Ben Watt | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Ben Watt is best known as half of the duo Everything But the Girl, which first performed together in 1982. That year, EBTGs Tracey Thorn released her solo debut, A Distant Shore, while Watt released his, North Marine Drive, the following year. Watts LP went to number one on the U.K. indie charts and included a cover of Bob Dylans "Youre Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go." Everything But the Girls early material was lite-jazz, but their major international breakthrough came in the dance music genre with Todd Terrys 1995 remix of the song "Missing," which originally appeared on the album Amplified Heart. ("Missing" went to number two on Billboards Hot 100 in 1996.) Everything But the Girl successfully made the transition to the "new jazz" of techno, house, and trip-hop. That shift can be seen as a rebirth musically and personally. After the completion of the duos 1992 album, Acoustic, Watt contracted the rare autoimmune system disease Churg-Strauss syndrome, which nearly killed him. Complaining of chest pains, Watt was hospitalized for eight weeks and in that time lost more than 40 pounds and 85 percent of his small intestine. Recovery took a long time and was never a certainty. Out of his struggle with the deadly disease, Watt wrote a personal memoir, entitled Patient: The History of a Rare Illness, which was published by Grove Press. Able to look back with humor, Watt wrote of Churg-Strauss syndrome: "To paraphrase Joseph Heller," Watt wrote, "You know its something serious when they name it after two guys." Patient contains his observations about the struggle with the mental as well as physical hurdles of recovery. The book is very much a look at how trauma can force a person to become a new individual. One of the new additions to Watts post-illness life was an engagement with technology. He immersed himself in the World Wide Web and managed the EBTG website. The interest in technology affected the bands music and Watt began to work with sequencers and computers more in his compositions. With the encouragement of friend, producer, and DJ Howie B, Watt began spinning in the world of underground DJs. His boredom with traditional approaches to playing and arranging music, a sense of isolation from an emerging generation of young music fans, and his illness set the stage for the new version of Everything But the Girl. The band had explored soul and bossa nova in the early 80s and began to experiment with downtempo funk, deep house, and jazzy drumnbass. Watt actually remixed a version of "Missing" under the pseudonym Little Joey and fully submerged himself in the U.K. drumnbass scene in 1994. The new techno approach was flushed out on Walking Wounded, their Virgin Records debut. The title track and "Wrong" both cracked the U.K. Top Ten. Because of Watts dedication to the club world, the follow-up, Temperamental, was three years in the making and retained much of the same style. Watt has produced and added vocals, piano, and guitar to releases by Chicane, Deep Dish, Adam F., Beth Orton, Roni Size, and Massive Attack, among others. Watt attributes his ability to stay energized and young at heart to his remix work and DJ side project, Lazy Dog, an ongoing club event that is hosted regularly in London. Watt and DJ Hannan (who also co-hosts Lazy Dog) released a two-disc set that included the U.K. hit "Tracey in My Room" on Astralwerks in the fall of 2000. The birth of Watt and Thorns third child kept the duo busy and away from the studio for a time. Watts remixing eased him back into recording with work for Sade, Sunshine Anderson, and Maxwell. In 2003 he formed the label and club Buzzin Fly and began to record a series of deep house singles. Released a year later, Buzzin Fly, Vol. 1 began a series of CDs featuring music from the label mixed together by Watt. Continuing with the label -- and its