CHUCK ROBERTS : THE 'VOICE OF HOUSE' PASSES
His iconic tones graced House Music and gave us the immortal "In the beginning there was Jack..."
According to an official statement, after a recent battle with cancer, the legendary Chuck Roberts sadly passed away on 6.6.2024, surrounded by his family in Berwyn, Illinois. Chuck was 66 years old and acclaimed by many as the “Voice of House Music”. Known for those classic words, the sermon like tones were taken from Rhythm Control's 1987 track 'My House' on the obscure Catch A Beat label and sampled and reused many times since. Only Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream Speech” has been seen to be on a par with Chuck's vocal for the world's DJs and producers to drop over tracks across the decades. The most notable of these being Larry Heard’s seminal cut 'Can You Feel It'.
Rest in peace maestro.
MARVIN GAYE : NEW RECORDINGS SURFACE
Exactly four decades after his untimely death at just 44, tapes of unheard tracks are released...
The lost recordings, retrieved from thirty cassettes made during Marvin's 18 month stay in Belguim in the early 1980s and the theme of Richard Olivier's documentary 'Remember Marvin Gaye', could see the light of day later this year. The documentary follows Marvin and his struggle with drink and drug dependency and being chased by the IRS over a multi-million-dollar tax bill. The 42-year-old singer-songwriter had taken the ferry from England to the faded fishing town of Ostend, and gives the viewer a clear insight about his comeback and how the monster hit song 'Sexual Healing' came to life. Now on the the 40th anniversary of his untimely murder, these new recordings (as well as some of his tour outfits and personal letters) have been unearthed. It's all thanks to a Belgian musician named Charles Dumolin, who hosted the soul legend at his home for a time. Described as a "time capsule to share with the world", according to Dumolin's family lawyer and business partner Alex Trappeniers, "Marvin gave everything to them saying "do whatever you want with it", and he never came back." The pieces of musical history have stayed in situ ever since.
VIBE LAB : NIGHTSCHOOL PROJECT LAUNCHES
An EU Funded Programme Offering €75,000 to Support Emerging Nightlife Curators...
Recently launched at SXSW, the project sets to pair nightlife visionaries spanning promoters, bookers, venue owners, to hands-on creatives with industry veterans and experts from the European culture circuit. Funded by the EU’s Creative Europe, NightSchool will select 15 participants, providing a grant of €5,000 each. This will go towards facilitating a week of peer-learning sessions in multiple cities as well as to launching their own sustainable event ideas. Empowering individuals to turn their visions into reality is at the core of the programme. The programme launches with an open call to select young culture producers from across Europe. Together they will visit some of continent's most respected venues and learn from the best in their field. VibeLab is a research, consultancy and advocacy agency dedicated to supporting and preserving night-time culture. Co-founder Mirik Milan emphasises, “Nightlife creatives and culture producers are first and foremost problem solvers. They are needed right now, more than ever to take on the unique challenges and opportunities of our rapidly evolving cultural sector.”
TODD TERRY : THE RETROSPECTIVE ONE
Legendary DJ and producer Todd Terry drops his inaugural RETROSPECTIVE comp...
The first in an exclusive series celebrating rare, out-of-print versions, as well as remastered reissues of his iconic tracks, this meticulously curated collection takes you on a journey through the evolution of Todd Terry's groundbreaking career, showcasing his unparalleled influence on the dance music scene.
"It's got a lot of old cuts, new cuts, funky stuff, drum & bass, everything" said the Brooklyn born and bred veteran of the house music scene. Ofter referred to by his fan as 'Todd The God', the Grammy Award nominated DJ/Producer has been engulfed in dance music since he first started listening to European dance music records while growing up. Already devoted to turntables, he heard an alternative in those tracks, “I went for the difference." continues Todd, "I never got a break in New York, but England happened right away, so I catered to them.” ...and so the Todd Terry sound was born, and with groundbreaking tracks such as 'A Day In The Life', 'Weekend' and 'Can You Party' decades of dominating dance floors followed.
JAZZ CAFE : FESTIVAL VIBES INCOMING
For 35 years, the Jazz Cafe has sat at the heart of London's vibrant music scene ...
Now for the first time ever, and to surprise and delight of many, they're venturing out from their Camden home to stage their inaugural Jazz Cafe Festival to take place on 15 September in Southwark's Burgess Park. With over three decades of history entwining the many worlds of their musical make-up, expect the true Jazz Cafe experience. Four unique stage experiences are promised, all carrying the renowned energy of the famous venue in NW1. A grand arena style stage for the headline acts, a 360-degree setup to party alongside their favourite DJs, a tropical plant room which blurs the boundaries between the stage and the natural world, and a secret stage which will be revealed in coming weeks. With a line-up of Jazz Cafe's most cherished artists, who they've dreamt of bringing together for many years, this is set to
be one of their greatest adventures yet. To accompany a full day of music, enjoy a range of food trucks, local favourites and a selection of crafted cocktails and refreshments served at our specially curated bars.
