Artist: Ben Westbeech
Album: There's More to Life Than This
Wow, this album blew me away. It is mandatory that you pay attention to this post...
Ben Westbeech is a London-based (via Bristol) DJ, singer, and producer, who is also a trained cellist and vocalist. His sound is a mix of House, Soul, Jazz, and a little Hip Hop. All you need to know is... if this don't make your booty move, your booty must be dead.
"There's More to Life Than This" is the man's sophomore album, following 2007's "Welcome to the Best Years of Your Life," which I have not heard. But the new record grabbed me immediately. It initially sounds like a great cocktail lounge mix, fusing the aforementioned House/Soul/Jazz sounds to dizzying heights. It's all of that, and yet a bit more... sounding futuristic, classic, and just plain nice throughout. I hear shades of Jamiroquai, late George Michael, a less-pop Maroon 5, and that perfect loungy-cocktail-house mix you got in the early 2000's.
Second track "Something for the Weekend" is a great party-starter, and first single "Falling" continues the groove. Then comes the sorta-Timberlake-ish "Same Thing," which immediately made me realize that the record was a little less-pop version of his "FutureSex/LoveSounds." (And honestly, if any of the above mentioned artists hit your favorite list, you absolutely MUST listen to this album.)
On one hand, "There's More to Life Than This," (which doesn't include a Bjork cover) sounds like a nice in-the-background record for a cocktail party, and yet the more you listen the more you hear how specifically crafted each song is, elevating it beyond mood music. And yet it totally works for that too... and is consistently good from start to finish.
You heard it from WeCastMusic, this has future classic written all over it. LISTEN TO THIS RECORD!
Enjoy.
Something for the Weekend
Falling
Same Thing
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