Statik 2

My teenage music mentor, the late George Horan, used to turn red in frustration: “Play with character — don’t make a caricature.” Statik 2 was that lesson learned the hard way. A pair of driving acid jazz tunes that alienated the word-of-mouth following built up through Animus, Resonance, and Statik 1 — some returned the cassette in person. The drum machine had objectified what should have been breathing grooves. Character had slipped into caricature.

And yet. One night in Charlottesville, playing an impromptu live set while opening for what may have been Dave Matthews’ opening band’s opening act’s opening act… the crowd got down. Sitting in were the drummer and guitarist from the next act and the improvised extended remixes took on a soul of their own. The ghost of that performance still lives somewhere in these recordings.

Valentine materialized after an evening spent tapping Clyde Stubblefield’s James Brown break beat into a drum machine — an exorcism that turned into a dance floor. Ashes came from the soprano sax years, when carrying the horn everywhere made musical promiscuity inevitable. George Horan used to work with Quincy Jones. He never said authentic music and pop were mutually exclusive.