Tickets from £35 with pre-sale starting on 13/3/2024, you can sign up for access below.
The Social : The 25th Anniversary
Established here on Little Portland Street in 1999, this small London venue has done big things!..
2024 marks twenty five years of The Social, who say they are proud to have launched many millions of hugely successful hangovers and still remain one the final bastions of independent thinking, drinking and partying in the UK's capital city. They’re planning to celebrate this milestone all year with loads of very special guests and parties to announce over the coming weeks upstairs at the bar, down in the basement and beyond the four walls of the Social. These will include new music residencies incoming from BBC Music Introducing, WRAP brought to us by good people from the office of Warp Records, DIY Magazine, Numero Group’s Eccentric Soul, 948 and Jumbi Peckham, Ray Keith (OFFICIAL)’s London Soul Train, lau.ra and Swirl to name a few. There'll be lots of big nights with old friends such as HEAVENLY RECORDINGS, White Rabbit Books, Communion Music, Ransom Note, Stone Club, A303, So Young, Gary Crowley, Fracas, Rough Trade Books, Canon Fodder, Soho Radio and lots more. They'll also be launching a new print series raising money for the Music Venue Trust working with 10 amazing artists… This is just the start, we're told, don’t resist...
Soho, The Social has you surrounded.
New James Brown Song & Documentary FORTHCOMING
The iconic Godfather of Soul is remembered during US Black History Month...
The Grammy Museum in LA played host this week to a special evening on the life, music and impact of the late James Brown which included exclusive clips from the upcoming documentary 'James Brown: Say It Loud'. The event was lead by a panel hosted by Billboard's Gail Mitchell alongside award-winning filmmaker Deborah Riley Draper, five-time Grammy-award winner Jimmy Jam and Universal Music's Jeffrey Harleston. The four part docu-series premieres on US channel A+E next week with Rolling Stones legend Mick Jagger serving as executive producer, alongside Academy Award-winner Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson. It examines the legacy of the Godfather of Soul through never-before-seen footage, his music and exclusive interviews with the likes of Chuck D, LL Cool J, Jam and Lewis. The evening also featured an first listening of a never-before-released JB single 'We Got To Change', featuring Bootsy Collins and Clyde Stubblefield, described as a four minute, free-flowing funky ride, which was originally recorded in August 1970 in Miami, Florida. The single is released on all digital platforms tomorrow (16/2/2024).
Getting It Back: The Story Of Cymande
A band you may not have heard of but who've influenced generations, are set to release their film...
UK funk group Cymande (whose name derives from a calypso word for "dove”) formed early in the 70s in south London. Their Jamaican/Guyanan filled original line-up included Steve Scipio (bass), Patrick Patterson (guitar) Ray King and Joey Dee (both singer/percussionists), Derek Gibbs and Peter Serreo (both sax), Pablo Gonsales (congas), Sam Kelly (drums) and Mike Rose (flautist/percussionist). They were signed by US label Janus Records and their first single ‘The Message’ reached the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, followed by their self-titled debut LP release in 1972. They toured with Al Green, Mandrill and Ramsey Lewis and became the first UK band to headline NYC’s Apollo Theatre. However, they achieved little notice back home and despite two further album releases, split up in 1974. Now their story is told through archival footage, interviews with original band members and through their fusion of jazz, funk, soul, Afrotropical and calypso rhythms. But it’s more than just a music doc, it’s about racism, survival, growing old and reinvention, as Cymande returned to play and record this film after some four decades apart. It premieres on 13/2/2024 at London's BFI, followed by a Q&A session and after-party. A world tour follows this spring.
Usher to perform Super Bowl Halftime Show
The spotlight will fall on the R&B superstar for one of the sporting highlights of the year...
During an interview with Good Morning America in the US on Friday, the singer of hits such as 'You Make Me Wanna', 'Caught Up' and 'Yeah!', said he felt an “adrenaline high” when he first got the call that he was going to perform at the NFL showpiece in Las Vegas. He added that he wanted to pay homage to Black artists who came before him and helped pave the way for artists, such as himself, that could headline a major entertainment event like the Super Bowl LVIII halftime show. Now considered a veteran of the music industry, also Usher said he remembered his support for those who helped him get to where he is today when putting together this forthcoming show . “I didn’t start where I am now, and I didn’t get there by myself,” the Texas born singer said, "so, everybody that has been a part of it, I’m carrying them with me. All of my fans, my loved ones, the people who may have felt like they have been forgotten, they haven’t. I’m carrying you right with me when I walk on that stage that night.” Usher will perform the halftime show on 11/2/2024, when the Kansas City Chiefs take on San Francisco 49ers for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
CHARLIE WILSON GETS WALK OF FAME STAR
Former Gap Band frontman was honoured on Hollywood's famous strip yesterday 20/1/2024...
