Ben Westbeech

Last updated

Ben Westbeech
Ben Westbeech.jpg
Background information
Also known asBreach, Lean
Born17 April 1981
Hertfordshire, England
Origin Bristol, England
Genres Electronica, house, jazz fusion
Occupation(s)Producer, DJ, artist
Instrument(s)Cello, piano
Years active2006–present
LabelsTrademark of Energy Production Srl, Brownswood Recordings, Naked Naked, Dirtybird
Website benwestbeech.com

Ben Westbeech (born 17 April 1981) is a British DJ and record producer originating from Hertfordshire who spent his formative musical years in Bristol. [1] [2] Trained as cellist and vocalist, his influences include house, soul, jazz and hip hop. [3]

Contents

Music career

Early career: 2007–08

Westbeech gave a CD containing his first single "So Good Today" to a friend in London. Two months later she played it to Gilles Peterson who snapped it up.[ citation needed ] This led to him being signed to Gilles Peterson's new label, Brownswood Recordings. His debut album Welcome to the Best Years of Your Life was released in March 2007. [4] He later appeared on Later... with Jools Holland alongside Paul McCartney and Björk. He also appeared on the track "Squeeze Me" on Kraak & Smaak's album Plastic People, released in April 2008. [5]

There's More To Life Than This: 2009–11

More recently, he appeared on the track "I Can See", which was the main single for Jazzanova's album titled Of All The Things, released in January 2009 on Verve/Universal. Ben also sang on the song "Shame" for DJ Marky and Artificial Intelligence. Westbeech is working with Professor Green (producing for his new record), Kutz (Soul Jazz), Redlight (Lobster Boy) and Rusko (Mad Decent). He released his second album, There's More To Life Than This on Strictly Rhythm in September 2011. [6] The record features collaborators including Soul Clap, Henrik Schwarz, MJ Cole, Motor City Drum Ensemble and Georg Levin.[ citation needed ] Westbeech described it as "house inspired, rather than straight up house music". [7] Westbeech also produces and DJs under the moniker Breach. [8] Under the "Breach" moniker, he produced the track "Fatherless" released on PTN in 2010. [9] Breach has released music on Claude VonStroke's Dirtybird label and Pet's (Catz n Dogz' label). Westbeech also wrote the vocal for Redlight's Breakthrough hit "Get Out My Head" featuring Nicole Jackson. He also owns the record label "Naked Naked" which releases tracks from Breach, Midland, Dusky and Dark Sky. [10]

2013–present: Breakthrough

In June 2013, Westbeech's remix of Maya Jane Coles' "Everything" featuring Karin Park was released through I/AM/ME. [11]

In July 2013, under the name "Breach" he released his first successful single on the UK Singles Chart, "Jack", peaking at 9. The follow-up single, "Everything You Never Had (We Had It All)" featuring Andreya Triana, also peaked at 9.

Breach teamed up with American singer-songwriter Kelis on the track "The Key", which was released on 14 December 2014, the week of the UK Christmas singles chart race; the single however failed to chart. [12]

Personal life

Westbeech was briefly engaged to actress Rachel Hurd-Wood.[ citation needed ]

Discography

Albums

TitleAlbum detailsNotes
Welcome to the Best Years of Your Life
  • Released: 2007
  • Format: Digital download, CD
No.TitleLength
1."Welcome"3:39
2."So Good Today"2:59
3."Get Silly"3:51
4."Bright Future"3:52
5."Nothing Else"2:44
6."Gotta Keep On"2:56
7."Taken Away From"2:49
8."Grey Skies"1:49
9."Stop What You're Doing"2:49
10."Dance With Me"4:02
11."Get Closer"4:55
12."Hang Around"3:38
13."Pusherman"3:16
14."In/Out"2:44
15."Beauty"4:35
There's More To Life Than This
  • Released: 2011
  • Format: Digital download, CD
No.TitleLength
1."The Book" (produced by Georg Levin) 
2."Something for the Weekend" (produced by Danny J Lewis) 
3."Falling" (produced by Lovebirds) 
4."Same Thing" (produced by Chocolate Puma) 
5."Justice" (produced by Motor City Drum Ensemble) 
6."Stronger" (produced by Midland) 
7."Inflections" (produced by Henrik Schwarz) 
8."Sugar" (produced by Redlight) 
9."Let Your Feelings Show" (produced by Georg Levin) 
10."Butterflies" (produced by Rasmus Faber) 
11."Summer's Loss" (produced by Rasmus Faber) 

Singles

YearTitlePeak chart positions Certifications Album
UK
[13]
UK Dance
[14]
IRE
[15]
SCO
[16]
2012"You Won't Find Love Again"Non-album singles
"101 / Somewhere"
2013"The Click / Fallout"
"Jack"947412
"Everything You Never Had (We Had It All)"
(featuring Andreya Triana)
928413
2014"The Key"
(featuring Kelis)

Other songs

Samples

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shy FX</span> Musical artist

Andre Williams, better known as Shy FX, is a British DJ and producer from London. He specialises in drum and bass and jungle music.

