Afro Art started in the 1990s by Ashley Beedle and his wife. Before Ashley moved onto The X-Press 2 /Skint, he wisely drafted in old friend and mentor Paul Murphy. This period is covered by the Double CD Afro Art Greatest Hits Vol 1 (AFRCD002) and contains the original version of ‘Jazz Room’ (2001).

ìIt would have been even more pleasing if Cat Deeley had said it on the Chart Showî
Paul Murphy

So why is the new CD called This Is Afro Art! and not Greatest Hits Vol 2?

Paul: ìI was told by our last distributor that Volume 2s never do very well so that’s the main reason. Mind you the Distributor might have been wrong as they went bustî.

You’ve got your own in house production team consisting of Marc Woolford, Luke Howard, Winston Hazel and yourself so how did the link up with Spiritual South come about?

Paul: ìWell Mark Woolford is doing something else, as is Luke. Winston’s busy DJing around Europe so it’s just mainly me and Spiritual South nowî.

‘Green Gold’ was a brilliant track last year (13th in Gilles Peterson’s All-Winners show) so was it an obvious choice for them to remix ‘Jazz Room’?

Paul: ìI thought it might take too much time to record a follow up and we always had lots of requests to repress ‘Jazz Room’ so I just put 2 & 2 togetherî.

It must have been very pleasing when Mr. Peterson charted the ‘Jazz Room’ remix at No. 1 and enthused “Its not just Big……It’s MASSIVE!!!!!”

Paul: ìIt would have been even more pleasing if Cat Deeley had said it on the Chart Showî

‘UFO In Brazil’ is more afro-beat dub flavour originating out of Vienna. How did this track find its way onto Afro Art?

Paul: ìThey (Sascha Weisz and Makossa) sent me a CD, I liked it so much we bunged it out. However, our Distributor went belly up so we never released it in the UK. We still don’t have a UK Distributor but since our sales are mainly Europe, it’s not too bad’

Is it your history as one of the most influential and original DJs of the 1980s that can get you access to Kenny Dope to remix the Jenny De Vivo track, ‘Season Of The Witch’?

Paul: ìNo. It was Ashley Beedle!î.

Your release notes for Soul Call said ìit’s the kind of 7î you’d be really chuffed to discover in your local second-hand vinyl emporiumî but I can’t see anyone letting go of it. Who is on vocals as it’s such a distinctive ìSSSSSoooouuullllll Caauuullllî?

Paul: ìI’m taking the 5th Amendment on that oneî.

Are there any tracks that just missed the CD for lack of space? Weisz’s Inside?

Paul: ìQuite a few..î

Apart from the consistently high standard of releases on Afro Art, one of the joys of buying your records is the cover/label artwork. The pastiche/detail shows a love and respect of vinyl sellers and labels of the past in dance/soul/jazz genres. Who is the driving force on this?

Paul: ìI’m guilty there. I do all the covers except Spiritual South’sî.

Another one of Paul’s talents is remixing and if you get the chance to pick up the Solar Apple Quarktette’s ‘The London EP’, check out his ‘Soho Now!’ mix of Berwick St. Mode. Excellent.

So there you are. Don’t get confused with anyone else on Fly called Paul Murphy. This man is the real article.

(Ed. The other one is real too, just different:)

This Is Afro Art! (AFRCD 03) is on CD only: Release Date: End Oct 2004

Paulmurphy & Marc Woolford Project ‘Jazz Room’ (Spiritual South Mix)
Weisz ‘UFO In Brazil’
Frogsnatcher ‘Dream Rabbit’ (Edit)
Spiritual South ‘Green Gold’
Luke Howard ‘Hi Life’ (Radio Edit)
Ashen & Walker ‘Batucada Ostinata’ (Radio Edit)
Neon Heights ‘Cannonball’ Extrapercussively Mixed And Edited By Paul Murphy)
Black Science Orchestra ‘Headspace Lullaby Part 2’
Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra ‘Skarada Dub’ (Paul Murphy & Marc Woolford Project Mix)
The Mindset ‘Get Set’
Paul Murphy ‘Soul Call’
Jenny De Vivo ‘Season Of The Witch’ (Kenny Dope Mix)
Ashley Slater ‘Private Sunshine’ (Radio Edit)

Link: www.afroartrecords.com

Photo: Paul Murphy at a recent gig at the Vibe Bar, Brick Lane, London E1 where the ‘Jazz Room’ launch party was held earlier this year