On a first extract entitled “Rhythm In Your Mind” the two acolytes revitalize the iconic British funk scene of the early eighties.
Longtime friends and collaborators, Gilles Peterson and Jean-Paul ‘Bluey’ Maunick, join forces to breathe new life into a seminal era they both helped to build: the British funk scene of the eighties, characterized by a sense of DIY and live performances bursting with energy.
Peterson met Maunick through Incognito, an outfit he founded that went on to influence a movement. This album is the first joint release from the two acolytes in more than ten years. In it, we experience a particular state of mind, a creative process that is unique to the record of their respective beginnings and which has largely contributed to building their careers. For Peterson, it is as a label owner, DJ, collector and radio show host; for Maunick, it’s as a musician, band leader and hit songwriter.
Yet the London jazz-funk scene of the eighties was not immediately successful, competing with the punk scene of the time with powerful live shows, even if it lost some of its authenticity: “I was there, in the background, telling everyone ‘leave it like that, cut it here, only use this first take’, to keep that spirit.” What is transmitted is a feeling of composition in its raw state, which Peterson has always tried to keep alive. A sound marked out and recognizable among a thousand others, as Maunick explains: “Like all those who play music, we had tried to imitate our heroes. But we didn’t have the tools, we hadn’t learned music: we played everything by ear, we were inspired by bits and pieces taken here and there from records we cherished.” This album is guided by the same ambition: to create a direct, immediate, light and straightforward sound, representative of this part of British musical history that deserves more attention.
Listen to STR4TA in our Songs of the Week playlist on Spotify and Deezer.
The album Aspects will be released on March 26 via Brownswood / Bigwax.
