Leonard Charles Joins Forces with The King of The Boogie Leroy Burgess for "NINE LIVES" (Wonderful Noise/From The Crate Records)
Jeremy Toy is an extremely talented singer, song-writer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer hailing from Auckland, New Zealand. Toy has an Indie-Pop/Shoegaze band called She's So Rad with his wife, Anji and also, moonlights as "Basement" Funk originator Leonard Charles. Although, he's been recording and self-releasing music as Leonard Charles for quite a few years now, his 2016 Basement Donuts album is what really first pinged on our radar; an expansive 31-track album, Basement Donuts is a stylistic re-imagining of J Dilla's magnum opus and final record, Donuts, on its 10th anniversary. Charles has since released an unofficial cover of Madlib, M.E.D. & Blu's "The Turn Up" and ALL NIGHT LONG EP with Reggie Blunt & Jellphonic, as well as one-off collaborations with fellow Kiwis, Team Dynamite and long-time Dilla affiliate, Guilty Simpson. Leonard & Guilty first teamed up for "BREAKING OVER YOU," which was premiered right here at The Witzard last year and they are currently wrapping up a proper 2019 full-length attributed to The Leonard-Simpson Duo AKA LSD. Somehow, amidst all these genre-eschewing collaborations, as well as a year-long recovery back to good health following a hit-and-run accident, has returned with "Nine Lives" alongside The King of The Boogie himself, Leroy Burgess.
An esteemed singer, song-writer, keyboard player, and producer, Leroy Burgess has spent nearly half a century meticulously "crafting and performing hits, deep cuts, and cult classics with unmatched energy, emotional fervor, and commitment to sincerity in song-craft and expression." Burgess has either performed alongside or recorded music with the likes of Black Ivory, Larry Joseph & Science, Aleem, Phreek, LOGG, The P.A. System, Universal Robot Band, Cassius, High Frequency, Bumblebee Unlimited, and countless others. "Inspired by a video of a Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) workshop with [Leroy] Burgess, [Jeremy] Toy took a chance and contacted him with a view to co-writing and recording a song together," states part of a RBMA press release. It appears as though Leroy Burgess instantly connected with a particular Leonard Charles instrumental entitled "Basement Funk Mix," which quickly morphed into "Nine Lives." Digitally released on Jeremy Toy's own From The Crate Records in conjunction with Red Bull Music Academy, Leonard Charles & Leroy Burgess' "Nine Lives" will soon be issued on 12-inch vinyl through Japanese imprint, WONDERFUL NOISE PRODUCTIONS. "Nine Lives"' Main Mix is backed by an Instrumental Mix, as well as Charles' aforementioned "Basement Funk Mix" and a cascading dance floor-ready remix provided by Frank Booker & Julien Dyne.
