Osunlade
The St. Louis-born producer who founded Yoruba Records in 1999 and whose album Pyrography (2011) holds "Envision", the Yoruba Soul Mix of which became a house standard.
From St. Louis to Yoruba
Osunlade, born Christian Carlos Warren on March 13, 1969 in St. Louis, started on piano at seven and was in several bands by twelve, picking 45s for his parents' weekly card games and spending his allowance on two records a week; as a teenager he bought a Korg Poly 61. A choreographer, Toni Basil, noticed him in 1987 and encouraged a move to Los Angeles, where he worked as a producer and songwriter for hire for Warner, Epic and BMG, with credits including Patti LaBelle and Freddie Jackson, and programming on Gerardo's Rico Suave (1991). Pressure from labels to imitate New Jack Swing led to a two-year break and a move to New York. There a joint deal with Tommy Musto's Northcott distribution carried him until his debut album came out on Soul Jazz.
He founded Yoruba Records in 1999, its first release the Natives Tongues EP, with a subsidiary, Yoruba Soul, for non-dance releases. "Cantos a Ochun et Oya" (2001) is described as a defining Afro house record; Bandcamp Daily quotes him in 2023: before Yoruba, there were really no call-and-response house records. His albums include Paradigm (2001), Aquarian Moon (2006, made in Santorini), Elements Beyond (2007, Strictly Rhythm), Rebirth (2010), Pyrography (2011), A Man with No Past Originating the Future (2013), Peacock (2014, recorded in St. Louis in about three weeks), Basic Sketches for Beginners (2020), Spectrum (2022) and INvite ONly (2025). Counts of his albums conflict between sources, eight and twenty.
Pyrography and Envision
Pyrography came out in May 2011 on Yoruba (YSD39CD; Discogs dates it May 13, Beatport and Traxsource May 16), recorded at Oya's House in Santorini and more electronic than its predecessors, his first house album in four years. Bandcamp Daily notes that "Idiocyncracy" reflects his love of Kraftwerk. He told Miami New Times it would be his last house album, with paintings of the Yoruba deities by the artist Scott Marr, though later releases have returned to the form. Beatport credits Osunlade and Oveous Maximus.
In 2019 Resident Advisor's Exchange podcast, recorded in his Berlin office, covered Yoruba's twentieth anniversary and the sampling of his track "Dionne" in DJ Khaled's "Shining"; RA says he is known in dance music for "Envision" and "Dionne". He has remixed Nightmares On Wax, Roy Ayers, St. Germain, 4 Hero and Salif Keita, and produced for Musiq Soulchild, Eric Benet, Martha Wash and Vivian Green. Setlist.fm lists nine sets, among them WOMADelaide in March 2016 and The Ivy in Sydney in March 2024.
Albums
- Pyrography 2011 · Yoruba Records
His album of 2011, more electronic than before and described by him as his last house record.
Songs
- Envision Pyrography · 2011
The second track of Pyrography, issued as a 10-inch single in 2011 and one of the songs he is best known for.
Sources
- Osunlade, Wikipedia
- The spiritual house of Osunlade and Yoruba Records, Bandcamp Daily (2023)
- Exchange 473: Osunlade, Resident Advisor (2019-08-23)
- Profile: Osunlade, Wonderland (2014-06-06)