Gilles Peterson and Bluey's new album set for release

Gilles Peterson and Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick's new project 'Aspects' will be released this March

Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick and Gilles Peterson
Author: Alastair SteelPublished 22nd Mar 2021
Last updated 23rd Mar 2021

Broadcaster, DJ and label boss Gilles Peterson and the widely lauded Brit-funk pioneer Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick have announced a new album - Aspects.

Aspects, which will be released under the pairs group STR4TA, aims to tap into the early-1980s Brit-funk scene. It was through Maunick’s band, Incognito – one of the essential groups of an oft-overlooked, vital pocket of Black British musical history – that they first connected. On Aspects, he and Peterson revisit that important period and the spirit that guided it: self-taught, DIY vitality, raucous energy built on live performance. which united the pair.

Aspects is the first material that Bluey 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.

STR4TA - 'Vision 9'

STR4TA - 'Rhythm in Your Mind'

STRA4TA - 'Aspects'

When will STR4TA - Aspects be released?

STR4TA - Aspects

STR4TA's Aspects will be released through Gilles Peterson's Brownswood Recordings March 26 2021 and will be available on vinyl, CD and digital download.

The singles 'Vision 9', 'Rhythm in Your Mind' and 'Aspects' are out now.

The Music That Made Me

Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick featured as part of our landmark series, The Music That Made Me. The series has also featured** Chick Corea, Ramsey Lewis, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kurt Elling, Norah Jones, Gregory Porter, Jamie Cullum and George Benson.