dj to the stars king britt puts together an all-star band to interpret the sacred sounds of sister gertured morgan

Sister Gertrude Morgan (1900-1980) was a painter, singer, and self-proclaimed "bride of Christ" whose visually explosive folk art is celebrated on the museum circuit world-wide. But her one album, made in New Orleans in the 1960s, is one of black gospel music's secret relics. Those recordings were unearthed and a limted number of copies were released to unanimous and widespread critical acclaim in 2003.

Ropeadope has procured the master rights and enlisted internationally acclaimed DJ and Producer King Britt to create an entirely new and ground breaking work, putting musical tracks behind the Sister's previously unaccompanied vocals. In the studio for over 12 months working on this project, King hired a crew of stellar musicians to create the ultimate backing band and produce one of 2005's most promising releases.

The cycle of ten songs mixes gospel hymns with funk and soul melodies and Britt's deep percussive beats. The live ensemble will tour this unique project with a full multimedia performance featuring live video accompaniment October through November of 2005.

About the original, solo Sister Gertrude release*:
"Morgan fires up traditional hymns with hot chant and spoken reverie, accompanied only by her clanging tambourine. This is divine minimalism, a meaty hallelujah in which you can clearly hear the Delta-church origins of Jamaican Rasta-DJ culture and early Bronx hip-hop." DAVID FRICKE, Rolling Stone.

[Ropeadope will also re-release the original Sister Gertrude recording “Let’s Make A Record” in November of 2005]

Sister Gertrude Morgan - vocals, tamborine
King Britt - beat programming, percussion, piano, organ, strings, bass,
Tim Motzer - acoustic, electric, slide guitars, hammond organ, + percussion
G. Love harp and electric harp
Barry Meehan fender p-bass, lapsteel