We are huge fans of Steve Arrington here at ChoiceCuts so we reached out to the man himself to see if he would be interested in talking to us, and answering some short questions we had for him. Steve simply is a legend, a true old school and new school funkster and has recently been recording again. Here’s what he had to tell us.
First of all Steve it’s great to see you releasing music again with your most recent recent release ‘Pure Thang’ as we’re huge fans of yours. How did it feel being back in the studio again after after a brief hiatus?
It was great to be back doing music again, totally inspired.
Steve Arrington 'Pure Thang' 2009 relaease
Your quite involved in the Church and are even a Music Minister, can you tell us a little bit about what this involves?
Church is great. Being a worship leader was great as well, being able to sing and play music to thank God for the gift of life, and his absolute glory is awesome. I’m a musician that follows my heart. I left secular music to pursue spirituality. Now, I’m coming back to secular music to continue to explore my creativity and to spread Love, Peace and Funky Beatz. The “Pure Thang” album, I dropped in 09, is a bridge between both worlds. It’s where I started to feel that I was changing, and a new direction was on the horizon.
The 5 albums you were involved with in the group Slave are considered by many their best period of recording. Do you have fond memories of this period? Any standout moments?
Yes, one standout moment for me in Slave would be the first time I played the groove on “Stellar Fungk” with bass player Mark Adams. I hadn’t been in the group that long and Mark and I were just groovin, and locked in on what would become the “Stellar fungk” pocket. The rest of the band looked around and was like wow, keep that going, that’s smokin. Stellar Fungk was born.The first single off the Concept album. Good, good feeling!!
How did the transition from drummer to lead singer come about in Slave?
We’d done the track to “Just A Touch Of Love”, but the vocals were not done yet. The other vocalist took turns on the mic and Jimmy Douglas, the producer, said that hit record melody wasn’t there yet, and asked me try something. I went to the mic, started in and everyone said, that’s the deal right there. Just A Touch of Love was born. Wow, Good, good feeling!!! First single and album title.
Any chance of Slave regrouping for a recording, do you still keep in contact with the guys?
Yes, we keep in touch. Who knows what’s in the future.
Can you tell us a little bit about your forthcoming release with Dam Funk on Stones Throw, how did this come about and what are we in store for?
Yes, Dam-Funk hit me up on Facebook and spoke about his love for the funk and my music over the years. He mentioned that I was one of his heroes and he’d love to work with me. He, also, mentioned he was signed to Stones Throw so I could see he was serious. I checked the label and listened to some tracks. I thought, I’m feelin young homie’s funk. The funk was real. Also, I liked his commitment to the genre, and him being a younger brotha and all spoke volumes to me. So, I said cool. We did the first track and it was like, YEAH….Chris Manak head honcho at Stones Throw knew this was seriously working. So, Chris suggested an EP, that then developed into an full blown album to be released on Stones Throw. Dam-Funk is my homie and Stones Throw is my new music family. Funny, how things go. Good, good feeling!!!!
Any other collaborations lined up for the future?
Kickin around a number of things, will let you know when it moves past talking.
Do you have a favorite song or album of all time?
No, I enjoy a lot of music from many genres. It’s all about mood with me. I will say this,
I dig originality.
What are you listening to at present in todays scene… Are there any artists you could recommend us listening to?
I’m vibing on a lot of new and old music, it’s a continuous study. I’m very interested in the new music scenes, all of them. I’m always asking younger people, who and what are you listening to. But at the same time, it’s essential to study the past as well, as together, these are the building blocks for the future. There is so much to learn and appreciate as the music changes from one generation to the next.
Thanks for you time Steve, you are a proper legend…any last words for us?
Younger and older generations have much to learn from each other, throw the egos aside and let’s dance.
Real talk thanks Steve….
Find out more about Steve from the following sites.
http://www.myspace.com/stevearrington1
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