C’batch’s “I Guess You Want It This Way” arrives on September 8th, 2026, as a six-track EP that transforms a composition more than two decades old into a fresh and immersive musical experience. Released through Stevette Music, Inc., the project forms part of C’batch’s ongoing “Year of the Vault,” an ambitious journey through compositions, recordings and ideas preserved throughout his extensive musical history. At the center of this particular release is a song that began approximately 26 years ago, inspired by his Jamaican-born wife Yvette’s encouragement to write a reggae song. Although an early version was recorded, something about the composition remained unresolved. Yet its hook, harmony and verse melody stayed with C’batch for years, eventually finding their way back into his creative process in 2026.
That long history gives the EP an unusually reflective character. Rather than simply presenting an old recording, C’batch revisited the composition, completed the lyrics and developed six different interpretations around its central musical identity. Each version offers another perspective on the same foundation, allowing the melody and reggae spirit to remain recognizable while the surrounding production changes in texture and atmosphere. Roots-reggae rhythms provide an important anchor, with warm basslines, syncopated guitar work and rhythmic movement establishing the project’s connection to Jamaican musical traditions. Around these elements, C’batch introduces electronic depth, orchestral synthesis, R&B influences and spacious production, creating a sound that moves comfortably between vintage inspiration and contemporary studio aesthetics.
I Guess You Want It This Way EP Track Reviews:
I Guess You Want It This Way (Cinematic Reggae 1):
“I Guess You Want It This Way (Cinematic Reggae 1)” opens C’batch’s EP with a sweeping blend of roots reggae and cinematic production, immediately giving the composition a broad emotional atmosphere. Traditional offbeat reggae guitar patterns remain central, while lush strings, synthesizer textures and ambient pads expand the arrangement into a widescreen soundscape. A steady bassline and crisp drum pattern provide rhythmic stability beneath the orchestral layers, allowing the track to balance the warmth of vintage island grooves with the scale and movement of contemporary film music. C’batch’s vocal performance brings intimacy to the expansive production. His warm, conversational delivery and controlled mid-register phrasing communicate the song’s themes of relationship friction, emotional tension and acceptance with subtlety. Rather than relying on dramatic vocal peaks, he allows the restrained performance to carry the emotional weight, while the surrounding orchestration gradually intensifies the atmosphere. The result is a thoughtful opening track that gives reggae a cinematic dimension without losing its rhythmic identity.
I Guess You Want It This Way 1:
“I Guess You Want It This Way 1” presents the core vocal statement of C’batch’s project through a warm fusion of R&B and reggae. Moving away from the expansive orchestral textures of the cinematic version, the track places greater emphasis on rhythm, groove and vocal expression. A driving bassline establishes the foundation, while tight percussion and clean guitar embellishments bring the influence of ska and roots reggae into focus. Organ chords add harmonic warmth, with the open production allowing each instrumental layer to remain clear and defined. The vocal performance feels intimate and naturally connected to the rhythm. Clear diction, steady phrasing and subtle melodic changes between the verses and central hook give the delivery an engaging flow. Thematically, the track explores romantic complexity and reluctant acceptance, capturing the emotional moment when love meets resignation. By allowing the groove and vocals to work closely together, “I Guess You Want It This Way 1” communicates its story with warmth, clarity and understated emotional depth.
I Guess You Want It This Way Reggae Dub (1):
“I Guess You Want It This Way Reggae Dub (1)” closes C’batch’s EP by moving fully into the spacious world of traditional dub. The track transforms the familiar composition into a hypnotic soundscape, placing heavy bass guitar and syncopated drums at the center of the arrangement. Around this rhythmic foundation, fragments of guitar, synthesizer notes and vocal elements drift through the stereo field, creating an immersive sense of movement. Tape delays, dynamic filtering and subtle reverb swells continually reshape the harmonic atmosphere, giving the production a meditative quality. The vocal approach becomes more textural here, with fragmented phrases appearing briefly before dissolving into the surrounding effects. Rather than carrying a continuous narrative, these vocal snippets function as echoes of the preceding tracks, reinforcing themes of fading connection and lingering memories. The spacious production allows each sound to breathe, while the deep rhythmic pulse maintains the track’s reggae identity. As a closing piece, “Reggae Dub (1)” provides a contemplative and atmospheric coda to the collection.
The vocal approach adds another layer of intimacy to the EP. C’batch delivers the song with a grounded, conversational quality, using measured phrasing and a steady mid-range delivery that allows the emotional story to unfold naturally. The subject matter explores romantic complexity, resignation and acceptance, giving the repeated composition a sense of emotional continuity even as its musical surroundings shift. Instead of depending on dramatic vocal peaks, the performances draw their character from subtle changes in expression and tone. This works particularly well alongside the changing arrangements, which move between fuller, theatrical textures and more restrained passages, including moments shaped by dub-influenced echoes and spacious production.
The EP’s six-version structure makes “I Guess You Want It This Way” feel like an exploration of one musical idea rather than six unrelated recordings. Its thematic consistency comes from the melody and emotional center, while the varied arrangements reveal different possibilities within the same composition. The project therefore becomes a meeting point between C’batch’s past and present, allowing an idea that once remained unfinished to develop with the benefit of decades of musical experience. Its dedication to legendary Jamaican guitarist Ernest Ranglin gives the release an additional historical connection. C’batch, himself a guitarist, met Ranglin at Heathrow Airport in February 2001, making the dedication a personal link to an important figure in Jamaican music.
I Guess You Want It This Way Is A Soulful EP Blending Reggae, R&B, Dub, And Cinematic Textures Into A Reflective Story Of Love And Acceptance
~ Faithfulness (Dulaxi Team)
That connection also reflects the breadth of C’batch’s own musical journey. A composer, producer, guitarist, keyboardist, synthesizer and sampler programmer from White Plains, New York, he has worked across R&B, soul, dance, funk, reggae, jazz influenced and cinematic music. His history reaches back to New York’s influential early 1980s dance scene, with published works including “I Need You Now,” “Let Me Do You,” “Playgirls” and “Geisha Love.” In 1984, he and Yvette founded Stevette Music, Inc., which continues to house his catalogue and creative work. Now, through The Vault, C’batch is bringing decades of musical ideas into the present, and “I Guess You Want It This Way” captures that process beautifully: a long-held composition finally completed, reimagined and allowed to begin a new chapter.
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