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Meet the founders

Two different worlds.One idea.

A teacher and international DJ.

A songwriter, producer and technologist.

Fluent Frequencies happened when those worlds collided.

Mark and Ben

Photograph to come

Ben

Photograph to come

The teacher

Ben

English teacher. International DJ. Co-founder.

10+ years teaching · TEFL certified · DJ Sandy · UK → Thailand → Cambodia

A British TEFL-certified teacher with more than ten years in the classroom, in private lessons and online — and a DJ whose other life was never a hobby.

Ben has worked with learners from Europe and Asia, from kindergarten through vocational college. He completed a 120-hour on-site TEFL qualification in Chiang Mai, and he teaches in northern Thailand today.

Music has always been a serious part of his life. He co-founded Leeds Met’s first DJ Society, performs as DJ Sandy, and has DJed internationally — including the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan in February 2020, and Nestival at Nest Beach Club on Koh Rong, Cambodia.

When you connect with the music, you connect with the language.

  • Leeds MetCo-founder of the first DJ Society
  • Koh Phangan · 2020Full Moon Party
  • Koh Rong · CambodiaNestival
  • Northern Thailand · todayTeaching English
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He began playing Mark’s music with his international English students. They connected with the songs, and they wanted to understand the English inside them. That experience helped inspire Fluent Frequencies.

Mark

Photograph to come

The producer

Mark

Songwriter. Producer. Technologist. Dance music obsessive.

Electro since childhood · Soul Food Radio · ATLAS // POMSKI

Electronic music has been part of Mark’s life since childhood — not as a scene he joined later, but as the room he grew up in.

At eight he was in the first breakdance crew in Dorset, dancing against neighbouring villages and youth clubs, fascinated by electro and boogaloo coming out of the United States, learning his first backspin. He started DJing in the mid-1990s and played through university, including Oliver’s and The Hangar, with warm-up sets for DJs including Tony De Vit and Boy George.

He is still a lifelong dance-music fan, still spending summers around UK music festivals and Ibiza. He founded and ran Soul Food Radio, an internet radio station that reached more than 100,000 listeners.

Turning a song into something people want to play.

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He started writing lyrics more than a decade ago. Songwriting pulled him into production. When AI-shaped vocal production made it possible to bring the songs fully to life, he began releasing them. The music is human-written and producer-led, with AI-vocal-shaped performances, released as ATLAS // POMSKI.

He works professionally as a technical consultant in the pharmaceutical industry. He built Fluent Frequencies from the ground up — writing and producing the music, building the website, designing the games and interactive experiences. He loves turning moments in songs into things people want to play, and he wants Fluent Frequencies to help thousands of people around the world enjoy learning English.

Two lives. One timeline.

How two independent paths met

  1. Mark · Age 8

    First breakdance crew in Dorset

    Breakdancing against neighbouring villages and youth clubs, immersed in the electro and boogaloo sounds coming out of the United States — and learning his first backspin.

  2. Mark · Mid-1990s

    Started DJing

    The decks became another part of a lifelong relationship with dance music and club culture.

  3. Mark · University

    Oliver’s and The Hangar

    Club sets through university, including warm-up sets for Tony De Vit and Boy George.

  4. Ben · University

    Co-founded Leeds Met’s first DJ Society

    Ben helped build a university community around DJ culture, electronic music and life behind the decks.

  5. Mark · Soul Food Radio

    Founded and ran an internet radio station

    Built Soul Food Radio to an audience of more than 100,000 listeners.

  6. Ben · DJ Sandy

    DJing became international

    Performing as DJ Sandy, Ben took his life behind the decks beyond the UK and into Southeast Asia.

  7. Ben · Thailand

    Qualified as an English teacher

    While living in Thailand, Ben completed his 120-hour on-site TEFL qualification in Chiang Mai and began building a teaching career alongside music.

  8. Ben · Teaching + Music

    English started meeting music

    Ben began experimenting with songs and music in his English teaching, using music from other artists to help learners engage with meaning, language and confidence — before he discovered Mark’s music.

  9. Ben · Koh Phangan · 2020

    Full Moon Party

    DJ Sandy played at the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan, Thailand, in February 2020.

  10. Ben · Nestival

    Nestival

    Ben also played at Nestival at Nest Beach Club on Koh Rong, Cambodia.

  11. Mark · Songwriting

    Lyrics, then production

    Mark started writing lyrics more than a decade ago and gradually moved deeper into music production.

  12. Mark · AI-vocal-shaped production

    The songs, fully alive

    New technology finally made it possible to bring the songs fully to life — human-written, producer-led, with AI-vocal-shaped performances.

  13. Mark · ATLAS // POMSKI

    Original electronic music

    Mark began releasing the music that would eventually find its way to Ben.

  14. SoundCloud · The Crossover

    Ben discovered Mark’s music

    Already experimenting with music in his English teaching, Ben found Mark’s songs on SoundCloud and began using them with his students.

  15. Fluent Frequencies

    Two paths became one

    A teacher and international DJ. A songwriter, producer and technologist. One shared idea about what music could do for language learning.

Beyond Fluent Frequencies

Listen to the founders

Two musical lives behind the platform.

ATLAS // POMSKI

Artwork to come

ATLAS // POMSKI

Original electronic music written and produced by Mark.

DJ SANDY

Photograph to come

DJ SANDY

Listen to sets from Ben’s years behind the decks.

The connection

Then Ben found Mark’s music.

He started playing it to his English students.

They wanted to understand the words.

Fluent Frequencies started there.

From listening → to understanding → to speaking.

Explore the music