There’s something unmistakable about driving around Los Angeles, and to take that observation further if the soundtrack is correct it’s downright unparalleled with any other cruise control induced opioid. Mark McGuire knows this feeling and wrote about it when asked to describe the inspiration for his upcoming All My Love cassette under the alias The Road Chief. He said while he was in LA working on the score for a film he would take breaks to just drive.
“During the day, I’d get little breaks and just drive around North Hollywood smoking weed and listening to the early mixes of the tracks. Those days were all about bright, sunny midday vibes, glass sparkling-water bottles, coconut milk shampoo, sunscreen smells, the leather interior of the car getting hot in the sun…glimpses like that.”
Recently I was in LA with a few hours to kill and casually commuting to North Highlands with the upcoming Dam-Funk album wired into the stereo. At the time I was driving a Corolla rental, but in that moment it felt like I was attempting to maneuver a spaceship on three-wheel motion hydraulics up the 110. I try to recreate that environment of cool in my Northern California home to failed congruity.
In many ways Mark McGuire’s “Body Wash 2K15 Mix”, performed here as The Road Chief, is unmistakably equipped for LA road ways. When McGuire first coined the alias it was to honor the legacy of funk legend and Zapp founder Roger Troutman with his own 8os soul and smooth jazz compositions. If you are of fortune to be in LA currently, this will be the supreme complement to all impending weekend commutes to the various sectors of the metropolis. For the rest of us, the “Body Wash 2K15 Mix” offers nostalgia for Saturday nights at the Echoplex for Funky Sole and feeling like the KCRW radio DJ is hand-selecting your evening soundtrack as you drive to a house party in Los Feliz.
The Road Chief’s All My Love CS is out now on Cascine.
“Body Wash 2K15 Mix” tracklist:
01 Sven Atterton, “The Cove” (2015 Omega Supreme Records)
02 Tuxedo, “Lost Lover” (2015 Stones Throw)
03 Moniquea, “Not Enough” (2014 Mofunk Records)
04 Andras Fox Ft. Oscar S. Thorn, “Romance” (2013 Dopeness Galore)
05 Brian Ellis, “Reflection” (2014 Voltaire Records)
06 Sasac, “Doris” (2014 Omega Supreme Records)
07 Tensnake, “See Right Through” (2014 Virgin) /Pasadenas, “Enchanted Lady” (1988 CBS) – ROAD CHIEF REMIX
08 Nite Class, “What’s On Your Mind” (2013 Hot Shot Sounds)
09 Midnight Runners, “Sink and Float” (2015 Omega Supreme Records)
10 Moniquea, “Casanova (Let You Go)” (2014 Mofunk Records)
11 Tuxedo, “Number One” (2015 Stones Throw)
12 Moon B, “Realms” (2014 Peoples Potential Unlimited)
13 Loose Shus, “Angeles” (2014 Voltaire Records) ROAD CHIEF ‘ENDLESS OCEAN’ REMIX
14 Plaza, “Night Lines” (2015 Voltaire Records)
15 Cuushe, “Shadow” (2015 Cascine)
16 Dam Funk, “Night Stroll” (2010 All City Records) EXCERPT
17 Benedek, “Show Me” (2013 Peoples Potential Unlimited)
18 Midnight Runners, “Drive Into The Night” (2015 Omega Supreme Records)
19 Tensnake, “Things Left To Say” (2014 Virgin)
20 Dam Funk, “Free” (2015 Stones Throw) DJ ROAD CHIEF SUGAR FREE remix
