STR4TASFEAR STR4TA

• 1 Galactic Fanfare 00:56
• 2 City Sounds 05:59
• 3 Turn Me Around 05:15
• 4 When You Call Me 04:55
• 5 Why Must You Fly (feat. Omar) 04:16
• 6 To Be As One (feat. Theo Croker) 06:25
• 7 (Bring On The) Bad Weather [feat. Anushka] 04:56
• 8 Reflections (Chaser 1) 01:12
• 9 Night Flight 05:24
• 10 Soothsayer (feat. Theo Croker) 02:52
• 11 Reflections (Chaser 2) 01:01
• 12 Lazy Days (feat. Emma-Jean Thackray) 04:28
• 13 Find Your Heaven (feat. Valerie Etienne) 05:08
• 14 Virgil (Vocal Version) 04:12
• 15 Something, Anything 01:31
• Total Runtime 58:30

Info for STR4TASFEAR

On their second album together, London DJ Gilles Peterson and Brit-funk pioneer Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick pay tribute to an overlooked strain of UK dance music.

Welcome to 'STR4TASFEAR’, Gilles Peterson and Jean Paul “Bluey” Maunick’s sophomore STR4TA album. A collection of songs, melodies, grooves and sounds that sit perfectly in the brand new music world it’s part of. Gilles and Bluey are both men who emerged into the Brit-funk world. They were both part of this truly thrilling chapter in the story of homegrown music; which manifests itself here in a sumptuous mixture of twanging basslines, spacey synth melodies, clicking beats and wispy, ethereal voices.'

For this new set, they’ve got a few like-minded souls along to join the party, connecting legacy with a new generation of innovators on the music scene. As a core concept of the album, nostalgic reflection meets a pivotal desire to celebrate the present moment, expressed through key features on the record. Namely, multi-talented neo soul Godfather Omar, who in a shock plot twist, was enlisted to lay down his intricate wonky synth lines on ‘Why Must You Fly’. The legacy family collaborations ensue with celebrated vocalist, Valerie Etienne, on ‘Find Your Bounce’ co-written by Rob Gallagher (Galliano, Talkin’ Loud) emulating Brit-funk’s first wave.

Extending the family, catapulting STR4TA to a cosmic contemporary plane, is free-spirited musical polymath, Emma-Jean Thackray laying down her refreshing, breathy vocals and production acumen on ‘Lazy Days’. Also welcomed into the fold and garnering the admiration of Gilles and Bluey over his illustrious career, is Floridian trumpeter/vocalist Theo Croker, who breezed into the jam-style studio session encapsulating the innovation of future jazz with the soulfulness of a bygone era on ‘Soothsayer’ and ‘To Be As One’. Representing the dynamic US influences from the birth of Brit-funk and the current surge of multifaceted, jazz-trained artists exploring unchartered soundscapes. Plus Brighton duo Anushka, jump on ‘Bad Weather’, whose melting electronica sound gleefully displays its roots from that aforementioned era.

The epicentre of 'STR4TASFEAR’ still remains the ‘meeting of minds’ and treasured friendship between the band’s founders, a solid production duo whose clearly defined roles compliment and inspire each other. Gilles Peterson as executive producer, sonically enriching the production process with his extensive and encyclopaedic knowledge from Brit-funk and Electro-soul of the late 70s/ early 80s to ushering in a new wave of musicians over his esteemed career as a DJ, label owner and broadcaster. Feeding the creative flow of highly acclaimed musician and producer Jean Paul “Bluey” Maunick who in record-time, single-handedly produced ‘Night Flight’ following one of their inspirational sessions characterised by the TR808 drum machine. With the invaluable contribution of Mo Hausler, an instrumental figure in completing the soundscape of the album. The vision was finessed by the magic touch of legendary keys/piano player Peter Hinds (Atmosfear, Light of The World, Incognito), appearing throughout the record, and is at the pinnacle of paying homage to the incredible pioneering work of bands such as SunPalace & Freeez, paving the way of UK electro-soul for artists like Total Contrast & Stephen Dante (produced by Bluey in the mid-80s). This sound is now being revived by contemporary producers like Dâm-Funk, Zopelar & Space Ghost to name a few.

