WONDERFUL NOISE PRODUCTIONS Presents: Leonard Charles & Guilty Simpson Join Forces for "Breaking Over You" (The Witzard Premiere)

"I have a She's So Rad EP I am working on, dreamy Shoegaze stuff. I have a Leonard Charles Modern Funk [album] with a Lo-Fi Disco tint full-length record that is nearly complete, a Basement Funk record that will feature Wildchild, Guilty Simpson, Declaime AKA Dudley Perkins, Team Dynamite, and Georgia Anne Muldrow, and then, I still have a few things up my sleeve... but I gotta stay focused on these records, for now. I am easily distracted by amazing music and stupid plans!" Jeremy Toy AKA Leonard Charles replied when asked what he had planned following Basement Donuts. Basement Donuts is, of course, Toy's 2016 album-length debut as alter-ego "Leonard Charles;" a Basement/Modern Funk album recorded in his basement as a 31-track tribute to Stones Throw/Instrumental Hip-Hop pioneer, producer, and rapper James "J Dilla" Yancey. During the interview prep leading up to our November 2016 The Witzard interview, Leonard Charles casually mentioned he met Dilla affiliate and frequent collaborator Guilty Simpson prior to the June-Feb. 2016 release of Basement Donuts on HIT+RUN/WONDERFUL NOISE. Early in 2015, Simpson was in Auckland, New Zealand for a short tour with DETROIT'S SON collaborator, Katalyst. As Leonard Charles tells it, Guilty soon stopped by the studio to lay down a verse for one of his own productions and casually played him an early draft of Basement Donuts. Guilty dug what Leonard had cooked up and gave it his stamp-of-approval because it was such an original interpretation of Dilla's beloved record.

Here's what Leonard Charles had to say about the making-of "Breaking Over You:" "With "Breaking Over You," I wanted to make something that sounded "Lo-Fi" enough to work as a follow up to Basement Donuts, but also have an air of "Hi-Fi" to it. It's a raw track that expresses the raw feeling of relationships. Guilty [Simpson] really came through with this one and I feel like the end result is a balanced, going in-and-out of love track that anyone can relate to. Guilty and I are currently cooking up some new material that I can't wait to get out on wax!"

Now, Leonard Charles has returned with Guilty's aforementioned "verse on one of [his] own songs," which has now been officially titled "Breaking Over You." It's tagged on WONDERFUL NOISE's Soundcloud as simply #Leonard Charles, #Guilty Simpson, #Wonderful Noise, #New Zealand, and #Detroit. "Breaking Over You" is a bit hard to quantize genre-wise, but it's dripping with sonic allusions to Basement/Modern Funk, Disco, Neo-Soul, Hip-Hop, G-Funk, and Electronic music. "Breaking Over You" is the first collaboration between Leonard Charles & Guilty Simpson, ahead of what I hear will be a "real raw and aggressive" collaborative 7-inch EP. Guilty recorded his verse over Jeremy Toy's Soul/Funk-oozing instrumental the last time he visited New Zealand, which was also when he initially heard the "Ruff Draft" (pun intended!) of Basement Donuts; "girl, it's true—I'm breaking over you. Ooh-woah, it's true, I'm breaking over you," Leonard Charles seductively whispers over his G-Funk-reminiscent self-produced beat.

Right around the 2-minute mark, Guilty Simpson abruptly bellows, "DON'T LEAVE! LISTEN..." before launching into his ruthlessly affectionate mid-song verse, which starts with: "we fuss and fight. We can't even break up right. Just say you hate me, but stayin' the night. Heart's sore from all the ache. How much more can ya take?" Leonard Charles & Guilty Simpson's "Breaking Over You" is premiering right here and now at The Witzard and will soon be released on 7-inch on Japanese-based imprint WONDERFUL NOISE, as skillfully mastered and lathe-cut by Dave Cooley at Elysian Masters. Stay tuned to The Witzard, as further "Breaking Over You" 7-inch release details emerge. Shout-out to Adi Dick for the dope "BREAKING OVER YOU" promotional artwork; head on over to dribble to check out more of his artwork, as well as recent musical output at both Bandcamp and Soundcloud.