Ben Watt @ Deep

September 21, 2004 10:53 AM
by

Ben Watt has never been one to rest on his laurels. Even in the early days of his seminal work with Everything But the Girl, he has always tried to push his sound in new and different directions.

Watt entered in the house music scene the same way, first as one-half of the influential Lazy Dog and now his own, leading to the creation his own label, Buzzin' Fly. The label recently hit its one year anniversary, a remarkable achievement in an era when most record companies are downsizing or going out of business.

Watt celebrated this milestone with a mini tour of the States, which included last Sunday night at Marques Wyatt's long-running club in L.A. called Deep.

It was fitting that Watt's debut at Deep would be on the same night as his own bi-weekly party in London. There is something about deep-house music played on a Sunday that seems a bit more special.

Perhaps it's the oft-mentioned comparison between soulful music like deep-house and its connection to the spiritual. In fact, the large wooden ceilings of the club that is home to Deep somewhat mimick the interior of a church.

At almost 11 PM precisely, Watt took his place behind the pulpit and quickly
established his patented blend of house music. However, from almost the
get-go, it was also clear that he wanted to push his sound into some new and
interesting directions.

Using an FX pad and numerous acapellas, Watt created art from what can often times simply be the act of "spinning records."

This was particularly apparent in a couple of instances during his set when he used ambient-like tracks while overlaying them with acapellas from his more familiar works, such as "Missing" and "Earth" teasing them in a such a way as to make the tracks new again.

Despite these occasional reflective interludes, the majority of the set consisted of Watt's uncanny ability to choose just the right track at just the right time.

This included mixing classic house anthems like "Blackwater" and "Strings of Life" with new tracks from the Buzzin Fly label, like Moreno's forthcoming "Firebird" and Watt's own remix Low's "Tonight."

Watt also included an astounding variety of styles and moods throughout the set, again signaling his desire to expand the boundaries of deep-house.

Shifting effortlessly from Afro-Cuban floor fillers to the dirty house beats of Junior Jack, he put on a virtual clinic of the increasingly splintered styles of house music.

By the time Watt settled into his final hour, the crowd, drenched in sweat from the combination of the infectious grooves and the lack of central air, had become his completely.

He chose, however, to give the crowd a bit of respite by playing several mid-tempo numbers, including a stunning blend of a bootleg mix of Stevie Wonder's "For Your Love" with DJ Gregory's massive new tune "Solaris."

This was followed by Julius Papp's deep house remix of the R&B classic "Ain't No Sunshine" and others, keeping the mood relatively subdued. However, as the lights came on to signal the end of the night, Watt rewarded the congregation with his own rapturous remix of Sade's "By Your Side", a song that will forever be attached to his name.

As people filed out of the steaming hot club, you could tell that once again their
faith in the power of house music was confirmed.

photos courtesy of Marc Goldstein