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Westway Records is the label run by Barry Ashworth, Carl Loben & Billy Borez and named in homage to The Clash. Primarily focused on breakbeat and electro, Westway releases quality music in varying styles and refuses to be pigeon-holed. The eclectic nature of the label fits the tastes of the label chiefs the main criteria is that, like every album by The Clash, each release has to push the scene forward.
Westway began in late 2004 by releasing Substance & Sound by Dogtown Clash. Raved about by breaks and electro-house DJs alike, it was likened by some to Tigas Pleasure From The Bass and got great reviews in iDJ, M8 and Update, plus Whats Hot and Sureplayer status in DJ magazine.
Simultaneously Westway began staging club-nights in London and elsewhere. In keeping with the Clash theme, the 2004 Westway Christmas party was the book launch for Kris Needss biography of Joe Strummer, and some old Clash associates came out of the woodwork for the night to party in Brixton till the early hours.
The second Westway release was delayed by pressing plant problems, but when it emerged it was an EP showcasing Westway acts the Velours Brothers (White Room) and the Drum Monkeys (Electro Ladyland). With remixes from Dogtown Clash and Klaus Heavyweight Hill respectively, the tracks found favour with DJs like Rennie Pilgrem, Atomic Hooligan, SOTO and Tom Real amongst others. Canadian electro darling Tiga was playing White Room by the Velours, while Xfms Eddy Temple-Morris was all over Electro Ladyland by the Drum Monkeys.
The summer of 2005 had the Westway kru furiously promoing Funkadelic by Italian hotshot Madox from Naples. A brilliant P-funk breakbeat track sampling a legendary P-funk maestro, it was backed by the equally funky Bootsycall a tribute to legendary P-funk bassist Bootsy Collins. This record captured the spirit of P-funk perfectly: not by using its stars to duplicate some straight-laced pop standard, but pushing styles and sounds in new, innovative directions.
The Westway kru played some shows with Madox, and the exciting international hook-up continues.
It was a big hit on CDR at some Notting Hill Carnival parties, and as 2005 drew to a close the Westway posse were getting great reactions from the next single by Dogtown Clash. Entitled West Londons Burning with a nod to Londons Burning by The Clash and referencing the Westway flyover in the lyrics the live horns and skanking riddims made this a hot potato on the radio and in the clubs. So excited were the Westway boys by this tune that they even made a video for it. Featuring two samurai warriors acting up as west London bad bwoys in Tokyo, the brilliant video was accepted onto MTV Dance and really helped build the profile of the record.
As well as widespread club DJ support, WLB was caned on the radio by a number of major players. Tayo on Kiss FM; Radio 1s Steve Lamacq (who used it as a soundbed to trail his NME awards show); Eddy Temple-Morris (who played it on every show for about ten weeks in the run-up to release); and ska-loving comedian Phill Jupitus on 6Music all rocked to its rocksteady beat. So great was the support that Westway delayed release until mid-February 2006 and the tune was their most successful so far.
For Westway 05 Madox was back fresh from his groundbreaking tour of China with fellow Italian wunderkind Santos as Trouble Soup for Movin. The disco-y breakbeat tune was given a Drum Monkeys respray on the flip, and demonstrated the continuing eclecticism of the label.
The Velours Brothers followed with Punk Rock, a brilliant punky electro tune given a dirrrrrty breaks rerub by Dirty Habit. And on they march. With releases from Dogtown Clash, Billy Whizz, Drum Monkeys, Boogie Army, Moriarty, D*Funk and more stacking up and remixes from hot new talent like Plaza De Funk and Groove Diggerz - the futures looking great for Westway.
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