Benjamin is from Rochester, NY and received his B.A. in music and history from SUNY Buffalo (2009) as the top graduating student in the history department.  He is interested in a wide variety of popular and experimental musics from the twentieth century.  In particular, his current research explores psychedelia, avant-garde jazz, electronic music, punk and post-punk, hip-hop, and European modernism.  Benjamin is currently working towards his certification in Experimental Critical Theory at UCLA with a focus on the intersections between music and utopian theory, as well as the philosophy of Alain Badiou.  He has presented his work at EMP/IASPM-US, CCM University of Cincinnati, and UT Austin.  In addition to graduate school, Benjamin works as a tutor for high school students and as a graduate archivist at the UCLA Performing Arts Special Collections.  In his free time, he composes and performs in numerous noise, punk, and free improv bands.