Ben Watt talks about Buzzin' Fly

For the release of 'Buzzin' Fly Vol 2', Ben had a chat with endclub.com

Ben Watt returned to The End for the first time since the legendary Lazy Dog parties in May '05, with a special summer event to celebrate the 2nd birthday of his award-winning underground house label, Buzzin' Fly. Watt was on tour promoting his acclaimed 'Buzzin' Fly Vol 2' mix CD with a series of spring dates and festival appearances in Europe and the US. In between gig and festival dates, he found time to answer a few questions for endclub.com...

Endclub.com: Can you tell us how Buzzin' Fly came about? What were your aims when you started it?

Ben Watt: I had aspirations for a label during my time doing Lazy Dog. Many great tracks passed under my nose that were unsigned or under-exposed. However, it when my own track 'Lone Cat' was bootlegged that I was forced to act. I pressed up 50 white labels and suddenly it was all over London and then on export. I thought 'This is ridiculous', and got control back over the distribution and then released it commercially in April 2003. That was the first BF release. Once it was up and running I realised I did have a very strong idea of what I wanted. I wanted the label to be about new young artists as well as a vehicle for my own dance-oriented productions. I wasn't into just licensing underground hits and exploiting them, or tapping up big names for spare tunes. I also really want the aesthetic of the label to be very different to most house labels with great artwork and website content.

How did you come up with the name Buzzin' Fly?

Stolen from a song by early 70s folk-jazz cult icon Tim Buckley, father of the later Jeff Buckley. Always struck me as a great name for a label if I ever did one!

You've got some fantastic artists making up the Buzzin' Fly family with long-time players including Charles Webster and Chris Woodward, plus new name Justin Martin. How did they become part of Buzzin' Fly?

Justin approached me as a nervous rookie in Miami in 2003. Chris send me a mix tape. Charles Webster is one of my deep house heroes. Rodamaal, whose 'Musica Feliz' was our second release, turned out to be 3 incredibly diverse and talented unsung producers, two from France (Rocco and Manoo) and one from Portugal (Alex S). I like the breadth and scope of the various artists, from the darker sounds of Justin to the deepness of Manoo to the sweetness of Alex. A great blend.

Tell us about your Buzzin' Fly compilations, Vol 2 of which is out now. How do they define the Buzzin' Fly sound?

Strong on groove, strong on lyrics. Dark but bumpin', light but flowing. Full of pathos, grit and uplift at the same time. That bittah-sweet sound! The new record also really tries to unite many sides of house in a long journey intercut with spoken word extracts. There is electro, Afro, Detroit and Chicago all interwoven.

Tell us about how the tour to promote 'Buzzin' Fly Vol 2' has been going. What have been the most memorable moments so far?

The dates in Australia in February were astounding. The festival sessions were euphoric especially Sydney. I also played some killer small club dates. Melbourne was deep! I'm in the US now as I write this. Just done Cielo in NYC. Packed.Very cool. And did the Coachella Festival in the desert outside Palm Springs at the weekend. I end here next week at Marques Wyatt's seminal Sunday in LA, Deep. Coachella was a little sedate and polite for my taste. Coulda done with a few scallies legging it over the fence and a few crusties. Bit more English attitude!

You're coming back to The End for the first time since the Lazy Dog parties were held here from 2002-3. Looking back on what is for so many a seminal club night, what are the highlights for you and what does it mean to you in hindsight?

Lazy Dog was very special. It seemed to completely capture a mood in London at the time when people were searching for something social and soulful after being battered by superclubs and the superstar DJ ethos. We just tried to make it real and about the crowd. Me and Jay were just the ambience co-ordinators. They were great days for sure, but moments pass and the trick is to move on before they go stale.

You're a pivotal figure in electronic music, finding success within both the underground and the mainstream, and have had to deal with a lot of press attention. What have been the best and worst aspects of being in your position?

Earning respect on the underground has been a long process, more so in the UK than in the US because of our overground chart successes and natural Brit scepticism. That has taken some perseverance on my part. But clearly my profile shines a light on the label and the club nights that is unavailable to many great underground imprints, which is a great benefit. I have no axe to grind. I am very grateful I am still able to do what I want and find a crowd for it and respect for it. I watch these grim 80s re-union tours and TV shows and think I'm glad that's not me, up there re-hashing 20 yr old hits for the grey TV vote. Putting out the new Rodamaal 12 inch, or the debut Justin Martin album, or spinning deep tunes in a sweaty San Fran club seems much more worthwhile and rewarding.

What's your response to people who tell you they miss Everything But The Girl?

Gratitude that they care so much.

Published: 12/05/2005

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