Project 23 - Pleasure And The Pain (Peshay Remix) (Dorado, 1996)
Cleveland Watkiss is a name familiar to DnB fans for his performances as an MC, particularly for his appearances at Goldie's Sunday Sessions at the Blue Note. But Watkiss is no ordinary MC as he sings rather than chats, his smooth powerful vocals always elevating the vibe. As Peshay put it "he always complemented the music, never got in the way". His main background is in jazz, being part of the influential Jazz Warriors big band with Courtney Pine back in the eighties and winning multiple awards in the field including Best Vocalist at the London Jazz Awards in 2010. In the New Years Honours in 2018 he was awarded an MBE.
After appearing on Goldie's Timeless LP it was inevitable he'd feel the urge to make drum & bass himself and Project 23 was a group he formed with renowned jazz drummer Marque Gilmore "The Inna Most" and DJ La Rouge. They would get back from nights at Speed and be inspired to create their own take on the sound and the album 23 was the result. It was critically acclaimed with Mixmag stating "this is Drum n’ Bass that will progress, that will access new audiences. This is the future". What really set them apart though was being the first act to play Drum & Bass live. Neil Spencer writing in The Observer commented: "Seeking to reproduce the results [of 23] live would be impossible without the awesome talents of jazz drummer Marque Gilmore". Unfortunately Project 23 was short lived due to some issues Watkiss had at the time, so didn't have the impact they could've had and it was Roni Size's Reprazent who ended up winning awards as a live drum & bass act. However Project 23 recently reformed and you can check out a short video of their performance at Oslo Hackney here.
While the original of 'Pleasure And The Pain' is good I just absolutely love the Peshay Remix that featured on a 12" single from the album. Over sweeping pads and saxophone Peshay overlays Watkiss' soulful vocals along with the Hot Pants break and warm bass. Midway through he changes the drums up for an extended workout that just glides blissfully along. You can hear Peshay and Watkiss together at the Blue Note from January 1997 below: