Free spirited and groundbreaking, Carhartt WIP Radio brings you legendary Strata Records, Detroit’s short lived, socially conscious Jazz, Funk and fusion label from the late 60's and early 70’s.

Strata was independent, run and owned by artists, released less than ten records and was established an art gallery-come-live venue that started the first university Jazz music program to educate and create awareness following the Detroit riots of '67 and ’68. In 2010, DJ Amir Abdullah, known as one half of the DJ duo Kon & Amir was commissioned to create a lost youth culture exhibit for a Detroit online museum.

Without knowing, they created a very unique and distinct design for the albums.

Carhartt WIP has teamed up with DJ Amir to create a little Strata clothing collection that plays with graphics and poster motives of the label. To accompany the release we asked him to prepare a personal journey through the goldmine that is the Strata records back catalog.

Strata’s principles are focused on artistic freedom, a philosophy that is still going strong to this day. Their albums embody a wonderfully expansive approach to music-making that is truly distinct, and although they were pressed in small quantities, their cult following continues to expand. Beside releasing music they also did a lot of social work in Detroit. Like Detroit Jazz Renaissance that was a public project that started at the end of the 1970s to support the crumbling Detroit Jazz scene with the aim of finding new music venues. Furthermore they also ran an art gallery. Today the New York City based DJ, record collector and label runner DJ Amir takes care about the Strata catalogue and re-released not only some of their greatest records. He also found lots of un-released treasures in the Strata archives that he continues to reveal to the world. For Carhartt WIP Radio DJ Amir prepared a very personal journey to the Strata catalogue. To find out what is special about Strata, why he is re-releasing their catalogue and what is adventurous in doing so, we spoke to the man from Brooklyn, NYC.

Hey Amir – can you introduce yourself for us a bit? Where are you coming from, what is your occupation, what did you do in the past as a vinyl enthusiast, soul archivar, crate digger, remixer and label runner?

DJ Amir: I first got into music through the influence of my family. My father was/is a heavy jazz music fan and collector. My mom always listened to her gospel records every weekend and my siblings were into everything from Disco to Jazz. I had to start collecting my own records because none of them would let me have their stuff; so at nine years old I bought my first record with my allowance. That record was Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions. I also originally moved to NYC in 1995 for graduation school. However, I felt that wasn’t what I wanted to do anymore and I dropped out. There upon, my roommate at the time told me about a job working in the music industry for a company called Fat Beats. I was hired as a low level sales person but later went on to become the VP of Sales. I decide to become a DJ because when Kon and myself were offered to tour for our first album, I had to stop being a bedroom DJ and start doing it for a living.

You administrate the Strata Records catalogue. Can you tell us a bit how how it came about?

DJ Amir: How I came about administrating the Strata catalog was through my work with Scion. Back in 2010, Scion commissioned me to produce and curate an online museum exhibit. I choose the label Strata Records, Inc. as my exhibition topic. Through this I was able to meet the owner of Strata and discuss the project. However, me being a super record nerd, I had to ask about the Strata masters and the possibility of reissuing the masters. I also asked about unreleased stuff. From there, we negotiated a deal that has allowed to administrate the catalog.

What makes Strata Records special in particular as a label from Detroit and at large compared to other Jazz labels from the seventies?

DJ Amir: What makes Strata so special in mind is their story of community outreach and sense of teaching the value of education. They were definitely involved in a lot social activism in Detroit especially after the 1967 and 1968 riots that virtually destroyed Detroit. In addition, they started the first Jazz music program at Oberlin College and at Wayne State University in 1970. They ran an art gallery in Detroit that would have free or virtually free concerts shows with the likes Herbie Hancock, Charles Mingus, etc. for the youth in Detroit. Lastly, they were artist run and owned label which was very unique at the time. All of these things made me love Strata even more than just their music. I mean other indie Jazz labels made great music but Strata was one of the few that made every effort to give back to their community.

How would you describe the music of Strata Records to someone that hasn’t heard of it?

DJ Amir: I would describe the music of Strata as very spiritual but also they tried to create what they thought was creative out of the ordinary Jazz music. Although, they officially only released six years, they recorded over 30 unreleased albums. They wanted to make Jazz music not so formal and stiff as it had become in the late 1960s.

Hey Amir – can you introduce yourself for us a bit? Where are you coming from, what is your occupation, what did you do in the past as a vinyl enthusiast, soul archivar, crate digger, remixer and label runner?

DJ Amir: The first three strata albums that I would never get tired of listening to would be Kenny Cox: Clap Clap! The Joyful Noise, The Lyman Woodard Organization: Saturday Night Special and Maulawi’s self-titled albums.

Do you have any idols when it comes to music?

DJ Amir: One of my biggest idols when it comes to music would be Herbie Hancock. I just love his music so much. This man used technology and didn’t let it use him. He was genius enough to keep reinventing himself and pushing the envelope with music. His knowledge of music just floors me too.

What is your favorite place outside of a bar / club / record shop?

DJ Amir: What makes Strata so special in mind is their story of community outreach and sense of teaching the value of education. They were definitely involved in a lot social activism in Detroit especially after the 1967 and 1968 riots that virtually destroyed Detroit. In addition, they started the first Jazz music program at Oberlin College and at Wayne State University in 1970. They ran an art gallery in Detroit that would have free or virtually free concerts shows with the likes Herbie Hancock, Charles Mingus, etc. for the youth in Detroit. Lastly, they were artist run and owned label which was very unique at the time. All of these things made me love Strata even more than just their music. I mean other indie Jazz labels made great music but Strata was one of the few that made every effort to give back to their community.

What is your favorite place outside of a bar / club / record shop?

DJ Amir: My favorite outside of a bar, a club or a record shop is an art museum. I love to go with my girlfriend to museums and just explore the world of art.

If you could be in any band, living or dead, for a day which band would it be?

DJ Amir: I would love to have been apart of Kool and the Gang when they recorded their first two albums. To me, they are one of the funkiest bands ever besides the J.B.'s.

The very distinct black and white cover design was out necessity because they didn’t have a lot of money. Therefore, the simple black and white design was really to keep budgets down but also to keep things simple. Without knowing, they created a very unique and distinct design for the albums. The person in charge of the album designs was really John Sinclair. The same John Sinclair that was arrested in the 1960s for walking down the street smoking a joint and who John Lennon wrote a song about. He was also the manager for the legendary Detroit rock group MC5.