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Wowweee, what an album this could be! Ok, firstly, here’s my logic for wanting to put this together: I take great pride in declaring myself a solid fan of Anthony Hamilton and remember being very excited at the eventual release of a major-label full-length album, ‘Coming From Where I’m From’ in 2003. [I remember playing ‘Hold Your Head Up’ where he provided backing vocals for Heltah Skeltah back in 1998 and trying to find something official from him since then.]
Subsequent album releases have I’d say paled in comparison to the gritty, gospel-infused, Southern soul he captured in his debut, and although it’s undeniable each follow-up album has contained some stunning songs within them (amongst others, see ‘The Truth’ and ‘Pass Me Over’ from ‘Ain’t Nobody Worryin’; ‘Please Stay’ and ‘Soul’s On Fire’ from ‘The Point Of It All’; ‘I’m ready’ and ‘Back to Love’ from ‘Back to Love’) – the total package of ‘Coming From Where I’m From’ and the timeless pieces of perfect soul captured in songs like ‘Charleene’, ‘Lucille’, ‘I’m A Mess’ and ‘Chyna Black’, as I say, have yet to be surpassed.
What I described earlier as ‘gritty, gospel-infused Southern soul’ seems to have evolved into something of a paint-by-numbers approach to a very neat and polished blend of R&B. What’s even more confusing is that he’s working with mostly the right people (James Poyser, Questlove, Raphael Saadiq, Salaam Remi, Jack Splash, etc), yet something – for my tastes – seems to be missing.
Daptone Records to the stage please!
Now, this one is potentially cheating a little in that these two factions have in fact collaborated previously (for the ‘American Gangster’ soundtrack), but I think that full-length album release is the diamond we’ve been waiting for. The musicians at Daptone, who mish-mash themselves in and out of various in-house bands including the Dap-Kings, Budos Band, Antibalas, The Expressions, have painted exquisite and quintessentially soulful backdrops for vocal powerhouses including Sharon Jones, Lee Fields, Charles Bradley, Al Green, Daniel Merriweather and Amy Winehouse.
I’m reluctant to use the much-maligned term of ‘retro’ soul so I’ll sub it with the word ‘authentic’ – headed up by head-honcho Gabriel Roth, the Daptone brand of authentic soul is the perfect combination to steer Hamilton back to that blend of soul music he initially captured our ears and hearts with.
Could it happen?
It’s certainly not outside the realms of possibility – as I say, they have worked together previously and I think each camp would raise a smile at the prospect of what the finished product could sound like.
To give you an indication of each act, from the 'Coming From Where I'm From' debut, as Exhibit A, allow me to submit, 'I'm A Mess':
It would be rude not to include something by Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings so allow me to submit as Exhibit B, something from the group's brand new release: from the album, 'Give The People What They Want', this is 'Stranger To My Happiness':
I sure am loving SoundCloud! Happy that the 'Get to Know' series has been somewhat consistent over the last few months which I don't mind interrupting a little to be able to throw up a live recording of a very recent show which aired live from Starpoint Radio - I don't get to get my hands on too many of these so always happy when I'm able to secure one. There's a distinct R&B-y vibe throughout this show with a decent of mix of new and old here (hmm, not as much 'old' now I think about it so apologies there!), but while the show pays tribute to the late & brilliantly great Ronny Jordan, we also offer up an alternative to Robin Thicke's stripy suit, Miley Cyrus gyrating, 'Blurred Lines' pandemic to revisit his earlier work, treat you to a few remixes, and a couple of brand-spanking new numbers by Amp Fiddler and Ed Meme. 'You For Me and Me For You' by The Right Track is about as good a song as I can play too!
