Somewhere in the uncharted backstreets east of East London exists a forgotten orphaned modern day Dickensian dirt road where a raggity community of crack hookers, drug dealers, hobos jungling up in scrapped motors, chariot healers, and bewildered residents exist side by side with musicians and sky-pilots of different persuasions attending the street’s mosque, African and Amish community churches. In that road stands a building without a doorbell or a sign that houses producer Alex McGowan’s (aka Captain Future) Space Eko East Recording Studio, which some say is really just like another church: The Church of Rock’n’Roll.
Frequented by a loyal congregation of followers of the radically non-violent religion of Music, this recording studio is the home of productions for Jah Wobble, The Tiger Lillies, Son Of Dave, The Urban Voodoo Machine, Jim Jones & The Righteous Mind, Sister Cookie, Big Joe Louis, Tricky, Martina Topley Bird, Stewart Copeland, Josh Homme, Mark Lanegan, DJ Scratchy, and many more.
It will come as no surprise to learn that Alex’s tracks from collaborations and The Future Shape of Sound have featured in several soundtracks including Six Feet Under, CSI Miami, The OC, Hollywood feature films ‘Bad Company’ (starring Anthony Hopkins, Chris Rock) and ‘Obsessed’ (starring Beyonce).
The Future Shape Of Sound who draw their influences from artists such as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Clara Ward Singers, Slim Harpo, Hasil Adkins are spearheaded by producer, and highly skilled hat-wearer Alex McGowan, along with Stuart “Lodekka” Dace, whose gloriously chequered career has seen him play sax on the classic Primal Scream album “Screamadelica”, be member of Mo’ Wax band Deep Joy and work as Head of Design at Chrysalis Records.
Having treaded the stages of many smooth niteries and major outdoor congregations (Bestival, Secret Garden Party, Larmer Tree, Hipsville, Grillstock, Wilderness) with varying live incarnations of The Future Shape Of Sound, the two operators decided that now is a fine time to put in some graveyard shifts at the church to re-align some magnetic fields and scratch their rootsy mix of Crime Gospel and Primitive Blues into some platters.
Captain Future was inspired by a vision of brewing up an album that would represent a snapshot of the talents of the parishioners who regularly record at his studio. Clutching a bunch of songs, they picked up the blower to some fellow believers, to ask whether they’d up for and down with lending their uncubistic talents to the project.
They heard the call, and the first result of that vision to be crashing the ether is the single “Rise Up” featuring as guests the cover girls of the book of temptation, Sister Cookie on lead vocals, Leela Thompson and Mysti Vine on backing vocals, as well as Stuart “Lodekka” Dace on Sax, Davie Quinn on Ivories, Captain Future on doghouse, guitar and skins.
Continuing their mutual crush and building on their previous side “Toe The Line” which picked up plays on BBC Radio 2, BBC6 Music and was featured on the radioactive “Electro Blues vol. 2”, “Rise Up (feat. Sister Cookie)” is out on Brighton’s own Freshly Squeezed Music.
“We’re not in it for a heap of jack but to have ourselves a time and to hopefully rattle your skeleton.”
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