Tracey Thorn Photo © Edward Bishop http://www.edwardbishop.me
by Kristi York Wooten
OK, so maybe they didn’t rescue me from a burning building, but the music of Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt (a.k.a. Everything But the Girl ) has accompanied me on a lifetime’s worth of afternoon walks, airplane rides and lazy Saturdays – saving me from myself all the while. Whether it’s the samba’d solitude of “Rollercoaster,” the saxy sadness disguised in “Me and Bobby D,” or the breathless beats in the “Wrong” remix, their songs are the Language of (my) Life. Separately, they’ve done well by eachother – Ben, with his record labels and DJ career, and Tracey in her incarnation as guest vocalist extraordinaire (Style Council, Massive Attack, Jens Lekman, among many others) and her recent reinvigoration as a solo artist. Together, Ben and Tracey hold a permanent spot in my Top 5. In celebration of the release of Tracey’s brill new record, Love and Its Opposite, I’ve been reflecting on all the good music these two have put out in the last few decades. This is by no means a compendium of all their accomplishments (nor a fan’s laundry list of rarities) … just a summary of my faves and why:
Check out my EBTG stories and playlist on my profile: Kristi York Wooten on MAB
Ben’s Buzzin’ Fly career:
Still capturing the sounds of modern life like few can … Ben is a master at blending the mundane with the magnificent:
Tracey’s latest:
Tracey Thorn live on Later with Jools Holland
Tags: Ben Watt, Everything But the Girl, Kristi York Wooten, Tracey Thorn