sister label, Strange Feeling -- and taking on DJ spots on radio, Watt continued to be active within the music scene. In 2013 Watt announced that he would be closing down his two labels, citing the troubles that small, independent labels faced in a market saturated by digital releases. In April 2014 Watt released his second album, Hendra (coming some 30 years after his debut), to much acclaim and saw him working with David Gilmour, Bernard Butler, and Ewan Pearson. The album and subsequent tour were greeted with near unanimous acclaim and the artist won an AIM Independent Music Award for Best Second Album. Watt entered Londons RAK Studio II in 2015 with Butler, drummer Martin Ditchman, bassist Rex Horan, and engineer Bruno Ellingham. He also enlisted guest vocal help from M.C. Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger and Marissa Nadler. The completed album was entitled Fever Dream on Watts Unmade Road label. Preceded by video singles for "Gradually" and "Between Two Fires," it was released in April 2016. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 10 Title: Old Playfellows Released: 1982 Tracks: 11 Duration: 29:40 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Walter and John (04:05) 2 Aquamarine (04:09) 3 Slipping Slowly (02:52) 4 Another Conversation With Myself (01:24) 5 A Girl in Winter (03:50) 6 Goodbye Joe (02:27) 7 On My Mind (03:09) 8 The Lure of the Rockpools (01:44) 9 Cant (03:12) 10 Tower of Silence (01:55) 11 Aubade (00:50) |
 | Album: 2 of 10 Title: Summer Into Winter Released: 1982 Tracks: 5 Duration: 07:59 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Walter and John (?) 2 Aquamarine (04:09) 3 Slipping Slowly (?) 4 Another Conversation With Myself (?) 5 A Girl in Winter (03:50) |
 | Album: 3 of 10 Title: North Marine Drive Released: 1983 Tracks: 9 Duration: 00:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 On Box Hill (?) 2 Some Things Dont Matter (?) 3 Lucky One (?) 4 Empty Bottles (?) 5 North Marine Drive (?) 6 Waiting Like Mad (?) 7 Thirst for Knowledge (?) 8 Long Time No Sea (?) 9 Youre Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (?) |
 | Album: 4 of 10 Title: North Marine Drive / Summer Into Winter Released: 1987 Tracks: 14 Duration: 50:35 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 On Box Hill (02:28) 2 Some Things Dont Matter (04:28) 3 Lucky One (02:34) 4 Empty Bottles (04:39) 5 North Marine Drive (02:19) 6 Waiting Like Mad (04:52) 7 Thirst for Knowledge (03:30) 8 Long Time No Sea (05:25) 9 Youre Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (03:45) 10 Walter and John (04:08) 11 Aquamarine (04:13) 12 Slipping Slowly (02:53) 13 Another Conversation With Myself (01:24) 14 A Girl in Winter (03:50) |
| North Marine Drive / Summer Into Winter : Allmusic album Review : Ben Watts 1983 album, North Marine Drive, reached number one on the U.K. indie charts. The quiet acoustic album has jazzy melodies and rhythms throughout. Standout tracks include "Empty Bottles," "On Box Hill," and a cover of Bob Dylans "Youre Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go." SpinART re-released the long out-of-print album and included five bonus tracks, a collaboration with composer Robert Wyatt entitled Summer into Winter. Fans of Everything But the Girls jazz material, like the albums Acoustic or Idlewild, will obsess over North Marine Drive. Its understated presentation contains all the reflective melancholy typical of Watts later works. The Wyatt collaboration Summer Into Winter fits well at the tail end of the album, as the moody, multi-instrumental ambience perpetuates the intimate feel while adding a haunting, ethereal quality reminiscent of trip-hop. North Marine Drive is an underappreciated gem that is essential to fans of elegant songwriting. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 10 Title: Buzzin Fly, Volume 1 Released: 2004-03-22 Tracks: 11 Duration: 1:08:35 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Musica Feliz (Alex S Deep Gold mix) (06:24) 2 Believe (Martin Solveig vocal dub) (05:06) 3 6 in the Morning (07:22) 4 Dreaming About Tomorrow (G-Dubs Guided by Angels reprise) (07:40) 5 A Stronger Man (06:49) 6 Musica (Native New Yorkers Funked Up mix) (05:37) 7 The Sad Piano (Charles Webster remix) (06:16) 8 Dreaming of You (05:30) 9 This Is Why We Dance (05:30) 10 Tonight (Ben Watt Night Flight remix) (06:24) 11 Worlds (Theme 2) (05:53) |
