Ben Westbeech

Ben Westbeech is a man of many faces. He is a walking entertainment centre. He is the musical equivalent of a cinematic auteur, with fingers in all the pies. He writes the theme tune, he sings the theme tune, he produces the theme tune, he even plays the instruments on the theme tune. Classically trained as a cellist, vocalist and pianist, Westbeech and his many facets unite to make him the ultimate man of music. And it doesn’t end there either. He’s also the DJ who plays the theme tune.

Label boss and mentor, Gilles Peterson, is impressed with his abilities behind the decks. This is what he said about Westbeech in an interview I did with him recently. “It’s really refreshing to hear him play. He’s obviously a really good performer, but because he comes from that Bristol drum & bass sound culture he knows how to wobble a crowd”. Westbeech’s fortune as a singer/songwriter was sealed two years ago at Creamfields when a chancer friend forced Peterson to listen to his demo. Within a fortnight, Westbeech was signed to Peterson’s new label, Brownswood. “It’s been really helpful having him” he said, gratefully, “it’s really opened a lot of doors for me”. I was talking to him recently about the work he was doing on his second album.

“We’re going to make a dance record. It’s going to be a lot more dancey than the first one” he indicated. His debut album, Welcome To The Best Years Of Your Life, was a portrayal of young self-indulgent British urbanites. It cemented elements of modern soul, jazzy hip hop, muddled funk and derivative DnB.

For the second album, he’s opting for this new angle because he is a believer. According to him, dance music is about to make a stand. “That’s what is going to be key this year, the resurgence of dance music” he mused, touching briefly on the state of music’s current scene. “We’ve been pounded by the indie kids for too many years now. We’re on the cusp of something really good happening with dance music”.

Westbeech sees himself as a part of this comeback and is even willing to relocate to ensure it happens. Citing boredom as the reason, Westbeech is now making the move from Bristol. “It’s getting a bit stale for me. I want to get out of there, move to London and get back in the London vibe”. However, having spent the last six years of his life in Bristol’s musically vibrant city, he still insists it is “a great city for new ideas and creative energy. People are very forward thinking down there. They’re very original”.