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Single Reviews
Single review: Ben Westbeech – Falling (Strictly Rhythm)
By Paul Vig | Published on Tuesday 8 March 2011
Singer/songwriter/DJ Ben Westbeech first caught my attention on one of Gilles Peterson’s ‘Brownswood Bubblers’ compilations a few years back. Now signed to quality house label Strictly Rhythm, here he presents his first single for them.
The original mix is OK, Westbeech’s vocals working well over a funky beat laden with percussion, with a reggae styled guitar riff and building atmospherics – all very accessible and well crafted. But it’s the remixes that really deliver. The Deetron Paradise mix takes it techy, but step-wise, fully climaxing at five minutes with some killer thumping soulful tech house vibes, though the vocal loop is perhaps overcooked.
The 2 Bears remix turns the track into some trad funky house, with a funky horn somewhere twixt the Bucketheads ‘Bomb’ and ‘Destination Unknown’ by Crystal Waters. Meanwhile, the Dark Sky trio offer us some electro influenced house, but in a powerful beatsy dancefloor manner. Again taking a while to build, there’s some warping and twisting of Westbeech’s vocals on this one, which work very well indeed.
An enjoyable package – I look forward to Ben’s album release later in the year which promises to be “house-inspired, rather than straight up house music” with collaborations with MJ Cole, Georg Levin and Henrik Schwarz. PV