Altern 8 is a British electronic music act, comprising Mark Archer and Chris Peat, until Peat left the group in 1994. Best known in the early 1990s, their trademark was electronic rave music with a heavy bass line. Notable Altern 8 tracks included "Activ 8", "E-vapor 8", "Frequency", "Brutal-8-E", "Armageddon", "Move My Body", "Hypnotic St8" and "Infiltrate 202".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miss Kittin</span> French electronic music producer, DJ, singer, and songwriter

Caroline Hervé, known professionally as Miss Kittin, is a French electronic music producer, DJ, singer, and songwriter. Since rising to prominence in 1998 for her singles "1982" and "Frank Sinatra" with The Hacker, she has worked with other musicians such as Chicks on Speed, Felix da Housecat and Golden Boy. She released her debut solo album I Com in 2004, a second, BatBox, in 2008, and a third, Calling from the Stars, in 2013. She achieved international popularity with the singles "Rippin Kittin" and "Silver Screen Shower Scene".

Birgit Dieckmann, known professionally as Billie Ray Martin, is a German singer and songwriter, known for her single "Your Loving Arms", which reached the top 10 of both the UK Singles Chart (#6) and the Irish Singles Chart (#8) in 1995, and reached number one on the US Dance Club Chart. She was also one of the vocalists on the S'Express UK top 10 hit single "Hey Music Lover" (1989), and had UK top 40 hits as lead vocalist of Electribe 101 with "Tell Me When the Fever Ended" (1989) and "Talking with Myself" (1990), and as a solo singer with "Running Around Town" (1995) and "Imitation of Life" (1996).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sander Kleinenberg</span> Dutch DJ

Sander Kleinenberg is a Dutch disc jockey, VDJ, and record producer. He founded and runs Little Mountain Recordings and THIS IS Recordings. Kleinenberg is well known for his use of digital video in concerts, his "Everybody" and This Is brands of club nights and albums and his 2000 single "My Lexicon" as well as hits like "The Fruit" and "This Is Miami".

Nightcrawlers is a British-American house music project from Glasgow, Scotland and Chicago, Illinois, assembled by producer, DJ and vocalist John Reid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelis discography</span>

American singer and songwriter Kelis has released six studio albums, one live album, one compilation album, 39 singles, and 29 music videos. At age 16, she left her parents' home; at the age of 20 she was signed to Virgin Records. Her debut single, "Caught Out There", was released in 1999, reaching number 54 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number four in the United Kingdom. Her debut album, Kaleidoscope, was released in December 1999 and charted at number 144 on the Billboard 200, and has sold 249,000 copies in the country to date. In the United Kingdom, it was certified gold and has sold over 167,000 copies. Two more singles were released from the album: "Good Stuff" which reached the UK top twenty and "Get Along with You" which failed to chart in the US and charted poorly in the UK. In 2001, her second studio album, Wanderland, was released and featured similar "raw emotion and sophisticated musicianship" of her debut album. The album was not released in the United States, however, and the only single, "Young, Fresh n' New", charted poorly.

This is a complete list of releases from Welsh rock band The Automatic, including albums, extended plays, singles and music videos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hideaway (De'Lacy song)</span> 1994 single by DeLacy

"Hideaway" is a song by American house music group De'Lacy, featuring vocals by Rainie Lassiter. It is the group's most successful single and is written by Kevin Hedge and Josh Milan, and produced by Blaze. The Deep Dish remix peaked at number-one in Italy. It also reached number nine in the UK and number 38 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in the US. The song has been remixed and re-released several times. A remixed version, called "Hideaway 1998", which featured a mix by Nu‑Birth, peaked at number 21 in 1998. The song was released a third time in 2006 and reached number 82 in the Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">21st Century Life</span> 2008 single by Sam Sparro

"21st Century Life" is the second single from Sam Sparro's eponymous debut album, released on 21 July 2008.