Before we get straight to that though, I did mention the 'Get to Know' series earlier and, as a major tease for the next episode due in about 3 or 4 weeks time, the focus will either be on Questlove or Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. I'm fairly confident the Questlove one will knock your socks off though as you have no idea the amount of treats I have ready to unleash for that one :)
The tracklist for the 26th January's live broadcast is below, as is the SoundCloud link and player so listen/favourite/download at your pleasure:
'Enhorabuena' - Eric Krasno
'Heartburn' - Alicia Keys
'A Brighter Day'
[DJ Spinna Remix] - Ronny Jordan f/t Mos Def & Stephanie McKay
'Loving
You' - Larry Gold f/t Carol Riddick
'To The Sky' - Robin Thicke
'Getting
Late' - Floetry
'For You' - Jack Herrera
'Code' - Jose James
'Waiting For Your Touch' [Domu Remix] - Spanky Wilson & The Quantic Soul
Orchestra
'Are You Ready?' [Discomix] - Mr Comicstore f/t Nicole Willis
'More Than' - Amp Fiddler
'You For Me and Me For You' - The Right Track
'Burning Bridges' - Remy Shand
'Oh Yes I Will' - Ed Meme f/t Myles Sanko
'Love You For Now On' - Portrait
He had such an incredible 2013 – and it was aptly capped off
with a Grammy win for his superb production throughout – so it’s with masses of
excitement that the new solo album from Pharrell Williams was announced this
week as being just mere weeks away, currently scheduled for 3rd
March 2014, with the title ‘Girl’.
Pharrell’s incomparable year wasn’t only defined by his huge
mega hits like Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’, Robin Thicke’s ‘Blurred Lines’ and ‘Happy’
from the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack, but it was also his lesser-known gems with
soul acts like Mayer Hawthorne (see ‘Reach Out Richard’, my song of 2013!) and
Aloe Blacc’s ‘Love is the Answer’ that also went on to steal fans’ hearts. His efforts continue with the funkiest thing
I’ve ever heard from Paloma Faith (‘Can’t Rely on You’), so all of this really
bodes for high expectations for an incredible release.
‘Happy’ has been announced to be a part of the album and deservedly
so. The song, apart from being the most
infectious record of recent years, went on to spawn the world’s first 24 hour
music video (see this while you can: http://24hoursofhappy.com/). It’s so difficult in this day and age to be
genuinely surprised by anything that happens in the industry – which isn’t a
comment on the quality of music at all, it’s just in regards to this
ever-present and watchful media eye, the internet and digital age, etc – to consistently
find new ways to be creative and push boundaries seems like a herculean task,
but I’ll be damned if that 24 hour music video didn’t do it.
Collaboration has been such a huge part of Pharrell’s
success this year and the last so I’m holding out hope that ‘Girl’ continues in
that trend – hopefully rekindling some of that Daft Punk magic by getting them
on board, as well as Nile Rodgers, but also reconnecting with the other half of
The Neptunes, Chad Hugo, whose presence I’d just love to see over a few songs.
But, speaking of the aforementioned Daft Punk and Nile Rodgers magic - did you see them all perform with Stevie Wonder at the Grammies??!! If you didn't, you really, really should:
IMRAN: Hi Ben, I'm Imran, we have an interview scheduled
today for 6pm?
BEN: Oh sh!t, I completely forgot!!
Ben Westbeech is such a super cool dude, and one of my favourite people to have had the opportunity to interview - we spent ages on the phone talking about his debut album, upcoming projects, albums I was stunned he hadn't heard, albums he was stunned that I hadn't heard, etc. so I'm always thankful for the time he gave up and the article we made out of it. (It would have been remiss of me not to have
included the above highlight from our chat, which makes me smile whenever I
think of it.) That aside, as much as I was a fan of his Brownswood debut in 2007 ('Welcome To The Best Years Of Your Life') and subsequent work and remixes, I was yet to pick up his 2011-follow-up record 'There's More To Life Than This'. But while listening to Starpoint Radio's (excellent!) Saturday Fry-Up Show (9-11am), I heard the below song which has rejuvenated my interest in the release big time, and also encouraged me to once again delve into the Liberation Frequency archive for my one2one from 2010.
First though, check out 'Something For The Weekend':
...and before we get to the interview in full, here's an exclusive extra from our exchange taht didn't manage to squeeze into the piece's original release:
IMRAN:I checked out your Dap-Kings remix of 'So Good Today', which is
brilliant! Did you guys meet up for that, or was it done via sending files,
etc?
BEN WESTBEECH: I recorded new vocals for it and we sent the
track over, and didn't meet up.It's
quite strange that a lot of collaborations in this day and age happen like
that, because 25 years ago they couldn't have, so it's a bit strange that you
don't get to meet them but they're a band who can knock out backing tracks
pretty quick, and we just asked them to do it and they were up for it. It's
good having a track from those guys because they're quite obviously renowned so
that's quite cool.
