Ben Westbeech is the first signing to Gilles Peterson’s new record label Brownswood, and this remix brings a bit of house to this very soulful tune…..
Like so many things that I first hear on Gilles Peterson’s Radio 1 show, it took me a long time to find out what it was called. The first time I heard him play this track by Ben Westbeech, it was just listed as Untitled in the track-listings, as it didn’t have a name or release date at that time. This didn’t stop it being voted one of the Top 10 songs of 2005 by the listeners of Peterson’s show, 7 months before it came out.
Like early Jamiroquai, whose first records were released on Gille’s early 90s record label Acid Jazz, Westbeech has a beautiful voice that is married to gentle instrumentation (accoustic guitars mainly on this track), funky drums and some little hints of hip-hop (when performing live, Ben does some pretty mean scratching). It all adds up to a track that positively oozes summer vibes.
This Yoruba remix (one of two available) takes that basic combination and builds on it very gently, without spoiling the simplicity that lies at the heart of this song’s appeal. The hip-hop break beat becomes a house four to the floor beat. On top of the guitars and vocals are heaped some very soulful Brazilian style organ loops. And that’s about it. This is definitely a remix where less (changed) is more (improved).
If there is any justice in the world Ben Westbeech and his lovely blend of soul & hip-hop will conquer the world – if Lily Allen can get to number 1 then this track should be at the top of the charts for the rest of the summer. That however won’t be helped by the fact that the original version of So Good Today is only now available on iTunes, several weeks after the official release date. This rather lovely Yoruba remix has been there for a couple of weeks now. And as I couldn’t wait, I downloaded So Good Today from TuneTribe. But I’d really recommend just going out and getting it on the format it was designed for – 12″ vinyl.
I did that back in May when a promo version came out and since then every day has been So Good.
Super hot… I’d been hearing it on Aaron Ross, BBC 1Xtra show lately. Thank you for throwing the iTunes link in as well!