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King Britt knows that it takes more than a clever flick of the wrist to keep throngs of dancers drinkin’, sweatin’ and forgettin’ under the bright lights and the disco ball. Ranked among the highest echelons of club-savvy DJs and formerly a wax poet with award-winning groovesters Digable Planets, King James Britt (actually his given name) uses a keen sense of intuition to transport his audience to a world beyond time and space. With his finger firmly on the pulse of contemporary culture, the techno-wizard’s talent for remixing has set him apart as a producer who is much sought after for his ability to put other artists back on the cutting edge.
After some 15 years of making funkalicious fantasies come true for other people, Britt has indulged his own penchant for collecting rarities on vinyl by releasing a largely unaltered compilation of his favourite free-jazz cuts from the past. His latest foray into the world of remixing and production has resulted in Cosmic Lounge, a sonic bitch’s brew of 11 of the beatmaker’s favourite soul-jazz masterpieces.
“Growing up, my mom was friends with Sun Ra in Philly and I’ve always been influenced by him and artists like him,” Britt explains. “The Cosmic Lounge came about because I’m a big collector of free jazz and avante garde music. I love old vinyl, and I’m acquiring more on a constant basis, but as a DJ I use all CDs when I’m travelling. I was tight with the label, so I approached them with the idea that I’d like to do a series of free-jazz compilation discs, and they jumped at it. Some of the material may be a little out there, but it all has soul. That’s the common thread.”
Seeking the science behind his craft, King describes himself as a vibrationologist, “Studying the synchronization of different vibrations and what metamorphoses happen when these are combined.” In the course of his ongoing investigation into the relationship between mood and sound, King has found a like-minded individual in author Daniel Levitin, a rock ’n’ roll doctor who examines music from the perspective of a fan, a philosopher, a chemist and a psychotherapist.
“I’ve been reading This is Your Brain on Music,” Britt elaborates. “It talks about how sounds and vibrations can affect human beings. As a DJ, you have a certain power over people, because music gives you the ability to change a person’s emotional state. I always try to create a definite vibe in the room when I DJ. I won’t play the hits, but I keep the people moving. You know your set is working when you see a crowd go off to something they’ve never heard before. They just think they’ve heard it before.”
While it assumes a more sophisticated listenership than your average booty shaker, this impressive assemblage of tracks presents a virtual art gallery of sound that challenges all presumptions of genre and structure. Casting the spotlight on performers ranging from Herbie Hancock to Don Cherry, the Cosmic Lounge is to be the first in a multi-volume set designed and produced by Britt in what is not only a tribute to the great minds that have inspired his work, but also a reflection of his commitment to bringing about musical evolution through musical education.
“It has a lot to do with technology,” says Britt of his rapidly expanding market. “Producers and collectors now have access to music from all over the world. It’s a mash-up of the past remixed to the future. I think the whole melting pot thing is really cool.
“Cosmic Lounge represents an amalgamation. There’s a little of everything, but it’s not too basic. I wanted to go beyond the boring and not make obvious choices like Coltrane. I dug a little deeper, but not too deep. I don’t want people to get lost. The next one will have some heavier stuff. I’m working on Volume 2 right now and it’s phenomenal — everything from free jazz to Squarepusher. It may seem like a big leap going from the older stuff to something like Aphex Twin , but it’s really not. They’re closer together than you’d think. I try to tie it all together with a little lesson.”
