This week: LODEKKA
Lodekka is London-based funked-up dub multi-instrumentalist Stuart Dace. He makes gloriously dubbed up funky jazz music that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Mike Leigh soundtrack – if he happened to making a film about the cross-pollination of dub, funk & pop music on the streets of working class Britain:
Lodekka makes a unique blend of music with a nod to 1960’s & 70’s British film scores by such luminaries as Laurie Johnson & Freddie Phillips mixed with the funk of such as Eddie Harris. This is seriously good music to groove to, to chill to, to dance to or simply to blooming well sit back & enjoy. As Mr Dace himself points out in his online biography, he has certainly had a gloriously chequered career. He was the sax player on the classic Primal Scream album Screamadelica, a member of Mo Wax band Deep Joy – and has also worked as Head Of Design at Chrysalis Records.
I have personally known him for donkey’s years – and am in awe of his talent – but be clear: I am not writing about him because he is a mate. Oh no, I ain’t dealing no old pals club here – you have got to earn your stripes around these parts. My reason for writing about him is that I love his music and think you will too – simple. As much as I love my mother I always tell her: “Mum, you’ll need to cut a wickedly good dubstep or New Age folk track first – before I can talk about it to the people.”
With an a selection of first class singles and an album called Long Player already available out there in internet world via Freshly Squeezed Music you can get your hands on the Lodekka groove for yourselves.
As a live act you will see Lodekka transform into the ‘Lodekka Hi-Fi Soundsystem’ with an array of onstage guests & quite likely Stuart will be knocking a tune out on a ukulele, a melodica, a clarinet and a saxophone,its quite something to see believe me. Do yourself some good & take a little time to get to know Lodekka. Find him on Soundcloud and Facebook.
1. What are you up to at the moment?
Collecting up parts for tracks on my next EP. Next up is a trombone session, so I’m working out the parts, really looking forward to that one. I’m fitting in some rehearsals for my next gig at Proud Camden on June 15th too.
2. Favourite childhood memory?
Loads to choose from, but one that springs to mind is an early memory of sitting on a window sill in our flat in Arnold Circus, London, eating an apple, watching the dustman emptying the huge bins from the workshops below, generally watching the world go by and feeling blissfully happy. I was in Arnold Circus a short while ago, I looked up at the window where I sat, it was tiny, I must have been very young.
3. Hero?
John Muir, engineer and author of ‘How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive’. It’s a fantastic book, like a Haynes manual crossed with a Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers comic. The book came about because his friends, who although were good with their hands (potters, artists etc.) firmly believed that they couldn’t fix their VW’s themselves (they all owned VW beetles and vans, it was the 60’s). They all relied on him as the local mechanic. He wrote the book to show them how to do their own maintenance. It went on to be one of the most successful self-published books ever. Honestly, if you’re looking how to self publish a book, this is much more than a do-it-yourself book, there’s a philosophy behind it that’s quite empowering, It taught me a lot about my own old VW, and a lot more besides.
4.Villain?
Not so much villain, more cad, bounder or rotter: Terry Thomas in ‘School for Scoundrels‘.
5. What/who makes you laugh?
Classic British comedies.
6.Describe what you do?
I make things, music, images and designs.
7. Whose hair would you like to have for just one day?
Lon Chaney Jr. in ‘The Wofman’ during a full moon obviously. Oh wait, that would be a night not a day… would that be allowed?
8.Best musical experience to date
It’s hard to pick just one… Listening to the mastered version of my album was pretty special for the sense of achievement, all the good times with bandmates and seeing Gil Scott-Heron live at Ronnie Scott’s are a few.
9.What artist inspires you?
The late, great Eddie Harris for one, a tireless experimenter with a unique sound. I love the way that he really mixes up the styles on some of his albums. A hard bop tune follows a funk tune follows a ballad follows Eddie singing down his saxophone backed by an old rhythm machine, all in his own inimitable style.
10. What does Fresh On The Net mean to you?
A valuable resource, and as it says on the banner ‘Top tunes by independent artists’.
