So Claude Cooper is back with us. You should remember a couple of years ago this illusive, apparently Bristolian producer and Bedminster beatmaster delivered the essential ‘Myriad Sounds’ LP, a rugged funky jazz extravaganza that took the Rip Rig and Panic spirit to new levels of potency. The clues to the greatness were always there in the Claude Cooper soundtrack, shaped by a band of local blasters including reps from Reprazent, Beak and Get The Blessing. So hints of a collective effort maybe? Nothing was certain…
Then last April the Claude Cooper sabbatical was interrupted when the ‘More Myriad Sounds’ album emerged, a re-consideration of the original recording in collaboration with NY rapper Brain Fog, a poet with an untraceable bio. Rumour has it the desperate lyricist, burdened by his unsung rhymes, got wind of Cooper’s sonic exploits and travelled from Brooklyn to the West country determined to track the source of the Claude sound down. Their ‘joint’ effort rising out from all the smoke and mirrors was a collection that absolutely rocked.
Scroll forward nine more months and we’re informed that Claude has been spending his time digging the crates and rifling the shelves at his spiritual home, Friendly Records vinyl emporium, South Bristol. The result of all this audio excavation is a new year surprise in the shape of a sultry, grooving single ‘Stay A While’, out now via on the shop’s increasingly significant label, Friendly Recordings.
Sampling and loops are high on the agenda this time around; a rootsy psyched up swirl through gospel house piano vamps, stomping Motown rhythms and classic-soul horn stabs. The energy’s pumping, sweetened by the snatched repeats of a girl group chorus and a shifty compere’s voice (maybe Claude’s?). “Stay a while” is all they ask.
It’s lo-fi, almost experimental in its twists, stepping away from any Fat Boy Slim / ‘Praise You’ slickness into more spontaneous and spikey places. A song that’s brief, breezy and bristling with fun like a snapshot from a crumpled club-night.
Get your 7 ” vinyl copy of ‘Stay A While’ by Claude Cooper with exclusive track ‘Dance Tonight‘ on the flip direct from Friendly Recordings HERE plus streaming in all the usual places…
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