The Funky Knuckles act like a good old fashioned rock band from back in the day - camaraderie, lots of shenanigans, and general sense of irreverence and fun are a constant with this band. Case in point - the call their fans Knuckleheads. Yet these are very serious, accomplished musicians, mostly trained in Jazz, that play elaborate, extended compositions that groove. Their next album, Delicious, is out now.

Buy / Stream Delicious: https://fanlink.to/FunkyKnuckles

Brian Hurst from Soulandjazz.com stops by the station to talk business with Louis. Topics include the quest for top quality audio and video, the loss of quality in most digital platforms, and the future of the independent music business.

For more about Brian visit http://soulandjazz.com

Produced by Stephen Eshewsky and Sal Mazzotta

BLUKE is BluRum13, known to us as a member of the seminal band Bullfrog, and Luke Vibert, known to the world as an elusive performer and master sampler. The duo met in late 90's at a live gig as NinjaTune labelmates. Their first recording together, Smell The Urgency, emerged from the shelves in recent years, and pushed them to record again. Their followup, Sense The Urgency, was released this year on Ropeadope. It is rare that Luke Vibert grants an interview, so we were honored to get some casual time to discuss their mission to save that old school Hip-Hop vibe.

"Sense The Urgency" available at https://bluke.bandcamp.com/album/sense-the-urgency

Produced by Nick Perri & Steve Eshewsky.

Today on the show - Mr Nathan Paul. A multi-instrumentalist from Cleveland, Nathan's band The Admirables has been cooking this year, touring with Moon Hooch and Dwele and opening for artists like Cory Henry & Kamasi Washington. Nathan does not consider himself a jazz musician, though improvisation and groove are heavy elements of his sound. The singles Flute-a-Loo and Catch Me If You Can were released through Ropeadope this year as we pave the road for more to come from this continually creative mind. Nathan speaks frankly about his upbringing, and leads us through his songwriting process.

Catch Nathan Paul and his band The Admirables

https://www.nathanpaulmusic.com/

https://theadmirables.bandcamp.com/

https://fanlink.to/InSearchOf

Produced by Nick Perri & Steve Eshewsky.

Welcome back to The Station Tapes at 21 Soul! Sarah Elizabeth Charles is an internationally alluring vocalist. As a performer, songwriter, and teacher, she's traveled from Hudson to Haiti to Abu Dhabi, bringing light to marginalized communities. 3 albums have been released by her band SCOPE, and she has collaborated with Ajoyo, Transient Beings, and Christian Scott's Stretch Music. Charles is a teaching artist of the musical language, making sure no one is cast out of the global conversation. Ropeadope CEO Louis Marks interviews Sarah about her life as a musician and the role of activism in her journey.

Learn more about SEC & SCOPE at http://www.sarahelizabethcharles.com/

Produced by Nick Perri & Steve Eshewsky.

Today on the show, Louis sits down with Massimo Biolcati and Tyler Blanton to talk about their project dubbed the Hornē Electric Band. The name reveals the sense of fun intended by the players. The band features some Ropeadope alumni - Chris Bullock & Mike Maher from Snarky Puppy, and Yacine Boulares from Ajoyo along with drummer Corey Rawls and trumpeter Wayne Tucker. The point of this band is fun, shake loose and have a good time. Their new self titled album is set for release on September 27, 2019 and features a killer line up of special guests including John Scofield, John Ellis, Chris Potter, Lionel Loueke, and Donnie McCaslin.

Today on the show, we travel down to D.C. John Murph is a mainstay in the jazz writers circuit, he's a respected music journalist whose work is found at downbeat, NPR, The Atlantic, Washington Post, and many more. He's been on the scene as jazz has evolved in the twenty first century, and he's very familiar with the Ropeadope story. John is also a deejay, and is working on a series of Ropeadope retrospective playlists found on Mixcloud. Let's hear his view on where jazz is in 2019.

To learn more on John's work, check out his stories.

https://www.npr.org/people/5280399/john-murph

https://www.theatlantic.com/author/john-murph/

Produced by Nick Perri and Steve Eshewsky. Engineered by Patrick Hall.

Snack Cat is a New York band that blends soul, rock, jazz, blues, & funk. The seven piece band is comprised of some of the top young players from various scenes, and they've been honing their sound for the past few years. Their new self-titled EP was released May 10th at Ropeadope, showing the tight writing and arrangement of founder Aleksi Glick. These are heart felt songs carefully crafted by a polished band. Louis sits down with Aleksi to find out what keeps Snack Cat moving.

Crack open your Snack at https://fanlink.to/SnackCat

Produced by Steve Eshewsky.

This week, Louis has the pleasure of chatting with Nathan De'Shon Myers, on of the most intriguing people out there. Nathan hails from Dallas, but is best known as a bartitone with the Deutsche Oper Berlin. He spent some time heading the music department at Booker T. Washington High School in Dallas, a powerful spot for the music community. Now, he graces us with his new music.

https://nathandeshonmyers.bandcamp.com/

Engineered by Gabe Sanderson.

Today, we venture out to of all places Akron, Ohio. Kofi Boakye came to our attention through the Emmy nominated film "Made In Akron." His story is one of determination, talent, and mentorship under difficult circumstances. As a young child he faced many obstacles, but he was encouraged to turn his attention to music. He has crowd funded his own education at Berklee, Barack Obama granted him the President's Education Award for outstanding academic excellence, and he has advanced to the final competition at Amateur Night at The Apollo. When I heard about Kofi, we just had to hear his own words as to how he manages to excel in such challenging circumstances.

Produced by Nick Perri & Steve Eshewsky.

Engineered by Gina LaRosa.