Over the past year, if you tuned in and listened to either Colin Curtis or Gilles Peterson on one of their weekly Worldwide FM radio shows, more times than not, you might have been finding yourself asking the question, who’s behind this new Brit-funk outfit STR4TA that they just played? After releasing a white label twelve-inch single this fall, and a limited “make-your-own-cover-with-stickers” album release a month ago, it was just revealed this week that Peterson and the legendary Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick of notable British group Incognito, are the masterminds behind this project. With the release of their second single “Rhythm In Your Mind”, Gilles’ Brownswood label has announced that the highly-anticipated debut album, titled Aspects, is set for release in late March.

Heavily influenced by pioneering bands like Incognito, Light of The World, and Freeez (all of which Maunick collaborated with), as well as Atmosfear, Hi-Tension, Linx and others, this incredible conceptual eight-track recording fuses together the raucous energy and DIY sound of early 80s Brit-funk, combined with spacey-synth melodies, jazz dance grooves, and hypnotic vocals. Capturing the essence of the sound perfectly, without any context, you might first think this is a lost Brit-funk recording from 1981.

For the session itself, Peterson and Maunick wanted to approach music-making from the starting point that led to those early classic Brit-funk records like Freeez’s Southern Freeez or Atmosfear’s En Trance, capturing the raw energy and sound of the moment as it’s being performed. Recalling his role in the process, Peterson says he was the one making sure things didn’t get too polished. “I was there at the back, telling them, no, leave it like that, cut it there, or just use that first take,” he says. Also featured on the recording was Francis Hylton on bass, and Matt Cooper on both keys and drums.

Overall, the recording is absolutely brilliant from start to finish, paying homage to an oft-overlooked, vital pocket of Black British music history, while also moving the sound forward. I know it’s early in the year, however it’s hard to imagine that there will be a better release in 2021.

Now off to try to find one of those limited “make-your-own-cover-art” copies (!!!) …

STR4TA — ‘Aspects’
(Brownswood Recordings)

1. Aspects
2. Rhythm In Your Mind
3. Dance Desire
4. We Like It
5. Steppers Crusade
6. After The Rain
7. Kinshasa FC
8. Vision 9

BUY RECORD
(Officially Released: Mar 26)

• Brit-funk
• Jazz Funk
• New Releases