KING KOOBA
King Kooba´s deep roots in jazz and soul stem from the background of two UK dusty vinyl addicts and good life aficionados, Charlie Tate and Matt "DJ Shuff" Harris. Producing together since 1994, appropriately enough, King Kooba was formed in London over a pint of beer in Charlie´s Mom´s pub. Playing bass with 10 piece funk outfit The Big Cheese Allstars and soul diva Neneh Cherry, Charlie´s musical background includes touring in support of such acts as Gil Scott Heron, Fred Wesley, Roy Ayers and "The Godfather" James Brown. DJ Shuff held residency throughout the UK including "Testify" at Zap in Brighten playing funk and a hip–hop from 90–93 and "Miles Ahead" in Brixton from 94–99, where he played a mix of drum and bass reflected in his monthly Shuff Files column in Miles Ahead Magazine. Their first album "The Imperial Solution" released on Second Skin Records in 1997 earned them praise from the International press community where they were hailed as "The Parliament Funkadelic of drum and bass" by MINISTRY MAGAZINE. Releasing their second full length album "Enter the Throne Room" in 1999, a homage to Curtis Mayfield "Superfly" and Marvin Gaye´s "Troubled Man," taste–makers such as Gilles Peterson and Ed Rush showed their support, and DJ MAGAZINE called them a "Killer Combination".
Gaining a serious buzz from International DJ´s and press alike, they soon caught the attention of San Francisco´s Om Records, home to King Britt and People Under the Stairs, who licensed their third album "NuFoundFunk" for US distribution. Playing a select few US dates, and a festival and club tour throughout Europe, King Kooba firmly established themselves as leaders in the nu–jazz and dance floor funk movement which earned them guest DJ spots on Annie Nightingale´s show on Radio One as well as mix duties for Galaxy Radio. In 2002, King Kooba signed exclusively with Om, and the next chapter of their legacy was born.
