Parliament-Funkadelic guitarist Michael Hampton is suddenly quite busy these days. Back in December, he unveiled Into The Public Domain, an EP co-produced by multiple Grammy winner and Ruffhouse label cofounder Joe Nicolo (Billy Joel, Urge Overkill, Fugees). A “founding father of power-funk electric guitar,” Hampton was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame with Parliament-Funkadelic almost 30 years ago—and his latest work shows that he’s still shredding the perceived boundaries between rock, R&B, funk, world music and jazz.
Into The Public Domain’s title was inspired by the music’s licensing status, which grants royalty-free usage to artists, filmmakers, marketing execs and the like. King Kong, the second EP in the series, is due sometime this spring, with a full album to follow later this year—all on Nicolo’s Sound Mind imprint.
Both King Kong and Into The Public Domain were recorded in Los Angeles with a roster of session elites, including guitarist Philip Samuel Smith, drummer Matt Lesser and multi-instrumentalist/co-producer John Schreffler. Tracking for the final release in the series is taking place in Audubon, Pa., at Joe’s Garage, a studio custom designed by Nicolo and industry icon Tony Bongiovi. The latest sessions feature contributions from members of Lauryn Hill’s band.
We’re proud to premiere the mini documentary on Michael Hampton’s Into The Public Domain tour.
—Hobart Rowland
