British DJ and record producer Ben Westbeech, aka Breach, reflects on the making of his biggest record, Jack, which has been re-released by Defected Records nine years after its initial release. He reveals how a B-side written for the underground scene became his biggest hit…
It may be nearing the end of December, but Ben Westbeech has just been for a morning swim in the sea. Hailing from Hertfordshire via stints in Bristol, London and Amsterdam, he isn’t braving the English Channel though, but the Mediterranean Sea of his now home in Ibiza.
“I moved here for nature, really,” he says. “I've lived in cities all my life, so I was a bit sick of living in a place where you're on top of everyone or there's lots of people around. I wanted to get to a place where there's lots of lovely nature, and I love the sea, so I wanted to be close to that.
"I have a cold swimming club – we’re called the Santa Eulalia otters,” he laughs. “We swim every day. It's nice – it's kind of a community.”
Given his house, drum and bass and dance credentials, many will be surprised to learn that Westbeech is a classically trained cellist, pianist and vocalist.
“I didn't really fit into that classical world,” he admits.
“I've always felt a bit odd being in there. I never thought about pursuing a career in classical music, although my old singing teacher did say she wanted me to be an opera singer. But I don't think that lifestyle is for me.
"I got into dance music around age 11 and started DJing at that time. I kind of had to unlearn almost all of the musicality I had learned and work out how to make music without all of that going on as well.”