Buy on 12" vinyl or digital: orcd.co/lostmylove

Produced in collaboration with Berlin-based duo Re.decay, DJ Amir presents a brand new remix of Strata Records founder Kenny Cox’s track ‘Lost My Love’, taken from his long- forgotten mid 70’s album ‘Clap Clap! The Joyful Noise’.

Originally planned to be the second release on Detroit’s mythic Strata label (a precursor to its more famous cousin Strata East), pianist Kenny Cox’s first and only solo album came hot on the heels of The Lyman Woodard Organization’s classic ‘Saturday Night Special’. But, for reasons lost to the mists of time, the LP never saw the light of day until DJ Amir licensed the rights to the label’s catalogue and began scouring the archive in 2012, rediscovering ‘Clap Clap! The Joyful Noise’ and issuing it on his own 180 Proof imprint.

The closing track from ‘Clap Clap! The Joyful Noise’, ‘Lost My Love’ is a bossa-tinged, flute and mellotron string-laden, languid jazz-fusion gem, with Kenny Cox’s delicate electric piano chords at its warm centre. DJ Amir joins forces with Berlin production duo Re.decay for a complete rebuild of the track from the original master stems. Their version retains the cosy, analogue atmospherics of Cox’s original, complete with piano licks and flute trills, adding unhurried jazzy disco drums and drawing out the song’s subtly sleazy bass-line.

Serving as pianist for Etta Jones and recording for Blue Note records with his Contemporary Jazz Quintet, Kenny Cox founded the Strata label in the early 70’s, a natural progression from the Strata Concert Gallery which he opened in the late 60s, a tiny artist-led performance space that played host to jazz luminaries such as Ornette Coleman, Herbie Hancock and even Charles Mingus (a live recording of whose appearance at the Gallery was issued by BBE Music in 2018). He passed away at his Detroit home in 2008, survived by his widow, Barbara Cox.

Kenny Cox - Lost My Love

Originally released in 1980 on short-lived Oregon label ‘Match Box Recordings’, ‘Burnin’’ is the only album recorded by Portland jazz/funk band Carl Smith And The Natural Gas Company.

At the time of the release of this album, Carl Smith’s band had already been performing for almost two decades, starting out as the ‘Carl Smith Orchestra’ in 1959, fusing 40s and 50s big band styles with rock’n’roll, before gradually morphing into the more compact jazz / funk influenced outfit you can hear on Burnin’.

“Carl had this bright red delivery van he bought from the natural gas company. He got a hold of that thing and that’s how we went on the road. When we’d roll up to the gig they’d see this big van full of musicians and on the outside it said “Natural Gas Co.” Then out comes Carl Smith and it’s all over.” – Lee Bradford (trumpet, flugelhorn)

The orchestra that Carl Smith founded was a Portland institution for about 50 years all-told, becoming an essential training ground for young musicians on the come-up; even the later Grammy-award winning trumpeter Chris Botti passed through at the age of 17 and Jefferson Airplane’s Signe Anderson was a long-time collaborator. It was “hard to find many jazz players around here who haven’t played with the band” said Smith in a 1980 interview with The Oregonian. They performed at festivals, universities, nightclubs, dance studios and even military bases from Portland to Seattle and everywhere in between, opening for Dave Brubeck, Buddy Miles and Johnny Ray among many others.

The story of this album’s recording has gone down in infamy among the remaining band members and Carl Smith’s daughter Carlee (who performed lead vocals on ‘Love Won’t Let Me Go’), all of whom recall a fraught, rushed recording process, led by a producer who had no musical experience and was nothing more than a puppet for the somewhat shady label owners. This led to the album being cut too fast and accidentally pitched up a key, so if you want to hear it as the band intended, pull the pitch control down a little on your turntable.

“Turns out the whole thing was backed by a bunch of farmers from central Oregon who were looking to take a loss… So here we were playing out and selling records. As soon as we were about to hit one thousand copies sold, their plan was to stop promotion so it would die…but we didn’t know that.” – Peter Piazza (trombone, electric violin, euphonium)

Upon its release, the album received airplay on several radio stations across Oregon and Washington, the band were invited to play live on local TV channel KGW, and copies sold out quickly within the local area. Despite the bitter-sweet circumstances around the record, Burnin’ remains a fantastic document of this well-drilled and talented group of players, showcasing original funk, jazz and soul compositions mostly arranged by Larry Dunlap, who went on to become musical director for the Pointer Sisters and write for Cleo Laine during a long and fruitful career in music.

The original label’s intentional sabotage of Burnin’ has made it a rare and sought-after album for vinyl collectors the World over, so we are delighted to reissue it for the first time ever, complete with its original artwork, accompanied by liner notes providing a detailed oral history of the band, as told by several of its original members. 
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Carl Smith And The Natural Gas Company - You Take The Time

Second show in the monthly series for Charlie Dark's Run Dem Radio station. Playing a selection of favourites and recent discoveries. Covering a wide selection of genres, from Modern Soul through to rare grooves from Japan.

Run Dem Radio #2

Deeply immersive music for the mind, body and soul from Kofi the Unknown. Hailing from Rotterdam, Kofi taps into the essence of the West London broken beat sound, whilst putting his own percussion-heavy spin on it.

"One For Motet" is dedicated to broken beat DJ and MC, Motet. Kofi shares: ”This song was created as an ode to a close friend Motet, his stories about the Broken Beat movement in West London and my love for the genre.”

Kofi mixes electronic music with heavy percussive rhythms recalling not only broken beat but some of our favourite artists across house and techno whose music exudes groove and emotion. In fact, we recently heard Kofi on the Chicago house inspired "Let Me See You Move", with Steven Pieters.

