No matter what producer Ben Watt accomplishes from now on, he'll be preceded by his reputation as one half of seminal trip-pop duo Everything But The Girl. But Watt also is a strong figure on the dance-music circuit as owner of Buzzin' Fly Records, which seeks to highlight the beauty in house music.
Buzzin' Fly Volume 3
In 2002, a raw underground House track by Everything But The Girl's Ben Watt intended only for casual Sunday night club play was bootlegged off a test pressing and quickly sold an estimated 2,000 copies. The track was called 'Lone Cat', and its success unintentionally kick-started Watt's fantasy of one day starting a record label. In April 2003 Watt released 'Lone Cat' as the debut single on his brand new Buzzin' Fly Records, and the track has now sold close to 10,000 copies on vinyl.
Buzzin' Fly Records is now three years old, and has become one of House music's leading imprints. Home to Watt's own imperious club productions and mix compilations, it is a seedbed for some the hottest young international?talent around (San Francisco's Justin Martin, Lyon's Manoo and Francois A, Detroit's Lephtee, Moscow's Kayot and Lisbon's Darkmountaingroup).
If there is a reason behind its continued continued success, it could be Watt's seemingly effortless ability to stay current. For Buzzin Fly Volume 3, this is reflected in dashes of minimalist and electro being incorporated into the label's naturally deep, melodic roots. Recent cuts from Kayot and Darkmountaingroup have moved floors and minds for the label's longtime Deep House supporters, but they have also been embraced by new modern wave of darker and more progressive DJs currently dominating many of the world's bigger floors. Perhaps it's deep House for the electro generations.
It should also be said that Buzzin' Fly is a magnet for fresh young talent, first-time producers and debutants. In fact, three-quarters of the mix is comprised of Buzzin' Fly artists, each track notable for its variety and diversity. Early on, the blissed-out electro of Kayot is thrustingly re-worked by Lyon's deep dons, Manoo and Francois Aymonier. Darkmountaingroup's Acid-soul floor-buster, 'Lose Control' then tightens the grip until the atmospheric melancholia of Franco-Portuguese trio, Rodamaal and Detroit's Lephtee perfectly set up the beatless ambient close.
In between, Watt hand-picks five modernist classics to join the dots, drawing on the edgy beauty of Fairmont's 'Gazebo' from James Holden's Border Community label, the exhilarating deep drive of The Timewriter's little-known remix for Hungary's Budai and Vic ('I Love Deep'), John Tejada's pared-down electro elegance, the serene techno of Madoka, and Copenhagen's Martinez's jabbing and swirling remix of Jussi-Pekka's 'Stereo Interleaved' (presented here in Watt's complete back-to-front re-edit that weaves through an inspired three minute intermix with Kayot's 'Clear Sky').
But it is perhaps the emotional tug of Watt's own writing and production that threads the seventy minutes together so uniquely. There are surely few comparative compilations that present such rich yet unforced lyric-writing, and Watt's own two pieces ('Old Soul' and 'Attack Attack Attack') and the additional spoken word extracts from his long-running 'Outspoken' project (here read by Philadelphia MC Baby Blak, Idaho's Jennifer Valone and Brixton poet, Malika Booker) add original moments of great pathos to the cool thrust and drive of the contemporary club tracks. It is an evocative original style - part artist-album, part mix album - whose origins go back to Volume 2 and the impact of Watt's classic speak-song Estelle collaboration, 'Pop A Cap In Yo' Ass'.
Melodic, honest and at times painfully melancholic, yet thoroughly crisp and modern, this is surely the work of a DJ and producer at the top of his game.
Don't miss BEN WATT on tour in the U.S. later this year!
7/27??? San Francisco, CA?????? TBC
7/28??? Dallas, TX????????????? Minc Lounge
7/29??? Denver, CO????? The Shelter
7/30??? Los Angeles, CA Deep at The Vanguard
8/1???? New York, NY??? Cielo
8/3???? New York, NY??? Cielo
8/4???? Cleveland, OH?? The Mercury Lounge
8/5???? Chicago, IL???? Smartbar
