STR4TA - Aspects (Brownswood)

Gilles Peterson and Jean-Paul Maunick’s STR4TA evoke late 70s to early 80s Brit-funk in true to form DIY style and make it the sound of 2021

There are always new paths to take. Or, to borrow a phrase from Sun Ra, there are other worlds they have not told you of. It might be the case of following a hip-hop sample back to its source, hearing an old track for the first time or indeed encountering a new record made in an earlier mode. These moments become gateways, to step through and explore unfamiliar musical landscapes. This is certainly the case for me with Aspects by STR4TA, which intentionally evokes end of the seventies to early eighties Brit-funk in true to form DIY style and makes it feel like the sound of 2021.

A concise and evocative description of Brit-funk, along with a handy instruction for how to listen, can be found inside the gatefold sleeve of Freeez’s Southern Freeez LP from 1980: “New wave jazz funk, play loud”. This not only reminds me of Mo’ Wax sleeve-sloganeering (“experimental beathead jams” etc.) and is reflected in the collage cover art of Aspects (“music from the jazz funk underground”, “soul over London” and more), but also hints at Brit-funk as analogous to post-punk, with a shared do-it-yourself approach to repurposing existing forms. More than that, post-punk was left unfinished back in the day and is open to periodic modern iterations; so too Brit-funk, on the strengh of STR4TA at least. Conceived by Gilles Peterson and Jean-Paul ‘Bluey’ Maunick, the project has given them an opportunity to revisit their formative years and the freedoms that a particular sound allowed. What could have been an exercise in stifling authenticity in the wrong hands, is instead thrilling, joyful and free, beautifully capturing the vibes of those times. Incognito’s Maunick was a member of Brit-funkers Light of the World, so authenticity was never going to be an issue, and Peterson ensured a sense of spontaneity was retained throughout the recording process with Maunick and collaborators.

“Aspects”, released last year as a white label under the STR4TA name but uncredited to Peterson and Maunick, ignites proceedings with a journey into soul-funk-disco. Surely destined to become the stuff of five-hour DJ sets in sweaty basements, it sets a frantic pace, yet maintains a smooth flow. It’s all about the body moving bassline, nagging synth keys and almost p-funk touches before the track opens up like the parting of clouds into Bluey’s soulful vocals: “Take your time / See what you can find / In the aspects of your mind”. Follow-up single “Rhythm in Your Mind” keeps breaking down and winding up, releasing bursts of inventive percussion as it goes, like some cosmically-charged funk gem invoking both Herbie Hancock and Loose Ends. The piano-led late night jazz bar energy of “Dance Desire” is as invitingly exotic as a John Barry cue, whereas space is apparently the place on the shimmering funked-up odyssey of “Steppers Crusade”. Taking things down while ramping up the emotive rush, “After the Rain” emerges as if from a musically adventurous, but long-lost 1980s motion picture; it gets under the skin and stays there.

The spirit of creativity is strong with STR4TA and their musical generosity is infectious. Like an invitation to go crate-digging with Gilles Peterson and Bluey, Aspects will open ears to the foundational sounds of Brit-funk or else bring back that era for those already familiar. Either way, it’s a path worth taking.

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