James White & The Blacks - Off White LP (White Vinyl, 180g)
Pickup currently unavailable at 2235 Fern Street
James White & The Blacks - Off White LP (White Vinyl, 180g)
2235 Fern Street
Pickup currently unavailable
2235 Fern Street
San Diego CA 92104
United States
For Off White, James Chance, a veteran of New York's avant-garde 'no wave' scene, recast his seminal band the Contortions as a parody of a soul band, albeit one incorporating the rhythms of disco and funk rather than R&B. Thus, Chance became James White (as a nod to James Brown), the Contortions became the Blacks, and his music, previously a twisted, experimental brand of avant-jazz, became a disco/funk/free jazz hybrid. As bizarre as the fusion of Albert Ayler and Giorgio Moroder might sound, Off White works primarily because Chance commits to both sides of the music. By carefully constructing his music with such polar opposites, Chance manages to highlight how both of them have more similarities, especially in rhythm, than would appear at first listen.