UNDER THE RADAR

Artists, bands, and labels meriting more attention

- Felice Rosser

This month: Felice Rosser

Back in the mid-70s, when female guitarists were a rare commodity, and black female guitarists even rarer, Detroit bassist and songwriter Felice Rosser put herself in the heart of the New York underground, invested with a sense of egalitarianism and unsurpassable musical heritage. However, despite moving in the most inventive circles of the time and helming her band, FaithNYC, for almost 40 years, Rosser's name remains frustratingly unfamiliar. In the wake of Faith's new release, Love Is A Wish Away, Record Collector decided to find out more.

"When I was coming up, Motown was exploding," explains Rosser during our Zoom chat. "It was also very local. The Supreme house was in our neighbourhood, and we used to go there for Halloween... everybody knew somebody, or your father had worked with somebody." In Rosser's case, it was a brief stint at Golden World records, early home to the likes of Edwin Starr and Tamiko Jones, and the 20 Grand nightclub, the local spot for black entertainers including Parliament-Funkadelic and Stevie Wonder. Absorbing everything around her, Rosser was lucky enough to see Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Eddie 'Son' House, and her favourite, Howlin' Wolf. This was never considered particularly remarkable.

"It was very close to you," says Rosser. "That's just what you did." Speaking fondly of growing up in Detroit - a rough working-class city-Rosser was also turned onto another burgeoning scene.