Foundation Music is a project between seasoned A&R man Ross Allen, and long-time collaborator Andy Thompson. Going back to the 80s, they met when Andy sold Ross records out of Holborn’s City Sounds. With a shared love of Black Music of all persuasions, these twisted soul boys bring their wide-ranging skills and contacts to the table, seeking out hidden artists and tracks that lurk about in the fringes.
Foundation has presented some killer releases over the last year from London’s Bruise, KDA, Baltimore’s DJ Oji, with more gold in the pipeline from Crooked Man, Greg Foat, and New Jersey’s Foremost Poets. Lady Blackbird is the LA based chanteuse, born Marley Munroe who took the radio airwaves by storm last year. Once in a blue moon a singer comes along that stops you in your tracks, Lady Blackbird is one such talent. This force of nature released her debut single on Foundation, with remixes that followed by jazz and house heavyweights Bruise, Greg Foat, Ashley Beedle, KDA, Calibre, and face of the moment Emma Jean Thackery.
Dubbed by Gilles Peterson “the Grace Jones of jazz”, her album Black Acid Soul dropped in September 2021. Lady Blackbird has received glowing reviews in The Guardian and in the New York Times. A headline act at Gilles Peterson’s We Out Here festival last summer, she performed live on Jools Holland, and played London’s 100 Club, with her much anticipated Round House date planned for this month. ‘Lost and Looking’ is a cover of Sam Cooke’s sparsely arranged original, where Lady Blackbird builds the track with her haunting vocal that floats over percussion-less bass, and sparkling piano notes performed by Deron Johnson. On this version Foundation Music bring onboard Classic Album Sunday’s originator, co-founder of the Lucky Cloud System parties, presenter of Worldwide FM’s Cosmodelica & Balearic Breakfast, and David Mancuso protégé, Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy. This connoisseur of sound recently showcased her remix chops on Roisin Murphy’s incendiary single ‘Murphy’s Law. The much respected selector this time turns in her ‘Cosmodelica Remix’, where ‘Lost and Looking’ is muscled up for the dancefloor, with demon bassline, funk fuelled bass guitar, and cosmic acid lines. There’s also a dub for those who prefer a more stripped down but equally pumping affair.
The Nearest Faraway Place 