DR CUZ AND THE GANG
FUNKYLICIOUS
With a resumé that includes producing music for the likes of Aswad and Loose Ends at Maxi Priest’s London studio in the 1990s and PR that trumpets him as the Godfather of Funk, Dr Cuz would want to deliver the goods. And that’s exactly what he does on his new album, Funkylicious.
A man of many guises, this time around the good doctor is out front of his band, Dr Cuz and The Gang, following up their 2019 long player, Many Faces.
“Funkylicous sees the band in maximum overdrive,” Dr Cuz said, reflecting on the new album. “We had to wipe the sweat off the studio floor after the recording sessions, we were working it so hard.
“And when we bring it live, I don’t think there will be a single person who could resist getting up and grooving with us to these songs.”
I caught up with the man behind the moniker, Dr Cuz (aka Paul Cozens) at the Civic Hotel recently, just on the fringe of hipsterville. The big screens were playing the Paris Olympics and the thin midweek crowd was oblivious to the greatness in their midst. It was a perfect spot to meet with someone who is as authentic and warm as a summer solstice. The trappings of fame are not for Cozens, he’s all about the music.
But first we had to clear up the reason why he walked across the room to the table where I was already ensconced like a man who’d just gone fifteen rounds with Danny Green.
“I’ve been exercising,” Cozens said in response to my solicitations. “I’m trying to get fit, lose a bit of weight, you know, get ready for the gigs we’ve got coming up.”
He smiled as if even his lips hurt and I suggested he take up walking instead. Cozens let go his smile and changed the subject.
“So, what do you think?” he asked. “Is it any good?”
I hate getting that question from musos, particularly in person. Too many broken hearts, too much social media malarkey. But this time it was OK, because what Dr Cuz and The Gang have served up is a slab of funk the likes of which Perth and the world need right now.
Funkylicious is old school. I can’t wait to listen to it on vinyl, hear the crackle as the needle catches on the run-in groove and rides on into the gated keys that herald opening track, ‘Criminal Love’, which perhaps draws on Cozens’ other career as a PhD toting criminologist. I want to watch the black circle spin while I sit in a darkened room nodding my head to the infectious grooves. My overall impression is one of warmth and irrepressible joy, a bit of cheek and good times to come.
Second up is ‘Everything Is Gonna Be Alright which, with it’s Always look on the bright side of life refrain and titular chorus, is pure Dr Cuz. He may have been through it, but he keeps bobbing up like a wood duck, feathers painted on, sun making the water on his back glisten like silver dollars. That’s the thing with Dr Cuz and his music, at heart he’s everyone, his experience speaks for ours and his music lifts us up even when he writes about the darker side of life.
It wouldn’t be Dr Cuz if he didn’t bring his social conscience to the fore.
“Songs like, ‘Be A Good Friend’ and ‘Where Are My People’ draw on my personal experiences and connection with the world,” said Dr Cuz, “and then there’s tracks like ‘Against My Human Rights’ where I’m looking out at where the world is going. They’re kind of political these songs, old school political, but I think these are stories that need to be told. But it’s OK, because we wrap it all up in the most delicious grooves we could create. No one’s ever going to feel down after listening to Funkylicious.”
And he’s right, the songs on Funkylicious bring the world exactly what it needs right now — pure dance your arse off joy. While Dr Cuz is all of us, he just happens to also be a mad genius on the keys and an astute songwriter as well. Funkylicious, his latest offering from Dr Cuz and The Gang is a delight
As for the ‘godfather of funk’ stuff.
“Yeah, I was worried about that, when the PR suggested it,” said Dr Cuz, “I didn’t really like it, but I said OK in the end.”
Good job, because it fits him well. Now, if I could just persuade him to dial back on the exercise…
Dr Cuz and The Gang launch Funkylicious on 24 August at Night Owl Studio. Get tickets here.
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