STR4TA is the new wave jazz funk project pioneered by Gilles Peterson and Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick. Long-time friends and collaborators, STR4TA sees them mine new musical possibilities inspired by a shared formative era. Their debut album ‘Aspects’ was released in March 2021 to a rapturous reception, in the first material that Maunick and Peterson have released together in over a decade. With standout tracks ‘We Like It’ achieving over 1 million streams on Spotify, ‘Rhythm In Your Mind’ exceeding 12 weeks on Jazz FM’s playlist, and a remix EP featuring Melé, Dave Lee, Greg Wilson, Dave Aju & more released at the end of 2021. Heavily supported by BBC 6Music, The Guardian, Wax Poetics, The Vinyl Factory, CLASH, Télérama (FR), Radio Nova (FR), KCRW (US), Rolling Stones Italy & Japan. STR4TA have performed electrifying live shows at We Out Here (UK), Primavera Sound (Spain) and headline show at The Jazz Cafe, London.

STR4TA

Gilles Peterson
is a broadcaster, DJ and record collector who’s played a pivotal role in supporting forward-thinking underground music in the UK and beyond over the past three decades. He hosts weekly primetime Saturday afternoon show on BBC Radio 6 Music that’s one of the broadcaster’s most popular music shows, helms independent record label Brownswood Recordings, and is the founder of online radio station Worldwide FM.

Throughout his career, Peterson has promoted the new frontiers of jazz, hip-hop, and electronic music. He’s been recognised for his work with an MBE in 2004, an AIM Award for Indie Champion 2013, the Mixmag Award for Outstanding Contribution To Dance Music in 2013, the PRS for Music Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music Radio in 2014, and The A&R Award from The Music Producers Guild in 2019.

Starting his career installing illicit transmitters and hosting shows for pirate radio station Radio Invicta, he later joined the newly-founded Jazz FM and, after that, joined the influential pirate-turned-legal station Kiss FM. In 1998, he was hired by BBC Radio 1, where he hosted a weekly show until his move to his current slot on BBC Radio 6 Music. He also hosts a syndicated radio program that is broadcast all over the globe, from Mexico City to Paris.

He has been behind several game-changing record labels. Firstly, he founded Acid Jazz in the late eighties, and later he started Talkin’ Loud, whose roster included Incognito, Galliano, Young Disciples, Courtney Pine, MJ Cole, Terry Callier, The Roots, 4 Hero, Nuyorican Soul, Carl Craig’s Innerzone Orchestra and Roni Size's Reprazent project. Five of the albums on Talkin Loud were nominated for a Mercury Prize, with Reprazent’s New Forms winning in 1997. His current venture, Brownswood Recordings, was formed in 2006 and has released Ghostpoet’s Mercury Prize-nominated debut album and the 2018 We Out Here project, a celebrated compilation showcasing the UK’s thriving young jazz scene. As a curator and collector, he’s compiled over 100 albums.

In 2011, he founded the Steve Reid Foundation in memory of the legendary jazz drummer. The charity supports musicians who are ill and facing financial difficulties, with past recipients of support including Arthur Blythe, Bernie Worrell and George Cables. They’ve also partnered with the PRS for Music Foundation to create the Steve Reid InNOVAtion Award, which has supported upcoming artists such as Moses Boyd, Nubya Garcia and Sarathy Korwar. He curated the Look Up event series in 2018, which explored the arts and mental health and raised £20,000 for youth mental health charity Safaplace.

He is behind several events championing the music that he supports through his DJ sets and radio shows. Since 2005, he has hosted the annual Worldwide Awards in London and Worldwide Festival in Sète, France, and since 2015, a winter ski edition of the latter in Leysin, Switzerland. Gilles set up the online radio station, Worldwide FM, in 2016 and in 2019 he is launching the new We Out Here festival in the UK.

Long-time friends and collaborators, Gilles & Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick announce new project, STR4TA, reinvigorating the loose, protean energy of the early-80s Brit-funk scene.

STR4TA sees them mine new musical possibilities out of that shared formative era. Bringing a fresh slant to a sound first developed by groups like Atmosfear, Hi-Tension, Light of the World and Freeez – with Maunick, it should be noted, also a member of the latter two bands – it’s the first material that Maunick and Peterson have released together in over a decade.

“The idea of the project was to capture that raw, moment to moment sound,” Maunick says, drawing a contrast to the touches of refinement he and his peers have acquired in the years since. In its early days, the Brit-funk sound – and the London jazz-funk milieu it grew out of – was rooted in raucous live shows, rivalling those of the punk bands in that same period. 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.

Following the success of the single ‘Aspects’ & the Demus Dub remix in September 2020 supported by Francois K, Trevor Jackson, Colin Curtis & Moses Boyd to name a few; the album announcement is accompanied by the second single ‘Rhythm In Your Mind.’ STR4TA showcase another masterclass in wrapping a track tightly around the groove, showing off the taut musicianship of Francis Hylton, on bass, and Matt Cooper, on keys and drums.

This album contains no booklet.