Kraak & Smaak is a musical production trio from the town of Leiden, Netherlands, consisting of Oscar de Jong, Mark Kneppers and Wim Plug. The three began recording in 2003. Their first album, titled Boogie Angst, was released in the UK 2006, and they began performing at music festivals and at clubs in the US and UK. Their songs were played on the radio and were used in television shows. Their second album, released in 2008, was titled Plastic People. They won an EBBA. Their third album, Electric Hustle, was released in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Real Thing (British band)</span> British soul group

The Real Thing are a British soul group formed in the 1970s. The band charted internationally with their song "You to Me Are Everything", which reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. They also had successes a string of British hits such as "Can't Get By Without You" and "Can You Feel the Force?". They returned to mainstream success in 1986 with the Decade Remix of "You to Me Are Everything". By number of sales, they were the most successful black rock/soul act in England during the 1970s. The journalist, author and founder of Mojo magazine Paul Du Noyer credits them alongside Deaf School with restoring "Liverpool's musical reputation in the 1970s" with their success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tensnake</span> Musical artist

Marco Niemerski, known professionally as Tensnake, is a German DJ and producer from Hamburg best known for his 2010 track "Coma Cat", which appeared on at least 15 compilations that year.

Hugh Pescod, better known as Redlight, is a British DJ, record producer, re mixer and composer from Bristol.

Smoove & Turrell are a British group hailing from Gateshead in the North East of England. They play a style of music they describe as "Northern Funk" - a contemporary fusion of funk, soul, northern soul, hip-hop and electronica.

Matthew James Burns, known mononymously as Burns, is a British record producer, songwriter, and DJ. His recent writing and production credits include Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Liam Payne, Little Mix, Louis Tomlinson, Pitbull, Ellie Goulding, Kacy Hill, Ariana Grande, Anitta, Ava Max, and others.

<i>Food</i> (Kelis album) 2014 studio album by Kelis

Food is the sixth studio album by American singer Kelis. It was released on April 18, 2014, becoming her first album released under Ninja Tune Records. After parting ways with Jive Records in 2007, Kelis signed to Interscope and will.i.am Music Group in 2009, through the label she released her fifth studio album, Flesh Tone, which saw Kelis experiment with a dance sound. In 2011, Kelis began work on the follow-up to Flesh Tone; however, she left Interscope and signed to Federal Prism, before officially signing to the British independent label Ninja Tune for the release of Food. Food is an R&B and soul album with a diverse musical style that incorporates funk, Afrobeat, Memphis soul, and neo soul. Its songs feature crackling horns, brass, earthy guitars, simmering electronics and vocals from Kelis that were noted as being breathy, smoky and sultry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Mago</span> Musical artist

Michiel Thomassen, stage name Mike Mago, is a Dutch DJ, music producer and record label owner.

<i>Ultra.2009</i> 2008 compilation album (Mix)

Ultra.2009 is a dance compilation album from Ultra Records, compiling original and remixed tracks from the label. It was released on October 28, 2008.

"You Don't Know" is a song by Smoove & Turrell, released both as a CD and 12 inch single, including remixes by Kraak & Smaak as well as Featurecast, on Jalapeño Records in 2009. It was also released as a track on the Smoove & Turrell 2009 album Antique Soul, as well as on the compilation album, Wavemusic: Soul Ya 3. "You Don't Know" was written by Jonathan Scott Watson, John Turrell, Lynsey de Paul and Barry Blue, and sampled the track "Water" from de Paul's debut album, Surprise.

References

  1. "Ben Westbeech". Steinberg.net/. Archived from the original on 17 August 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  2. "BenWestbeech/BREACH (benwestbeech) on Twitter". Twitter.com. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  3. "Interview: BEN WESTBEECH | SoulCulture". 19 January 2008. Archived from the original on 14 October 2016.
  4. "Ben Westbeech – Welcome to the Best Years of Your Life (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. 26 March 2007. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  5. "Kraak & Smaak – Plastic People (Vinyl, LP) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  6. "Ben Westbeech – There\'s More To Life Than This". Strictly.com. Archived from the original on 5 June 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  7. "RA News: Ben Westbeech says There's More to Life Than This". Residentadvisor.net. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  8. "FACT mix 346: Breach – FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music". Factmag.com. 10 September 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  9. "Breach (2) – Fatherless at Discogs". Discogs.com. 2 February 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  10. Swift, Patrick (24 June 2012). "Ben Westbeech Starts New Label". Mixmag. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  11. "Breach Remix of Maya Jane Coles". Indie Shuffle. 8 April 2014.
  12. "The Key (feat. Kelis) - Single by Breach". Music.apple.com. 2 October 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  13. "Breach > UK Charts". officialcharts.com/ Official Charts Company.
  14. Peak positions for the Dance singles in the UK:
  15. Peak positions in Ireland:
  16. Peak positions for singles in Scotland:
  17. 1 2 "British single certifications – Breach". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 1 August 2017.Select singles in the Format field. Type Breach in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.