 | Album: 6 of 10 Title: Buzzin Fly, Volume 2 Released: 2005-03-21 Tracks: 15 Duration: 1:15:23 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Intro (00:57) 2 New York Style (04:45) 3 Five Seasons (06:41) 4 Lone Cat (Holding On) (Justin Martin remix) (04:49) 5 El Wahrania (Montes Midnight mix) (07:06) 6 Rosanova (Scientific Souls Sax in Rio dub) (05:20) 7 Le Boom (04:49) 8 Time Out (05:35) 9 Pop a Cap in Yo Ass (feat. Estelle) (05:20) 10 Better Love (05:50) 11 Senti Sabi (Alexs Elektro Skankin mix) (feat. Fubu) (07:14) 12 Night of Music (05:50) 13 I Love You (Ben Watt Blackness of Night remix) (05:20) 14 Goodbye Illusions (Charles Webster Seriously Deluded mix) (feat. Big J) (04:34) 15 Outro (01:08) |
 | Album: 7 of 10 Title: Buzzin Fly, Volume 3 Released: 2006-06-05 Tracks: 15 Duration: 1:09:50 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Gazebo (intro Loop) (00:16) 2 Old Soul (feat. Baby Blak) (02:55) 3 Gazebo (05:06) 4 Clear Sky (Manoo and Francois a remix) (05:03) 5 Stereo Interleaved (Martinez Triple-O Adjustment Ben Watt re-edit) (03:02) 6 Lose Control (04:38) 7 Attack Attack Attack (feat. Baby Blak) (06:36) 8 I Love Deep (The Timewriter remix) (05:04) 9 San Fernando Road (John Tejada remix) (05:27) 10 Metamotional (08:07) 11 Insomnia (feat. Claudia Franco) (05:04) 12 Square Up (06:20) 13 So Far Back (original mix edit) (02:01) 14 So Far Back (Phonique remix edit) (06:26) 15 One Week on Cuba (03:38) |
 | Album: 8 of 10 Title: Buzzin Fly, Volume 4 Released: 2007-05-27 Tracks: 11 Duration: 1:11:32 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Barbi in Love / Approaching Phantoms (Extract) - Ben Watt & Jennifer Valone (06:22) 2 Long Shadows (04:21) 3 Just a Blip (05:06) 4 Mind Games (08:39) 5 Blink (07:37) 6 Magnetic (06:05) 7 Freaky Bleepy (06:37) 8 Lost (04:42) 9 Silver Ponds (Ben Watt dub) (08:11) 10 Down to Earth (05:50) 11 The Sad Piano (Jimpster remix) / Approaching Phantoms (Extract) - Ben Watt & Jennifer Valone (07:57) |
 | Album: 9 of 10 Title: Hendra Released: 2014-04-14 Tracks: 10 Duration: 44:15 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Hendra (03:23) 2 Forget (05:13) 3 Spring (03:55) 4 Golden Ratio (05:13) 5 Matthew Arnolds Field (04:31) 6 The Gun (05:34) 7 Nathaniel (04:46) 8 The Levels (03:59) 9 Young Mans Game (02:52) 10 The Heart Is a Mirror (04:45) |
| Hendra : Allmusic album Review : Calling Hendra Ben Watts first solo album in 31 years is true but its also misleading. Watt was always active during those three decades, devoting himself first to Everything But the Girl -- the duo he had with his wife Tracey Thorn -- and once that group came to a creative end around the turn of the millennium (the pair remained married), he steadily worked as a DJ, sometimes releasing dance compilation albums, while also authoring the acclaimed 1996 book Patient. Of these two endeavors, Patient may be the closest touchstone to Hendra, Watts 2014 album, as the record is hushed and intimate, often suggesting not so much a confessional as a quiet, impassioned conversation with an old friend. Theres no hint of dance music, which isnt to say Hendra is devoid of rhythm. Watt dabbles with bossa nova and often follows a pleasingly relaxed pop shuffle, the kind of pattern that enlivens a sweet melody without distracting from it. Throughout Hendra, Watt achieves this delicate balance, preserving a sense of tranquility thats never monotonous. Often, it feels as if there are