The Gaslamp Killer

The Gaslamp Killer is a Los Angeles-based DJ and producer whose eclectic style ranges from psychedelia and world music to dubstep and left-field hip-hop. He is a longtime associate of Low End Theory, an influential club night dedicated to experimental hip-hop and electronic music, often considered the epicenter of the L.A. beat scene. Associated with Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder Records, he made his production debut in the late 2000s with a series of EPs.

Born William Benjamin Bensussen, he originally comes from San Diego, California, whose downtown Gaslamp District's bar scene inspired him to name himself the Gaslamp Killer in disgust for much of the patronage. Upon relocating to Los Angeles, he found a niche for himself amid the city's massive underground party scene and ultimately found a home for himself as a resident DJ at the weekly event Low End Theory, which resulted in a series of club-sponsored podcasts. He also released a series of mix CDs, among them Gaslamp Killers (2007), It's a Rocky Road (2007), I Spit on Your Grave (2008), Hell and the Lake of Fire Are Waiting for You! (2009), and All Killer (2009), the latter a label showcase for the London-based world psychedelia imprint Finders Keepers Records. As a producer, the Gaslamp Killer made his debut in the late 2000s, releasing a split single with Free the Robots, "The Killer Robots," on Obey Records in 2008 and a self-released EP, My Troubled Mind, in 2009. Following 2010's self-released Death Gate EP and a collaborative 7" with Daedelus, he released his first album, Breakthrough, on Brainfeeder in September 2012.

In 2013, the Gaslamp Killer collaborated with the Heliocentrics on a 12" EP released by Now-Again Records, as well as a 7" single with Jungle by Night issued by Kindred Spirits. He also appeared on a split 7" with Computer Jay on the Hit+Run label. The following year, he released the double picture disc 12" Break Stuff, which included new material as well as two sides of control tones for DJ software Serato. In 2015, Bensussen released Live in Los Angeles, a concert recording credited to the 15-piece ensemble the Gaslamp Killer Experience. Later in the year, a collaborative 7" with Mophono appeared on CB Records. The Gaslamp Killer's second studio full-length, Instrumentalepathy, arrived on his own Cuss Records in September of 2016. ~ Jason Birchmeier & Paul Simpson, Rovi