Ben Watt came to prominence as one half of minimal post punk group Everything but the Girl in the early eighties, who’s hits in the nineties were remixed to staggering effect by Todd Terry finding them a new audience, and a few more top ten hits, along the way. Now an acclaimed dj and record label owner, we caught up with him to see what life was like these days.

“You’re playing at Circus soon. What’s your experience of the city, and have you played here before?”

I have never DJ’d before in Liverpool. Of course I have played live back in the days of EBTG from small places like the Lomax up to the Royal Court throughout the 80’s and 90’s. Crowds have always been dead friendly. I never use the EBTG days as a yardstick for crowds nowadays though. My lateral career as a DJ and producer over the past seven or eight years has taken a different path and attracted a different crowd I think, smaller obviously, but made up of night people into their music in a very deep way. Some EBTG fans have made the journey too, yes, but I always convince myself that no one has heard of me when I arrive!

“EBTG was your big break, so how difficult has it been for you to pursue your dance music interests, and have you come across people who wanted to pigeonhole you as an artist?”

I have never had a problem but I guess people can be lazy. They don’t look closely sometimes. It is easy to dismiss things from things you’ve heard, or things you imagine something is gonna be like. We all do it. There was some resistance to my move into the dance world in the mid 90’s in some quarters, but equally there were instant supporters – Fabio, Deep Dish, Howie B come to mind. Whatever the early friction, I think I have become part of the furniture now. Walking Wounded, Lazy Dog, my remixes, Buzzin’ Fly ... they have clearly all helped.

“Lazy Dog became an institution in London, giving Sunday clubbing a good name again. Would you ever get involved in a Sunday joint again?”

I have! Buzzin’ Fly began a new monthly Sunday at plastic people in shoreditch in east London back in July. We are nearly 5 months old and it is a great new vibe. it is a low-key alternative to the bigger parties in London we now do at The End. 200 people. Low ceiling. Fat sound. Lights down. Deep music.

“You’ve just parted company with neighbourhood. Was it a big wrench considering what you’ve achieved and where does this stand you in the future?”

Things run their course. I was very proud of what I achieved there in the three years I was involved with both Cherry jam and neighbourhood, but I felt I had to move on. It was a shock to some because it seemed like I had only just started but I have no regrets. As for the future, I don’t ever look too far ahead. Buzzin’ fly is taking up a lot of my time now, as is touring and my family. It’s a good mix.

“Your partnership with Tracey (Thorn, singer in EBTG and Ben’s partner) extends much more beyond the music, how difficult is it for you too together to create music, and are there any hopes for another EBTG album in the future?”

We got used to it and made it work. Of course it was tough sometimes. Oddly, we lead different lives now – me with DJing, producing, the label etc- and her more at home in a family environment a lot of the time, but we seem to get on better in many ways. A shiny new EBTG album is unlikely, but Tracey is writing now and I think we will hear her sing again!

“In the early 90s you suffered from a very rare condition that almost killed you. Writing a book about it was a good opportunity for you to give others hope, both fellow sufferers and everyday people. Do you feel that coming through the illness made you infinitely stronger and more resolutely dedicated to achieving your goals?”

It is very easy to be glib and say, oh yes, of course, the sun is brighter, the sky bluer, every day is a gift, but in reality I think I now exhibit many of the character traits I always have – determination, drive, a passion for whatever I am involved in, a love of detail. They never went away and perhaps helped me survive. Of course it was a massive life-changing experience – i nearly died 5 times after all, and one night my family was told I had a 20 per cent chance of living through the night – but in the end my conclusion is, shit happens. Get over it. Get on with it.

“What lies in the future for Ben Watt then?”

I only ever look about three-six months ahead. The djing and promoting will continue to carry on with the current projects, and the label should step up a bit more as well. We have the new Justin martin single imminent, and then a new deeper more minimal electro flavoured single coming up from our new Russian signings, Kayot. The label will hopefully put out artist albums from Justin martin and rodamaal next year, plus a new compilation. There will also be some tangents and unexpected diversity. Botswanan mouth-organ rock-opera and tazmanian tech-folk, I expect...

You can catch Ben Watt at Circus on November 26th at the Barfly