plays “a bit of everything: bass, sing, guitar, keys,” and he DJs too.
B-TELLO
Ben’s DJ career got off to a classic start - sets in his bedroom during high school. His first real time performing was DJing for his school ball in year 12.
Moving to Wellington proved to be a pivotal shift in Ben’s DJ journey. “Before coming to Welly it was just a casual thing,” he says. But after being inspired by the local scene, including artists like Messie [Tessa Hills] and the crew behind Terminal 45 that he started taking it seriously. “Wellington kind of made me actually do it properly.”
That seriousness paid off. At SoundSplash, Ben was booked for a solo daytime set, but the real surprise came later that night. “I was standing in the VIP area and the production manager Steve Dobbs asked me, ‘Do you have your USB on you?’” Five minutes later, Ben was on the main stage with Tiki Taane in front of 4,000 people. “I was so scared,” he laughs, “but it was a pretty awesome 40 minutes. Had such a good time.”
His DJ sets lean into bass-heavy, breaky territory. “Lots of breaks… a bit of booty and garage of course… and eventually it gets to jungley stuff,” he says. He also makes space for one “silly tune” in every set — a bit of fun to keep the vibe unpredictable. Among his go-to tracks are the Messie remix of Fred again..’s “places to be” and “JAYWALK” by Auckland producers Caru and Micca — both of which he played at SoundSplash.
Pineja
When he’s not behind the decks, Ben leads Pineja, a four-piece band he formed with longtime friend Jack Beaumont. “We started writing songs together… on two pretty awful nylon string guitars,” Ben recalls. The band’s lineup solidified in 2023 with drummer Cameron Stoddart and bassist Grace Gillanders.
The band’s name has a personal (and slightly absurd!) origin. As a toddler obsessed with fire trucks, Ben couldn’t pronounce the word and ended up calling them “pineja” (Fire truck – fie twuck – fie twa – pie ja – pine ja).
“All my uncles and Nana and Papa used to call me little Pineja man,” he says. When the band needed a name, the choice was obvious.
Songwriting for Pineja
Pineja’s songwriting process is collaborative but always begins with Ben. “I’ll write something… lyrics and chords or lyrics and a bassline,” he explains. Guitarist Jack Beaumont plays a central role in building out melodies. “When I listen to our music, I hear the guitar melody almost as another vocal,” Ben says. “I literally hear his guitar singing.”
Musically, the band blends reggae rock with splashes of dub, jazz, funk, ska, and new wave. Their inspirations include Fat Freddy’s Drop, The Black Seeds, Strangely Arousing, and Talking Heads. “Reggae rock at the core,” Ben says, “but there’s all of these little influences that flow into it.”
On Tour
Last summer, Pineja took to the road for their first tour — entirely self-organised. “Real stressful, I won’t lie,” Ben admits. “No manager… I mainly did most of it myself ’cause I wanted to really challenge myself.” Despite the workload, the tour was a success. “We didn’t earn a ton, but we didn’t lose anything.”
Highlights included the Raglan show — “the crowd’s vibe was just incredible” — and Tauranga, which hosted their biggest audience yet. “Hamilton was just real cool ’cause so many friendly faces in the crowd,” he adds.
Pineja are due to play their first-ever Wellington gig on the 3rd of July. “Pineja has actually never played in Wellington,” Ben notes. It’s a logistical challenge, with members spread across the country — Ben and Grace studying in Wellington, Cameron studying in Christchurch, and Jack back in Cambridge working as a sparky — but they make it work. “As soon as it comes to a break, we all get together and do something.”
What’s Next?
“I’m basically just slowly working on an album now,” Ben says about his solo project. “It’s technically secret information… I think by June hopefully I’ll be into it and putting it together by then.”
With a Wellington-debut show for Pineja in July and a solo album in the works Ben certainly has a full plate, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
See Pineja live at San Fran on the 3rd of July!
You can find Ben on Instagram @ben.bonetti @btellodj and at @pineja.official
