Tag: Brit-funk
Highly influential London-based DJ, broadcaster, and producer Gilles Peterson and pioneering multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer, and bandleader Jean Paul “Bluey” Maunick (Incognito, Light of The World, Freeez) continue their deep dive into the world of DIY Brit-funk with a limited-edition STR4TA white label 12inch, featuring two new remixes of tracks taken from their 2022 album, STR4TASFEAR.
Highly influential London-based DJ, broadcaster, and producer Gilles Peterson and pioneering multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer, and bandleader Jean Paul “Bluey” Maunick (Incognito, Light of The World, Freeez) helped lead last year’s Brit-funk revitalization with the release of their remarkable debut LP Aspects, under the alias STR4TA (which was named BeatCaffeine’s Favorite Album of 2021). In much anticipation, they have teamed up again for a follow-up release, titled STR4TASFEAR (as a nod to the groundbreaking British group Atmosfear), that continues to pay homage to the Brit-funk sound.
As we wind down the final days of 2021 and look ahead to 2022 (with so many questions regarding what the future or this virus has in store), here is one more “look back” at the past twelve months — exploring some of the best individual tracks that helped us all get through this (still very much) challenging year. Happy New Year everyone, and more importantly, stay healthy and safe!
Earlier in the year, two legendary artists in producer, DJ, and radio broadcaster Gilles Peterson and multi-instrumentalist Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick teamed under the name STR4TA to release one of the most groundbreaking records of 2021. This incredible full-length album, titled Aspects, has helped shine a bright light on the Brit-funk sound of the late 70s and early 80s. Fast forward a number of months later, producer and Z Records label boss Dave Lee, who is a legend in his own right, has remixed one of the many standout tracks in “After The Rain”, which is out now on a 12inch single via Brownswood.
With the massive new album from STR4TA and other recent releases from Koji Ono (w/ members of Atmosfear), The Expansions (2018 track “Mariposa” specifically) and others, it feels like their is bit of a Brit-funk revitalization that is brewing. The momentum to take this DIY new-wave-jazz-funk sound, that originated in the UK during the late 70s and early 80s, into the future continues with an incredible new twelve-inch single, titled ‘Life Is A Mirror’, from the French group GALXTC.
Thanks to Gilles Peterson and Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick’s highly acclaimed STR4TA project, the late 70s-early 80s UK-based DIY new wave jazz-funk sound, known as Brit-funk is beginning to see a nice resurgence. A number of other artists and projects also seem to be resurfacing as of late, including French multi-instrumentalist, producer and composer Koji Ono, who recently released a brilliant new twelve-inch single on the Paris-based label Chuwanaga. Receiving some assistance from two key players of the pioneering band Atmosfear, this new single features legendary bassist and founding member Lester Batchelor (aka “LB”), and the group’s current drummer Roy Mistry.
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.
BBE Music’s vinyl-only offshoot imprint ALIM has just released a limited-edition 7inch single featuring two incredible remixes of SunPalace’s 1981 Brit-funk classic “Rude Movements” by Detroit’s Moodymann and Kenny Dope of Masters at Work.
Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood label has released the first 12inch single, of what has become one of the most anticipated forthcoming full-length albums of the year (released Nov 2020), in STR4TA’s “Aspects”.
This edition of BeatCaffeine’s Bargain Bins series features five essential 7-inch selections from the Brit-funk scene of the late seventies and early eighties. Through the support of pirate radio and deejays like Chris Hill and Colin Curtis, Brit-funk was an underground music scene that took place in both south and north London.
