Geoff Wilkinson of iconic jazz and hip-hop fusionists Us3 started DJing back in 1982.
"[It was] at a club called Charlie’s in Huddersfield, where I was a student at the time, Wilkinson says. "That was a seminal year for hip-hop and electro with tracks like Grandmaster Flash’s 'The Message,' Afrika Bambaataa’s 'Planet Rock,' Man Parrish’s 'Hip Hop, Be Bop,' and Extra T’s 'ET Boogie,' alongside disco tracks from D Train, Sharon Redd, Evelyn King, etc."
Regarding his sound: "I moved to London in 1983 and immediately got into the underground Warehouse scene, where '70s rare groove was ruling the roost, especially socially aware tracks like Curtis Mayfield’s 'Move On Up' & Gil Scott Heron’s 'The Bottle,'" he said. "I found it hard to break into the DJ scene here though, and did a lot of different jobs attached to the music business. I worked in a record store, for a distributor, for a label, promoted shows, even worked as a music journalist for a London listings magazine. In 1991 I started work at The Jazz Café, and ended up booking the bands when it went into receivership. One of the things I instigated was the Friday & Saturday night DJ sessions there. I took the Friday nights, and booked DJs for the Saturdays. Anyone who has danced the night away at the weekend in that venue has me to thank! On the Fridays I was playing '70s funk & funky jazz dance tracks, with a smattering of hip-hop."
The new Us3 album is Soundtrack.
"The forthcoming new Us3 album (Soundtrack) is a combination of trap beats with an 18-piece horn section, playing arrangements inspired by the legendary jazz arranger Gil Evans," he says. "It’s all instrumental, and is the first Us3 album since 2013, as unfortunately I fell seriously ill in 2014."
As for gear:
"When I got ill I sold all my gear because I thought it was the end of my musical career. At that point Us3 had been going for over 20 years and I had a lot of kit. I did make some good money from selling my old '70s analog keyboards though! However when I started recovering I bought a Mac Mini, installed the latest version of Logic and just sat in my spare room at home learning it all. Then I had a studio custom built in my back garden, and started making library music. I’ve now had over 1,000 library tracks signed. My studio is still ridiculously minimal. Everything is 'inside the box.' I’m still using Logic, which I love along with a vast range of plugins. I did keep my trusty KRK monitors & NS10s, although I find myself increasingly mixing on headphones - I love the Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro’s. I did buy a new Studiologic SL88 keyboard last year though."
Looking ahead, Wilkinson and Us3 have plenty planned for the second half of 2025.
"It’s all about promotion for the new album at the moment," Wilkinson says. "Release date is August 22nd. I already have 4 videos in the can, all directed & edited by my daughter, Asa."
Us3's album Soundtrack is out August 22. The single "Resist the Rat Race" is out now.
Photo Credit: Asa Akabah-Wilkinson.