The multi-talented Kofi balances skills as a producer, beatmaker and composer with a history playing drums for hip hop and funk acts. No doubt this has inspired his approach to making beats on drum machines. Likewise his passion for traditional rhythms and grooves from around the world, from Afro Cuban guaguancó and indigenous chanting, to the more electronic sounds of broken beat and classic Chicago house music. 

It is evident on  "One For Motet" that Kofi brings a wide range of skills to the party so we can't to hear what he has in store. In the meantime, we're very happy to 'bruk out' to "One For Motet", released June 4th on Amsterdam's Wicked Wax.

Exclusive Premiere: Kofi The Unknown "One For Motet" (Forthcoming on  Wicked Wax)

Third show in the monthly series for Charlie Dark's Run Dem Radio station. Once again taking a deep dive into the record collection. Featuring a wide selection of music including Brit Funk, Modern Funk, Modern Soul and a few surprises along the way.

Run Dem Radio #3

Continuing the series of shows for London station Run Dem Radio. On this show Aswad decides to take you all for a spin through Electro Funk/Boogie/Hip Hop whilst giving some history lessons along the way.

Run Dem Radio #4

Morris Mobley - What's On Your Mind (Late Night Dub)
CQQL-002
https://cqqlrecords.bandcamp.com/album/morris-mobley-whats-on-your-mind

Nostalgic, suave, cosmopolitan, lustrous and precise, Morris Mobley is an alter-ego engineered to chill vibes, and simultaneously blow minds. Transport into the neo-noir, a timeless environment of dimly-lit nightclubs, smoky spaces, and hazy visions, where razor sharp vocals dance in tandem with a warm jazz-funk guitar, backed by the analog crispness of icy 808 hits and luxurious synth pads.

“What ‘s On Your Mind” is a single shrouded by sentimental memories, influenced by hard choices and rooted in sophisticated R&B: Side A for the questions, Side B for the answers.

Morris Mobley - What's On Your Mind (Late Night Dub)

“Gotta Give It Up!!!” is soulful, dancy and riddled with funk. The track is inspired by the soul and funk artists of the 70’s and 80’s (such as Rick James and Earth, Wind & Fire) and modernized with a production style that pays homage to the current funk masters like DāM-FunK and Mndsgn. It features an intricate synth-bass line, a horn section, slick rhythm guitar, and gang vocals (reminiscent of the P-Funk era). The release is the second single off of Alistair Blu’s upcoming 4-track EP, titled Shades of Blu, scheduled for release on October 1st.

@alistairblu: This track was really fun to make. It all started with that synth-bass line that pulses along throughout the whole tune. I think that’s what inspired me to create a whole song around that groove. I had the first three elements (programmed drums, the main synth pad, and the synth-bass) that gave me a solid starting point to make something special. In order to get that big chorus sound I recruited some awesome musicians, including the very talented vocalist Mel Pacifico and my horn player pals from Busty and the Bass (Scott Bevins on trumpet and Chris Vincent on trombone). 

The track has two instrumental solos in there too. The first is a reverse trumpet solo that Scott initially recorded and that I later processed and chopped up. Then there’s that climactic synth solo that I added near the end. I wanted to combine a bunch of elements of various funk styles, from Parliament-Funkadelic and Rick James to the more contemporary producers of Modern Funk. I’m happy to hear how the track finally ended up.

Purchase

Exclusive Premiere: Alistair Blu "Gotta Give It Up!!!"

Following a prosperous career in music and poetry, Detroit-based musician and performer Malik Alston readies his vibrant album ‘Malik Alston Presents Painted Pictures: Air’ set for release via The Jazz Diaries. The album is a spirited celebration between jazz virtuosity and Motor City house music, showcasing Alston’s roots in Jazz, Gospel, Soul and Dance Music. 

Alston’s story is one that is intrinsically aligned with the story of Detroit itself. Having hosted one of the first Slum Village concerts, and teaching vocal lessons to many members of the Detroit music community. His production and writing collaborations read like a who’s who of Detroit artists including Alton Miller, Amp Fiddler, Roy Davis Jr. & Javonntte and releases on Moodymann’s Mahogani Music to name a few.

“‘When I think of ‘Air’... for me, it exists to express a combination of freedom, self awareness, and doing something different and new. In ‘Air’ you get to really hear the band as a whole, no one stands out individually. It was all a matter of showing that we brought the music to life together as a unit. ‘Air’ is definitely a true reflection of what Painted Pictures was: free musicians who play good music.”

Exclusive Premiere: Malik Alston Presents Painted Pictures "Air"

Here at Studio Funk we are super stoked to have the wonderful Andre Gibson on this months show. The multi talented musician, singer and songwriter of Universal Togetherness Band. As you can expect we have a lot to discuss including the history surrounding the band, how it got started, early memories and performing on the notorious TV show, The Chicago Party at the CopHerBox II (1982). We also talk about Andre’s desire to continue to making music and his recent album ‘Movin On’. Plus the collaboration with The Numero Group to publish the unreleased material of Universal Togetherness Band many years later. It’s a full packed show and if that wasn’t enough we wrap up the episode with a Studio Funk Chicago Party featuring music by Jesus Wayne, Donnell Pitman, Universal Togetherness Band and many more!

Tracklist

S4 EP4 - Andre Gibson

Engine coughs like it's caught a cold
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Original Song - DJ_PIPS_BEATS

Broken Down Again

Studio Funk - podcast show created and hosted by Aswad. Showcasing his discoveries, music collection, and interviews the leading names in modern funk and soul.