no more than two musicians on a given track, a claim that is occasionally true but this speaks more to the intimacy of Watt and his handful of collaborators, usually producer Ewan Pearson and guitarist Bernard Butler, than it does to the actual arrangements. David Gilmour comes in to color "The Levels" and he manages not to overwhelm and even surprises, avoiding textures and phrases that have become signatures, functioning as a painter, not a featured artist. This speaks to the careful craft of Hendra: every element is in the right place but Watt is smart enough to leave some elements undone, giving the album a human heart thats evident no matter how deliberate the entire affair may be. | ||
 | Album: 10 of 10 Title: Fever Dream Released: 2016-04-08 Tracks: 10 Duration: 43:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Gradually (05:29) 2 Fever Dream (03:48) 3 Between Two Fires (03:20) 4 Winter’s Eve (04:05) 5 Women’s Company (05:09) 6 Faces of My Friends (04:50) 7 Running With the Front Runners (04:41) 8 Never Goes Away (02:52) 9 Bricks and Wood (04:22) 10 New Year of Grace (04:28) |
| Fever Dream : Allmusic album Review : With 2014s Hendra, DJ, producer, label owner, and author Ben Watt resumed his career as a solo singer/songwriter after 31 years as a collaborator with Tracey Thorn (his wife) in Everything But the Girl. Fever Dream proves Hendra wasnt just a one-off to scratch an artistic itch. The complications of life events -- the death of his parents and step-sister, the changing nature of long-term relationships among his friends and family -- needed to be made sense of, and the songs wouldnt leave him alone. With Bernard Butler returning on lead guitar, drummer Martin Ditcham, and upright bassist Rex Horan, Watt delivers ten new songs that delve into the joys, conflicts, ends, and renewals of love of many kinds. Self-produced, these songs are rendered with Watts requisite grace and attentiveness, not only to sound and words, but also to musical inspirations. Opener "Gradually" engages his love for Neil Young and Crazy Horse with Butlers distorted, stuttering electric guitars, sweet vocal harmonies, and lyrics that reference the loss of self that occurs with the first rush of love, and the doubt that emerges as time passes: "No words are on your lips/we pass like silent ships/Can I prove we exist/Where are the hours we missed/This summer night is clear/I still want you near/I dont know where I am/or who I used to be." The title track reflects the weight of everyday life on passion. It contains a jazzier feel, with hand percussion and slippery guitar chords that recall John Martyn in his post-Grace & Danger period; Hiss Golden Messengers M.C. Taylor makes a guest vocal appearance. The grain in each of their voices etches its own stark portrait of romantic uncertainty. The tone of the recording shifts halfway through; the themes become more accommodating if not celebratory. The music is more delicate, but no less poignant. Watts love of the iconic hybrid of Pentangles British folk-jazz emerges in the gorgeous "Faces of My Friends." In "Running with the Front Runners," a dreamy bossa rhythm slips effortlessly amid acoustic and electric guitars and sparse, atmospheric keyboards. Set-closer "New Year of Grace," with backing vocals from Marissa Nadler, counterbalances the doubt and darkness in "Gradually." Fingerpicked, minor-key acoustic guitar, and a well-placed, intermittent cello, flute, and upright bass underscore Watt singing about the unexpected and sometimes shattering moments of beauty that emerge in relationships -- when one is willing to absorb their difficulties rather than run from them. Watt interrogates love and its stages thoroughly on Fever Dream, yet in the end he unequivocally affirms it. His songs are resonant with the weight of experience, and his musical settings, even in their relative sparsity, are powerful and at times nearly elegant. | ||