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Ben Westbeech - Bodytonic Podcast 013 - May 2008
willg
Biography of Ben Westbeech
Welcome to Ben Westbeech’s world. Welcome to a truly multi-talented musical force. Welcome to an album that‘s a hybrid of myriad styles and genres. Welcome to something unexpected, heartfelt, genuine, true and most importantly of all, fun.
Welcome To The Best Years Of Your Life - Ben Westbeech’s debut album - displays a wide range of musical influences and styles. Futuristic suburban soul, fuzzy-edged funk, unpretentious pop, robust jazz, freshly laced hip-hop and dancefloor derived sounds ranging from drum n bass to house are all present. The result is a potent cocktail blended by, and filtered through, Ben’s creative and multi-talented musicianship. Rather than confine himself to the role of singer-songwriter, classically trained Ben also takes the credit for playing most of the instruments, and for much of the mixing and production of the album too. [He let someone else do the artwork though].
The record includes the smile-inducing and ridiculously catchy So Good Today, which is where the story of Welcome To… begins. Backstage at a hot festival in summer 2006, a mutual friend presses a rough copy of the track in to the palms of Gilles Peterson. Duly impressed, Peterson promptly signs Ben to his newly created label, makes So Good Today the inaugural release, and asks Ben to get to work on a full album; a good result, especially considering So Good Today is Ben’s first ever solo recording! The limited 12” makes widespread ripples of positive attention, and an excited and enthused Ben regroups at his Bristol bunker to create Welcome To…
Lyrically, the album captures a Polaroid portrait of the casual hedonism of today’s young inner city Britain. This is a record inspired by the beautiful wreckage of messy nights out followed by fragile afternoons drinking tea and smoking joints in bed. Ben takes a life affirming, positive and celebratory approach [see Get Closer, Stop What You’re Doing, So Good Today, Dance With Me], but also explores darker contrasting corners too [Taken Away From and Pusherman].
Ben Westbeech’s Welcome To The Best Years Of Your Life is available from March. The album will be preceded by the release of the Get Closer single in February, which is already receiving positive support from several DJs including Radio 1’s Annie Mac, Fabio & Grooverider and Pete Tong. UK and European live dates with a full band are also planned. Increasingly tipped as a talent to look out for, 2007 looks set to be the best year of Ben Westbeech’s life. Welcome
http://www.myspace.com/benwestbeech
