Veteran electronic music artist and British techno pioneer Carl Cox chatted about honoring James Brown’s musical legacy and influence with new remix project titled “I’m Black And I’m Proud – Say It Loud (Remixes),” which were released via Universal Music Enterprises (UMe).
On the new James Brown remix project, Cox remarked, “Growing up, my whole musical existence started with James Brown. James has been in my soul forever. 100 percent.”
“It was such an honor to be able to do an official remix based on his family legacy, and to be able to use the actual session, the actual take, and the actual originality of all that he embodied,” he explained.
“I was able to get my little hands on it, and I was able to turn it into this monster,” Cox added.
Cox on James Brown’s musical influence
Cox was drawn to the music of Rock and Roll Hall of Famer James Brown for a variety of reasons. Speaking of the Rock Hall, the “Godfather of Soul” was inducted in its inaugural Class of 1986.
“I was always into James’ tracks ‘It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World,’ ‘Cold Sweat,’ ‘Get Up Offa That Thing, ‘Get Up, I Feel Like Being A Sex Machine,’ and the list goes on and on. Even the track ‘Living in America’ was incredible when he did that,” Cox said.
“When you hear James Brown singing and when you hear his music, you hear his band, which is so tight,” Cox noted. “What he wanted from the band is that he needed the same energy and strength based on where he was at.”
“The band had to follow James Brown… James never followed them, otherwise they were getting fired. I love that energy he had and that passion for the music,” Cox underscored.
“When I made this remix, it was done on the same premise… everything is on the one. That’s where that power and the energy come from,” he noted.
“That’s the only way I could have made this remix. Without the James Brown energy, I could never have done that remix.. not a chance,” he added.
Cox on Universal Music Enterprises releasing this remix project
Cox opened up about Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) releasing this remix project.
“I was really surprised on how they wanted to resurrect a track which came out back in the ‘60s, which was the very poignant ‘Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud’,” Cox said.
“So many people get triggered by a notion of a statement, but he was Black, and he was proud, and he wanted anyone else that was Black to be proud. That’s it. There is no more narrative to that. At the end of the day, that was the point James was trying to get across,” Cox elaborated.
“So, in today’s society, it still triggers people in some ways,” Cox said. “You know, a lot of people believe that I did these remixes because I’m Black and I’m proud. I’m Black and I’m proud anyway, but this record stood for a lot at that particular time.”
“It would be nice for it to be seen as a rhetoric based on how important it was for him to make a record like that,” Cox said.
“It was never one of his most popular records. It was just a track that he had done at that particular time, which made people feel really good about themselves at that time,” Cox noted.
“So, if this record does the same today as it did back then, then my job is done,” he admitted. “With a record like that, I could only have released it myself if I would have felt 110 percent happy with it, which I was.”
“When I gave them the first draft of the first notion of how the track that was going to come out, they were happy and they were surprised… but they were surprised because I didn’t make more of a techno version from it,” he acknowledged.
“That surprised me because you would have thought that me coming from a much funkier point of view, having a techno version of James Brown doesn’t make any sense, because you’re trying to get people to understand where James Brown comes from, and techno music is instrumental,” he explained.
“So, I couldn’t have kind of represented James Brown in a techno way, but I do love a challenge,” he added.
Cox revealed that he just released a trance remix of “I’m Black And I’m Proud – Say It Loud” as part of Black History Month.
Cox on James Brown being a natural performer
Cox praised the late but great James Brown for being an open channel where the music flowed right through him. “It was absolutely natural for him,” he said.
“Whenever you saw him dancing or singing or the way how he was talking to people, he was involved in so many things in the sense of his community and the music community… James embraced everyone around him in such a way that was just remarkable,” Cox elaborated.
“It was an incredible energy that James had at the time he was alive, and his legacy still lives on today,” he acknowledged.
“This James Brown remix doesn’t really fit into any category… It’s not techno, it’s not house music, it’s not breakbeat, and it’s not acid jazz,” Cox indicated.
“It’s just an amalgamation of the amount of music that I’ve put together, which has created that funk and energy and that push and sound to it,” he explained.
“Some DJs are going to find it really difficult to play while others are going to think that it’s the best thing they’ve heard since sliced bread because it’s so different,” he admitted.
Cox on how he hopes the crowd reacts to this James Brown remix project
“I want people to shake their asses to it,” Cox said. “I want them to feel the funk. I want them to feel that there is Carl Cox and James Brown in the track, collaborating together, with his power and energy in this music.”
“When it actually goes into the funky breakbeat bridge in the track, for me, that’s the funk,” Cox admitted. “If you don’t get down to that and you’re standing there, then, there’s something wrong with you. This is where James Brown was always portraying that energy and funk. Feel it. I want you to feel it!”
“So many people now don’t feel it,” he noted. “They’re just standing there. They’ve got to feel it, and that’s why I did that!
“The bridge part in the middle of the original track lasts for about 32 seconds. It goes into it and comes out. I felt it, and I decided to build on that piece because nobody expected it.”
“When you hear the first part of the record, it’s got a kick drum, hi-hat pattern, and it’s got him singing along and it’s going away… When it goes into that bridge funk. Nobody is expecting it. It’s like a punch in the face. Bam,” he exclaimed.
Then, I put the kick drum and the funk together, and that rolls in the middle. So, I think it’s a point of genius, but what we created, it all depends on what the dance floor feels,” he elaborated.
“At the moment, the dance floor is coming back at me going, ‘Thumbs up. Well done.’ So I’ll take that,” Cox enthused.
Closing thoughts on the new James Brown remix project
For his fans and listeners, Cox expressed, “Remixing this track isn’t about the past… it’s about keeping the fire alive.”
“James Brown laid the foundation, the rhythm, the message, the pride. His legacy still moves dancefloors and minds worldwide. This is respect to the Godfather, to Black History, and to the power of music that unites us all,” Cox concluded.
This James Brown and Carl Cox remix project is available on digital service providers by clicking here.
For more information on Carl Cox, follow him on Instagram, Facebook, and visit his official website.
