Richmond, Virginia 5-piece Instrumental Band Butcher Brown Let Loose AfroKuti: A Tribute to Fela - Digital EP (Jellowstone Studios)
DJ Harrison is a Richmond, Virginia-based producer and multi-instrumentalist AKA Devonne Harris, who's now signed to Stones Throw Records. Last year, Stones Throw quietly released Harrison's self-produced debut, HazyMoods, which was recorded directly to tape in his living room/home studio. Not unlike his fellow Virginians Pharrell, Chad Hugo, Timbaland, Missy Elliott, and Clipse, DJ Harrison often blurs the line between Hip-Hop, R&B, Funk, Soul, and Rock "N" Roll. In a similar vein to Pharrell & Chad Hugo's The Neptunes/N*E*R*D, Harris also, moonlights as one-fifth of his own Virginia-based genre-eschewing band, Butcher Brown. Its 5-piece core line-up consists of guitarist Morgan Burrs, drummer Corey Fonville, bassist Andrew Randazzo, sax & trumpet player Marcus Tenney, and of course, DJ Harrison contributing keys, production, engineering, etc. According to Stones Throw, DJ Harrison "lives and works in Jellowstone, a house-turned recording compound occupied by his bandmates in Butcher Brown, a "Garage Punk Jazz Funk" group." For their latest collaborative effort, AfroKuti: A Tribute to Fela, the proper follow-up to 2017's Live at Vagabond, Butcher Brown share four originals recorded in a style reminiscent of Fela Kuti and his various world-renown ensembles: The Highlife Rakers, His Koola Lobitos, Africa '70/Afrika '70, Egypt '80, and Nigeria '70.
Butcher Brown are assisted by guest players Brevan Hampden on percussion, Reginald Chapman on bass trombone, David Hood on baritone saxophone, and Kevin Simpson on tenor saxophone throughout AfroKuti: A Tribute to Fela. "February 2017: I had a vision to pay tribute to Fela. I've written a couple of tunes in that style before this, but never did a full-on session with rhythm section and horns," DJ Harrison explained to The Witzard, via email. Harrison attests AfroKuti: A Tribute to Fela is 100% "ALL LIVE" with a few minor "percussion over-dubs here and there, but everything else was live." DJ Harrison says "all 4 horns were recorded in my bedroom into a matched pair of tube stereo mics—I actually, had to put my bed vertically against the wall! I also, forgot all my charts that day, so I verbally communicated everyone's part to them, via the piano." In addition to evoking Fela Kuti Et Al. I would have to, personally, proclaim AfroKuti is, also, reminiscent of Herbie Hancock & The Headhunters' 1973 album, Head Hunters, as well. Butcher Brown's latest, AfroKuti: A Tribute to Fela is currently available to stream or download on the band's Bandcamp page. Although, I'm sure we'll be hearing more from DJ Harrison & Butcher Brown before too long!