- There was already a buzz when we walked through the doors of Neighbourhood at 7:30pm for the fortnightly Buzzin' Fly session. It was a welcoming surprise, since I'd not witnessed such a turn out that early before for the past few events. It could be because San Francisco-based Jay J (of Moulton Studios and Naked Music) was slotted to play or it could be the drink all you want house pours for 5 quid before 8:30pm. Whatever it was, it was good to have a good crowd already gearing up to party their Sunday evening away.
Chris Woodward was playing a nice warm up with some memorable tracks thrown in, like Jill Scott's He Loves Me. There were a few scattered over the wooden polished dance floor dancing while the rest were hogging the bar to get as many drinks as they could before time's up for the drinks promotion. Resident Ben Watt soon took over and began his signature deep, soulful and latino-infused house set. He got most of us into the mood by constantly building up the ambience. Worth mentioning is Melanie Blatt's Dreaming of Tomorrow which had atmospheric elements that blended well with where his set was heading.
Jay J then went behind the console and there was much cheering and applause. Everyone's partying as though it's not a working Monday the next day. He kept his soulful and jazzy set rising with sexy and beautiful vocals, soothing saxophone sounds, nice melodies and some percussion. He also played some pumping disco tracks. I recognised some of his tunes from his CD I was given. I wished he played a longer set! He’s an excellent DJ. The dance floor was almost packed. People were humming along and there was the usual wolf whistling. The vibes and energy were infectious and there were many smiles all around. I could almost feel as though it's Summertime again.
Ben Watt took over the reigns again and built up from where Jay J left off. He dropped Derrick May's Strings of Life and also a remixed of Soul to Soul's Back to Life. Both Ben and Jay J then began a back to back set and it was fantastic to see them complement each other. When Ben began Flamenco Grooves, we could almost feel as though we're back in Ibiza, with the sounds of the Spanish guitars carrying us there. Jay J aptly played Milk and Sugar's Let the Sunshine In and had the entire dance floor raising their hands up. Just as we thought that was the finale, Ben started on his version of Sade's By Your Side. Although it was past midnight, there was hardly a sign of people leaving the club! Even Jay J was grooving from his spot behind the console, and he came to join us on the dance floor for the final track, I Love Music with some vocal bits of Jon Cutler's Its Yours thrown in. It was nice to see him moving with us and singing out loud to the vocals. And with that, the night was sadly over.
Kudos has to go to Ben Watt, the inspiration behind Neighbourhood, which is fast becoming the place for deep, funky and soulful sounds in the West London area. It has a fantastic sound system and it’s not too dark like most clubs where you can’t see anyone. Complemented with his other Cherry Jam, where Jay J has declared to be the place that he played one of his best sets, people are now beginning to take note and venture to this side of London to check out these two places. And with fantastic nights coming from Groove Armada's Love Box and Ben's very own One Starry Night, it will be worth the effort.
Ben Watt’s Buzzin’ Fly happens alternate Sundays from 5pm – Midnight. It’s £6 (free before 6pm).