California-based artist Cody Ferreira, aka Coflo, has teamed up with Aya Moor on the Gimme That EP, which is set to be released through London-based Soul Quest Records.
The EP, which lands on 2 October, combines deep and soulful house with Afro and jazz influences, and comes amid a busy year for Coflo, with recent releases on Mate, GAMM, Cataleya Music and his recently-launched imprint, Loudcat Music.
For this week’s #MyRecordBag, Coflo serves up his top vocal house classics. You can check the new EP out here.
Tamara Wellons – Oh Well (BahSonik Remix)
“This was the second release on a local hero’s – Carlos Mena’s – label, Ocha Records. At the time, I wasn’t hardcore about my label collecting, but I was into the artists I was into. I loved Carlos and anything he was involved in. I was trying to go to those parties or check out the music he was involved in. I was at Mighty in San Francisco [119 Utah St].
“I don’t recall who played the record, but I remember that it was a REALLY hard day at work and I went to the club after. I got there late, after midnight. It was the first time I cried on a dancefloor. I don’t know exactly what about the song and moment in time made me so emotional, but it felt good to let it out.
“As a full-circle moment, some years later – maybe 2014 – I was competing in an underground house dance competition called The Abyss in Washington, DC, and Tamara was a featured vocalist during the competition. The competition was structured where the competitors shared a cypher with each other. When Tamara started to sing, I left the competition and danced in front of her whole three-song set. I won the competition that year, even though I shared that moment with her.”
Abstract Truth – (We Had) A Thing (Matty’s Body And Soul Mix)
“I cannot recall the very first time I heard this, but it is the first song that I recognised as a backdrop to many of my earliest nights sneaking into parties when I was in high school. This tune got played in every city at every party I went to here in the Bay Area [San Jose, Oakland and San Francisco].
“I fell in love with the vocal styling, rhythm and what I later realised was an imprint of “power” in a vocal performance that very FEW vocalists will ever obtain, especially in underground dance music. That vocalist being the legend, Monique Bingham.”
Kenny Bobien – Father (Frankie Feliciano Ricanstruction Vocal Mix)
“For the world of non-secular house music, Kenny Bobien is my absolute northern star. I had never heard someone with such a defining vocal tone. Growing up in the Catholic church, I was really put off by religiously framed music. Believe it or not, I was NOT into gospel-derived styles of dance music in my teens. I think it was more of the production and styling than it was subject matter.
“This is all to say, Father was a tune that felt incredibly compelling and inspiring. It was the first vocal tune I can recall memorising all the vocal phrases, adlibs and mood changes of the arrangement. It was the first song where I would change my footwork at the club to match the rhythmic phrasing of the vocal performance. It wasn’t only a beautiful tune I looked forward to hearing when DJs David Harness or Patrick Wilson would drop it in a set, but also one I couldn’t wait to try something new to in the cypher.”
Osunlade – April
“This is certainly one of the earlier tunes that I can remember when I felt like there was a shift in the sonic design of ‘soul’ in underground house music. It was like R&B styling, both in production, vocal production and vocal delivery. It was like a house production/vocal version of Raphael Saadiq, but delivered in a syncopated, percussive-forward idea. The song was so incredibly danceable and still had all the close-eyed feel-goods you could ask for.
“I don’t remember in the timeline of collecting tunes if I was already an Osunlade fan, but I certainly was after this song. He was also one of the more popular/frequent visitors to come play parties big and small – after-hours and main clubs – in San Francisco. I loved his sets and I loved the fact that he was a REAL artist, not just a DJ. I instantly aspired to be as capable and as unique as he was/is in his artistic expression.”
Roy Davis Jr feat. Peven Everett – Gabriel
“The song is shrouded in writer controversy, which is a lesson unto itself I have carried with me through the years. It was certainly my first ‘experience’ of hearing the unique writing and vocal styling of Peven. An absolute underground anthem, as far as I am concerned.
“I feel like I always learn a lot in the writing and composition coming from Peven, yet I still cannot come anywhere close to writing/composing anything that gives that same sense of feeling. There really is a bar that is being set in my mind, and I hope to find the skill to achieve that level one day.”
Thanks to Coflo for his selections. Check out the Gimme That EP here.
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