Episode 3 of 'Charles Stepney: Out of the Shadows' docu-series on Wax Poetics +++ new 'Step on Step' episode of International Anthem podcast OUT NOW
Legacy.
Now available on Wax Poetics: the third episode of Charles Stepney: Out of the Shadows – a four part web series directed by Chicago documentarian Brian Ashby (known for his work on Scrappers, The Area, Hairy Who & The Chicago Imagists, and a forthcoming film about Damon Locks and Black Monument Ensemble). Where Episode One shed light on Stepney at work in his basement studio on the Southside Chicago and Episode Two highlighted the circumstances around Stepney’s death in 1976, the focus of Episode Three – "Legacy" – is the opaque entanglement of Stepney's rights and royalties that his family has inherited and struggled with for decades, as well as the present movements being made by his daughters Eibur, Charlene and Chanté (The Stepney Sisters) to clear things up and transform the immense pain of that struggle into a celebration of their father's work.
Watch Episode Three of Charles Stepney: Out of the Shadows via Wax Poetics
Also out now: a new episode of our podcast, available on all platforms ("wherever you get your podcasts"). Recorded live at the May 29th 'Summer of Stepney Kickoff Party', Ayana Contreras speaks with The Stepney Sisters, who share personal stories and memories about growing up with the soundtrack of their father working on music at home, as well as what drives them to celebrate their father's legacy.
The episode supported in part by Dusty Groove, an independent record store and online retailer headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
...ICYMI...
There was a tidal wave of good vibes around the release of Step on Step... Click on any of these images to read the full articles.
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Charles Stepney - Step on Step
2xLP, CD, Cassette, Digital album out now
International Anthem proudly presents Step on Step, a double LP collection of home recordings marking the de-facto eponymous debut album by enigmatic producer, arranger, and composer Charles Stepney (1931-1976). The music that makes up Step on Step was created by Stepney alone, in the basement of his home on the Southside of Chicago, sometime in the late 1960s and early 1970s, before his untimely death in 1976.
In the decades since his passing, the presence of Stepney’s name in liner notes and on vinyl labels has become a seal of quality for record collectors, music historians, and aficionados, while his sound has been used by countless samplers in the hip-hop world including Kanye West, A Tribe Called Quest, The Fugees, MF Doom, and Madlib. A Chicago born and bred arranger, producer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, Stepney is known for his work with Earth, Wind & Fire, Deniece Williams, and Ramsey Lewis, and as a staff producer for Chess Records in the 1960s, where he was an essential creative force behind seminal recordings by Rotary Connection, Minnie Riperton, Marlena Shaw, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Terry Callier, The Dells, The Emotions, and many more. But in comparison to the post-mortem renown of his sound, or the music he created and the artists he supported while he was alive, Stepney is a greatly under-appreciated figure… a genius relegated to the shadows.
Step on Step comes almost 50 years after his passing and features 23 tracks, most of which are original compositions by Stepney that were never again recorded by him or any other artist. It also features prototypical, seedling-style demos of Stepney compositions for Earth, Wind & Fire, including “That’s The Way of The World,” “Imagination,” and “On Your Face,” as well as today’s original demo version of “Black Gold.”
The album’s announcement and lead singles “Step on Step,” “Daddy’s Diddies,” and “Look B4U Leap,” brought on excitement from many longtime fans of Stepney’s work, including Tyler The Creator (who played “Daddy’s Diddies” on his NTS Radio show while bantering: “Charles Stepney…Genius!”), Elton John (who recently told The Guardian: "What he was doing was like nothing else: beautiful string parts, really bold, funky, different… Charles Stepney would have been my arranger of choice, without question”), Chaka Khan (who exclaimed: “Oh my God! That man... Hey Love by Rotary Connection – that’s my frickin’ album”), and Floating Points (who shared: "Stepney’s music is hugely important to me… those arrangements and that recording sound helped shape the way I write music”), among many many others.
*Deluxe Vinyl Package*
Certified Gold color vinyl
Step on Step comes on two 140-gram vinyl LPs (pressed by Pallas in Germany and Smashed Plastic in Chicago) inside a reverse-board gatefold jacket, with IARC obi strip and dome-patterned inner-sleeves.
And, as always, we have a limited edition color vinyl option for the first pressing only, available via our Bandcamp page only, which is 555 copies of *Certified Gold* color vinyl.
Distribution via RedEye for US, Canada, North & South America
This album will also be available on CD, Cassette, and Classic Black Vinyl (same package specs as listed above).
Retailers in the United States or Canada or anywhere else inside of North, South and Central America... Please reach out to your sales rep at RedEye Worldwide if you are interested in making wholesale purchases of this album, or any other album in our catalog. Don't yet have a RedEye rep? Please just reach out to us and we'll get you hooked up!
Distribution via !K7 for Europe, UK, Australia, and ROW
This album will be distributed by our good friends at !K7 and their various territory partners in Europe, UK, Australia, and everywhere else in the world outside of North & South America.
If you are a retailer or store with questions about wholesale or are just looking to get some of our records... we'd like to make things as easy for you as possible, please do not hesitate to reach out!!!
