New Zealanders Jellphonic & Leonard Charles Recruit Reggie Blount & DJ Kutcorners for Rick James Covers EP ALL NIGHT LONG (self-released)
"When Reggie Blount came to New Zealand last, me, him, @LeonardCMusic & @kutcorners united to do these Rick James covers. Reg on all vocals! I am so proud of these tracks and my Funky street brothers!" Kiwi multi-instrumentalist and producer @jellphonic recently wrote on Twitter. Taking inspiration from Rick James' Vanity 6-esque girl group, Mary Jane Girls' 1983 single "All Night Long," Reggie Blount & Jellphonic formed a loose collective with Charles and DJ Kutcorners. Jellphonic & Reggie had, in fact, worked together some six years prior on "Sexxy" from Jellphonic & Zackey Force Funk's Clone Crown Ltd. 12-inch, "100 Snakes" and again, on "PUMP" from HIT+RUN's 2014 777 singles series. Leonard Charles & Jellphonic, on the other hand, had previously collaborated on numerous remixes including "Can't Buy My Love LA," "Flashback '92," "SMOKE N MIRRORS," and "Disco Star" (Jellphonic Rework.) ALL NIGHT LONG EP is the proper, albeit "unofficial," follow-up to both Jellphonic's JELL-O-PHONE EP and Leonard Charles' critically-acclaimed 31-track J Dilla tribute, Basement Donuts. Reggie Blount is a slightly more mysterious Tuscon-based Funk/Soul singer who's released a few 7+12-inch records on both Clone Crown Ltd. and Hobo Camp: Hard Times, Shining Star, and Space B*tch/Stimulant with Zackey Force Funk. Last, but not least, Kutcorners is a self-proclaimed "Producer, DJ, Synth Nerd & Bass Player" hailing from Vancouver who's released a number of singles, mixes, and EP's over the last seven years and even did a remix for Jeremy Toy AKA Leonard Charles' Shoegaze band, She's So Rad. Reggie Blount / Jellphonic / Leonard Charles / Kutcorners' collaborative ALL NIGHT LONG EP is currently available for unlimited streaming and FREE download on jellphonic's Soundcloud page, along with most of the aforementioned group-affiliated songs. Leonard Charles is currently finishing up a 7-inch single with Stones Throw emcee Guilty Simpson for release on Japanese imprint WONDERFUL NOISE in 2018.
"All vocals are performed by Arizona Funkster Reggie Blount, originally from Tuscon. Reg did a brief stint living in New Zealand and captured the minds and hearts of the locals. He came back for a holiday recently, so me and Leonard Charles tied him up, chucked him in the booth, and held him hostage at Leo's Subterranean Studio in Mt. Eden to record the covers. Reg has obviously, been practicing his singing, since we saw him last because he is sounding increasingly like Michael Bublé. He is an engineer by day and excels at everything he does; he recently built a diamond-faceting machine! Coincidentally, another friend, Kutcorners, was in town and offered up some synth parts and slap bass on "Give It to Me." Nobody wanted to put it out officially, so I just chucked it [up] on Soundcloud. I wish there was more of a story, but I guess it's just four bros uniting for their love of Rick James! Leonard mixed it all and made it sound like butter, as always. He also played lots of synth and all [guitar] and slap bass. He is The Slap Bass President of New Zealand."
- Jellphonic (@jellphonic)