Just Another Social Profile Really

I was listening to a random playlist this morning when the epic Get Closer by my one-time hope for the future, Ben Westbeech, popped up. I’d forgotten quite what a great track it is, with Die’s piano-led drum & bass and Ben’s vocals melding perfectly. I’d not heard much of Mr Westbeech since he contributed [...]

It’s been a while since I posted anything (don’t worry, there’s a flood of Lost Gloves on the way), so here’s a quickie just to get back into the swing of things. Courtesy of UK European champion chair dancer Jo Wiggins comes Compass, the new track from Jamie Lidell. As with all of his best [...]

So, when Absolute Radio announced their quest to find the best songs of the decade, I said that I found it hard to pick any. Well, I’ve changed my mind, thanks to some inter-office discussions (ending in this playlist) and listening to a lot of stuff from the last ten years. Like this. And so, [...]

Anyone who has read this blog on more than one occasion is likely to have realised that I’m rather fond of Mr José James and just about everything that he does. I’m also, as all like-minded people are, rather partial to a bit of Jazzanova every now and then. So Little Bird, the collaboration between [...]

As part of my ongoing nostalgia trip (I think it’s an end of year thing) & because I was on the subject of artists introduced to me by Gilles Peterson, I also checked out Ben Westbeech’s MySpace profile to see if he has anything new in the offering, and sure enough there was a new [...]

Jamie Lidell is the sort of artist who could confuse you. He’s white, British, painfully trendy, and signed to Warp so one’s immediate assumption would probably be that he makes achingly cool electro, or ragged Hoxton rock. In fact he creates 21st Century (blue-eyed) soul of the finest variety. His new album, which is called, [...]

Ben Westbeech played his first London headline show – shame that most people seemed to be there to continue ongoing conversations with friends…. Last night saw Ben Westbeech’s first headline show in London, at Camden’s Jazz Cafe. Despite being two of only about 10 people there when my mate & I arrived, by the time [...]

Following his storming showcase at Ronnie Scott’s Ben Westbeech is playing London’s Jazz Cafe this Wednesday – and I’ll be there…. Although Ben Westbeech’s debut album Welcome To The Best Years Of Your Life hasn’t been quite the smash hit I had hoped that it would be, he’s still building up a strong following as [...]

My biggest tune of last summer, So Good Today by Ben Westbeech, is set to become the UK’s summer tune of 2007… Ben Westbeech – So Good Today video A recent visit to the Brownswood Recordings page on YouTube saw me find a video for Ben Westbeech’s signature tune (& debut single) So Good Today. [...]

Ben Westbeech showcased his debut album Welcome To The Best Years Of Your Life at Soho’s Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club – and I managed to blag an invite… Following a bit of the sort of blagging I haven’t tried for years (Hi. Can I come to your gig? Who am I? No one really..) I [...]