The 71 year old hitmaker first rose to fame with his brothers Ronnie and Robert Wilson in their hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma in the late 1960s. In the following decades The Gap Band went on to release hits like 'You Dropped A Bomb On Me', 'Party Train', 'Burn Rubber' and eventually saw nine of their albums go platinum in the US. Their sound went on to influence other artists, many sampling their tracks over the years, including the hit 'Outstanding' said to have been sampled by over 150 artists. Wilson also enjoyed a successful solo career in the 1990s, gaining 13 Grammy nominations and a Soul Train Icon Award in 2009. In his speech at the ceremony yesterday, which was hosted by Jimmy Jam, Wilson said “this recognition holds a very special place in my heart, as it symbolises a journey that started many, many years ago.” The assembled crowd included star attendees such as LA Reid and Snoop Dogg, among others. He also shared his story about his sobriety for the past 29 years and thanked his wife Mahin Tat, his team and collaborators.
RIP MARLENA SHAW
Legendary jazz singer Marlena Shaw, best known for her rendition of 'California Soul' has passed...
Born in 1942 as Marlina Burgess from New York, Shaw was first was first introduced to music by her jazz trumpet playing uncle Jimmy Burgess. She began to make singing appearances in jazz clubs whenever she could spare the time. The most notable of these appearances was in 1963 when she worked with one of the first American Bebop trumpeters, Howard McGhee. A 1969 album track 'California Soul' written by Grammy award winning duo Ashford & Simpson and originally issued as a single by American pop quintet The Fifth Dimension, a song that later became a staple of the UK's rare groove scene of the 80's and 90's and appeared on several TV commercials. Marlena signed to notable labels such as Chess Records and Blue Note. In 1977 she released her 'Sweet Beginnings' LP which included the old Gerry Goffin and Carole King standard 'You Ma/Go Away Little Boy'. as well as one of the disco era's biggest hits, a remake of 'Touch Me In The Morning', both on the Columbia record label. She later worked with Gary Taylor, Johnny Bristol and Webster Lewis and continued to perform and record up until just before her death.
VICKI ANDERSON PASSES
Funk and soul sister Vicki Anderson has sadly left us at the age of 83...
Born Myra Barnes in Houston, Texas in 1939, she attained local praise for her singing while growing up before gaining her big break by joining James Brown’s revue. As lead female vocalist for three years, Vicki earned her stripes alongside Mr Dynamite himself, while meeting and marrying band mate Bobby Byrd. She played a pivotal role in soul’s evolution into funk, recording seminal tracks such as ‘Message From A Soul Sister’ which remains one of the genre's finest. She was eventually replaced by Marva Whitney and subsequently Lyn Collins. Vicki, also mother to Carleen Anderson, a stalwart of the UK acid jazz and burgeoning rare groove scene of the late 1980's, saw her career restored somewhat after a few quiet years. A memoir from DJ Norman Jay told a moving story about a sold out London show in 1986, which was Vicki's first for some considerable time and saw an audience singing every word to her songs. The performance kick started a second chapter for her and she is also acknowledged by James Brown himself, in his 2005 autobiography published, as the best singer he ever had and probably the best singer he'd ever witnessed.
PRINCE REMEMBERED AT 65
Today (7/6/2023) the "purple one" would have celebrated six and a half decades on planet Earth...
Born Prince Rogers Nelson in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1958 to two musical parents and named after his father's jazz combo. Widely regarded as one of the greatest musicians of his generation, he is said to have written his first song at just 7 years old and while still at junior school, he also trained in classical ballet. He went to see James Brown in concert at an early age and later met up with Jimmy Jam (of Jam & Lewis fame) at High School. When he was 19, with the help of local businessman Owen Husney, Prince signed to Warner Records. In 1978 he released his first LP 'For You' which reached the Billboard 200 and the single 'Soft & Wet' became his first, if only a minor hit. In 1979 he created The Revolution band with André Cymone (bass), Dez Dickerson (guitar), Gayle Chapman, Doctor Fink (both keys) and Booby Z (drums). Their first show was at the Capri Theater in January and by October, he'd released the album 'Prince' which hit No.22 in the Top 200 and contained the hits 'Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?' and the game changing 'I Wanna Be Your Lover' which sold over a million copies. And the rest, as they say, is music history.
