The EP titled I Guess You Want It This Way by C’batch consists of six tracks based on a piece which remained unfinished for about 26 years. It opens with a song whose main hook and verse melody stayed with C’batch long after it was first conceived and later reappeared in 2026 with the addition of lyrics. Having been originally encouraged by his Jamaican-born wife Yvette to compose a reggae song, this composition has since become the basis for six different versions that examine various musical approaches while keeping its melody and reggae character.
The lengthy journey associated with the song gives the EP a strong sense of continuity. What started out as an early effort to achieve an authentic reggae atmosphere was later put into C’batch’s archives when he thought that something was still missing. Many decades later the melody stayed unchanged and thus served as the basis for completing the lyrics and bringing the composition up to the present day. Instead of having six unrelated tracks, the EP develops a single lasting piece through different interpretations, which keeps the original idea clearly recognisable throughout the project.
Reggae is still a significant element in the EP, showing the original intention behind the song and the Jamaican influence that was involved in its making. The project also relates to C’batch’s broader musical diversity which includes soul, R&B, dance, funk, jazz-influenced and cinematic music, and the six versions provide different interpretations of the same composition. By doing this, the main melody stays identifiable while the musical accompaniment varies from one version to another, giving the EP a sense of continuity yet also variety.
The dedication of ‘I Guess You Want It This Way’ is also made to the renowned Jamaican guitarist Ernest Ranglin, whom C’batch encountered at London’s Heathrow Airport in February 2001. This dedication provides a personal link to a project which was already inspired by Jamaican music. The EP was released by Stevette Music as part of The Vault and thus retrieves a composition from the archives, bringing to a close an unfinished chapter. Now there are six versions of the song which give it a new life without losing the melody and reggae spirit that has kept it going for so long.