IM: It's a shame as I think listeners like to romanticise
the idea of everyone in the studio together bouncing ideas off each other?
BW: Yeah, the majority of music you hear, it's a funny one
when you know how it's made, all the mystery and romance just sort of
disappears, which is a real shame, but sometimes it's best to let people think
it's made like that.
LF: What are your thoughts on the mp3 generation?
BW: I'm all for it, I think if you're in the industry and
you're still hating on it, then it's silly as there's really nothing you can do
– you either go with the flow or get stuck in the past. I think it's great,
because so many people make music, but that does mean there's a lot of crap
about, that's the only problem with it, you have to sift through loads of
really dodgy tunes to get a good one, because everyone's making tunes on
computers, which in fairness is a really good thing in itself. You get people
that make music and they're amazing at it and you think ‘wow’, without this
generation then it wouldn't be possible, because some may not be able to afford
it or you'd have to get into a studio, but these days it's so quick and easy,
anyone could do it, and I'm always uncovering loads of gems from people that
are doing it.
LF: As an artist though, does it bug you?
BW: Well, it's easy to be bitter about it but you just have
to get on with it and realise ‘this is the reality of it’. This is the music
business now so you just have to do what you can to make good music and survive
in it.It doesn't really bother me at
all – I think it's more of a positive thing than a negative one. It's so much
more power to the people now, you don't need a major record label to succeed
anymore which is really wicked. Not for the majors, it's not, but that's why
you have so many people setting up record labels and doing really well.
----------
Ben Westbeech Interview: 'The Original Brownswood Bubbler
Originally published in 2010, written by Imran Mirza
- "Hey, have you heard of Ben Westbeech?"
- "Maybe, what does he do?"
- "Oh, Ben does it all - he's a singer, producer, DJ,
multi-instrumentalist..."
- "Ok, sounds good. What style of music is it?"
- "Oh, Ben does it all - R&B, drum'n'bass,
house..."
In today's cosmopolitan musical landscape, such diversity
from an artist is either a benefit or a hindrance. We as music fans reserve the
right to classify our tastes as sitting anywhere between, and including, Bob
Marley to The Killers, but artists equally as diverse, seem to have more
trouble fitting in for some reason.
Meet Ben Westbeech. A Londoner and super talented singer,
producer, DJ and multi-instrumentalist who comfortably creates music that draws
on strong influences from R&B, drum'n'bass and house, as well as many more.
It's certainly no surprise then, that such an assortment of
skill and variety would eventually wind up to the ears of Gilles Peterson -
Radio 1 DJ, champion of the new and unsigned, and head honcho of the
prestigious Brownswood Recordings label - now home to such incredible talent
including Jose James and Soil and Pimp Sessions - but it was Westbeech's
'Welcome To The Best Years Of Your Life' that spearheaded all of the label's
releases, making him the original Brownswood Bubbler!
"Yeah, that came about from me giving a CD to a friend
of mine," explains Ben, "And she said she had a friend she could play
this to, and I think she saw Gilles at a festival and played it for him, and he
was really into it, and was like 'I want to sign the record', and I got a
phonecall from her like 2 weeks later saying 'Gilles Peterson wants to sign
you', and I was like 'what the hell', I really couldnt believe it, it was
amazing."
'Welcome To The Best Years Of Your Life' was a perfect
introduction to Brownswood and what the label would go on to achieve -
Peterson's passion for liberal, creative and unrestricted music was
encapsulated with Westbeech's project: its tendency towards different genres,
its witty lyrics, and zero constraints made it a release that still finds its
way to new ears even after 3 years of its release, "It was a great record
to make, a very naive one but it was all good fun and everything was
easy". The word 'naive' prompts me to ask if there's anything he would
have changed about it after all these years: "Not really, it is what it
was, and I'm a believer that things happen when they should, so I made a lot of
music and just kinda got lucky with it".
