Music - Ben Watt

Went to see house DJ Ben Watt (he of "Everything But The Girl" fame) last week in Fast Eddies, Cork. "Feddies" is a bastion of deep house in the deep south with resident DJs, Fish Go Deep (they of "Cure and the Cause"). Deep house wouldn't be my favourite form of dance music but had heard a lot of good things about Ben Watt.

I had braced myself for a lower tempo than I used to and some deep, rich vocals meandering over dissonant beats, but was very pleasantly surprised. The lolling breakdowns I associate with deep house didn't materialise, with Watt bringing the crowd with him from downbeat bliss to big bass lines to cheesy vocals to an unrelenting final encore.

1st tune on entering club
"Just a blip - Ben Watt"
Check it out

Mixed this next track later in brilliantly, let it play for a while and then brought in ...


a remix of a track I never liked but with an excellent remix that rocked the joint (can't find remix)







I always admire a DJ who is strong enough to play a bit of cheese without playing it for the sake of it. I think he rocked the place with a remix of
"You keep me hanging on"


A DJ mixing lower tempo music really has a lot more to do, with any flaws very evident. They have far more control over a crowd as opposed to a trance DJ where it almost exclusively has to be driven by high bpm's, crescendos, lasers and fast paced melodies. Vocals often veer to a very sickly of cheese e.g AVB "Black is the colour"??.

Some of the feedback from deep house aficionados wasn't very positive on Watt's set, but I found it a varied and skilled performance. Other forms of dance music definitely have a more euphoric and instantly gratifying effect - the culinary equivalent of a Big Mad - whereas Watt's set had a sense of journey and satisfaction at its finale.