For some the name Bushwacka will most likely represent one thing and one thing only, being the legendary club The End (RIP), one of the finest nightlife establishments to the UK's shorelines, if not the dance music world as a whole. As one of the club's longstanding residents (and co-owners), throughout the late nineties and noughties, Matthew Benjamin did more than most to help club culture thrive within the UK, as The End became a home for a stream of renowned club nights including Bugged Out!, Rinse FM vs. FWD>>, Chew The Fat, Border Community, Erol Alkan's seminal Trash night and many other weekend promotions that have since passed into the annals of dance music history.That's not to mention his production career as part of Layo & Bushwacka, which saw the pair's hands-in-the-air Ibiza anthem "Love Story" reach number 8 in the UK charts, introducing a whole generation of ravers to Nina Simone's "Rags & Old Iron" and in the meantime making unadulterated heartbreak never sound quite so euphoric. Skip forward to 2014 and it seems Bushwacka is back behind the boards with new project Just Be, which sees him returning to his house and acid roots, releasing his latest tracks via everybody's favorite outspoken Detroit native Seth Troxler's Say It Play It imprint.We've got the premiere of the the A-side "The Magic Rock" below, which if you like hypnotic technoid rumblings set to a house rhythm, is good news for you, as there's almost ten minutes of the stuff to stream here. You can also catch up with Just Be, where he talks us through his latest musical venture.THUMP: Hi Matthew - can you tell us about your new alias Just Be?
Just Be: Just Be is my solo project and new identity - I wanted to do something totally new - reinvent, start again almost. I still associate with the Bushwacka name historically but wanted to create a new project from scratch. It's kind of brave in this competitive environment to start again like this, and very challenging, but I do have a vision for the Just Be moniker - and it comes down to the music as always.When and how did you first hook up with Mr. Seth Troxler?
JB: Actually the first time we chewed the fat properly was in Guy Gerber's studio in Israel when he was working on the collaboration album with Puff Daddy or P-Diddy or whatever he calls himself. We got on like a house on fire, though we had met before at DC-10 a few times. I wrote the track exactly two years ago to this day, but I was gonna be off Ibiza for the closing of DC-10 and I knew Seth was playing and thought he would like the track. He liked it and dropped it that night - and has been dropping it since then! He approached me last year in the summer asking to sign it. We shook on it, and one year later here we are about to release it.There's some hefty hypnotic vibes across both tracks on the release - what's your inspiration behind these tracks?
JB: "The Magic Rock" was pretty much written as a homage to those crazy DC-10 moments around 10 years ago on the island. If you were there in that period you would totally get the tune, but of course you dont have to have been there - the music speaks for itself. It's very deep and out there. I close my eyes and it takes me to that magic place.You also have a track called "the early years" - I'm assuming that's a reference to your early years in dance music?
JB: No it's actually a reference to the early years of Just Be as a producer - one of the first tracks I wrote under the new name, if not the first!So what were those early years in the industry like for you?
JB: Wow… it was crazy - it still is! I haven't grown out of it yet.Finally, what's in store for the Just Be project?
JB: Lots more music and touring the world fighting the fight against the EDM monsters and saving my soul and others from terrible music by doing what I believe in!"The Magic Rock" is released via Say It Play It on 27th October.
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Just Be: Just Be is my solo project and new identity - I wanted to do something totally new - reinvent, start again almost. I still associate with the Bushwacka name historically but wanted to create a new project from scratch. It's kind of brave in this competitive environment to start again like this, and very challenging, but I do have a vision for the Just Be moniker - and it comes down to the music as always.When and how did you first hook up with Mr. Seth Troxler?
JB: Actually the first time we chewed the fat properly was in Guy Gerber's studio in Israel when he was working on the collaboration album with Puff Daddy or P-Diddy or whatever he calls himself. We got on like a house on fire, though we had met before at DC-10 a few times. I wrote the track exactly two years ago to this day, but I was gonna be off Ibiza for the closing of DC-10 and I knew Seth was playing and thought he would like the track. He liked it and dropped it that night - and has been dropping it since then! He approached me last year in the summer asking to sign it. We shook on it, and one year later here we are about to release it.
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JB: "The Magic Rock" was pretty much written as a homage to those crazy DC-10 moments around 10 years ago on the island. If you were there in that period you would totally get the tune, but of course you dont have to have been there - the music speaks for itself. It's very deep and out there. I close my eyes and it takes me to that magic place.You also have a track called "the early years" - I'm assuming that's a reference to your early years in dance music?
JB: No it's actually a reference to the early years of Just Be as a producer - one of the first tracks I wrote under the new name, if not the first!So what were those early years in the industry like for you?
JB: Wow… it was crazy - it still is! I haven't grown out of it yet.Finally, what's in store for the Just Be project?
JB: Lots more music and touring the world fighting the fight against the EDM monsters and saving my soul and others from terrible music by doing what I believe in!"The Magic Rock" is released via Say It Play It on 27th October.