Through the glory of hindsight, along with now knowing the
prospective challenges of creating a record that was difficult to market
through any one genre or group, I asked Ben if he thought the multi-tags were a
help or hindrance as mentioned earlier, and where his follow-up record would
take him: "Yeah, it's been quite difficult sometimes as people do want to
put it in a box, but I think I've kinda got away with it and I think I'll
continue to for a bit, but obviously I'm making moves towards more housey
records and part of the reason is that people were always like 'what is it,
what is it, what is it', so this one is very much a house record but it's still
going to have a lot of elements of other stuff in there as well".
Even though it's been 3 years since his debut's release, Westbeech
has certainly kept himself busy - as well as a wealth of remixes spawned from
his album, he leant his production talents to friend and Brownswood labelmate,
Jose James, with his notable remix of 'Love' from James' debut album 'The
Dreamer' (song available on download from iTunes), appeared with an awesome
collaboration on Jazzanova's hugely awesome album, 'Of All The Things', on a
song called 'I Can See', and has nurtured his skill for DJing across the world:
"DJing's been a passion of mine since I was 12 and I love DJing. I'm a
prolific DJ, I play at a lot of different places every week and I work really
hard at it". I asked Ben how he'd compare DJing to performing live as a
front man: "It is different because you're kind of behind something, with
the decks, and as a front man you're a lot more on show. they are a different
kettle of fish but the same sort of performance. With a band, there's a lot
more to think about and a lot more pressure and a lot more hard work for me,
whereas as a DJ, I enjoy it a lot more".
Talking to Westbeech, you get a real sense of an artist
who's a genuine fan of music - he talks enthusiastically about his musical
influences, which range from Stevie Wonder to D'Angelo, Little Richard and
Chuck Berry, his love of UK underground and house music, his adoration of
Nirvana's 'Never Mind', his acceptance and encouragement of the MP3 generation,
and as he would go on to say: "I buy a lot of music myself, a lot of old
records really, but if I like a dance track I definitely go get it on vinyl.
And I like playing tunes at home, I've got my turntables set up in my room and
I just play vinyl in my room now, and it just feels good to put a record
on".
He concludes our time together with the heartening words,
"For me music is timeless, you can find an artist that may be really old
but it's all new to you, but that's the beauty of music".
Too long. Too, too long. But I’m finally able to yell
“New Amp! New Amp!” from the rooftops.
Hopefully serving as a pre-cursor to a soon-to-follow
full-length LP release (sorry, I’m clearly never satisfied :)), Amp Fiddler unveils his new EP with
six quintessentially Amp Fiddler tracks, each boasting his inimitable blend of
funky – and at times house-infused – R&B/soul. The set features a Daniel
Crawford remix of ‘Hold On’, and joining Fiddler on ‘Take It’ is Raphael Saadiq
on vocal duties – a song that serves to further their already excellent track
record of collaborations (Saadiq having played keyboards on Fiddler’s,
‘Superficial’, and produced ‘Faith’ from his sophomore effort, and Amp returning
the favour with his contribution to Saadiq’s ‘Stone Rollin’ album).
On sale at Bandcamp for the ridiculously cheap price of $6
(that’s £3.47 for you good UK folks), it’d be rude not to pick this up.
Basementality 2 tracklist:
Always
Yeah!
Take It (f/t Raphael Saadiq)
Hold On 'Extended Remix]
Hold On [Daniel Crawford Remix]
More Than
…Furthering the new tracks by Amp Fiddler, before I
heard the new EP was available to buy just from Bandcamp, I looked for it on
iTunes and found a treasure trove of Amp music I didn’t even know existed.
There’s lots more available but currently added to my collection are the
following:
‘Faith’ [Jazzanova Remix]
‘If I Don’t’ (f/t Corinne Bailey Rae) [Taylor McFerrin
Remix]
‘Dreamin’ [Ali Shaheed Muhammed Remix]
Also, there’s an EP by Anetria Wright from 2006 which
features two remixes from Fiddler. If the voice sounds somewhat familiar when
you hear it, it’s because you can hear her singing background vocals on ‘Waltz
of a Ghetto Fly’ and ‘Afro Strut’. It’s a shame nothing else exists from her
beyond this EP but it’s still worth your time in having.
So now I'm screaming "Old Amp! Old Amp!" as well as "New!"
The Basementaility 2 EP can be found from Bandcamp (link
below) while the other mentioned songs can be found on iTunes.
