photo credit: Angie Wilson

As Living Colour’s Vernon Reid observes, “Freekbass is simultaneously a look forward, and a glance back.” The Cincinnati-based funkateer is set to release his new single “Freekronomokon,” via Color Red on January 15. Freekbass explains, “We wanted to create a signature track that had the feeling and persona of Freekbass. Something that respected the legacy of the funk, but had the sonics of the future. I had been working on a groove with a drummer I used to tour with, and the heaviness of it seemed to dictate a new creation. I then connected with Lonnie Marshall, who has worked with everyone from Snoop Dogg to Macy Gray, and we banged out lyric ideas along Bevis Griffin. Finally Grammy Award winner Itaal Shur came in and produced the track to bring it to fruition.”

Freekbass will be releasing a series of tracks over the coming months on Color Red in a digital series that ultimately will yield a vinyl release. Freekbass first learned of Color Red, while working with Soulive drummer Alan Evans, who is also a member Matador! Soul Sounds with guitarist Eddie Roberts, the founder of Color Red. Roberts, who may be best known for his work with The New Mastersounds, founded Color Red as a platform to release new music on a steady basis, with a focus on collaborative recordings. Roberts launched Color Red in 2018 and has released tracks with members of Lettuce, Parliament Funkadelic, The Greyboy Allstars and Roberts’ own projects.