Don't Worry, Be Happy

German DJ/synth player Markus Schmidt is known in his native country as "Groove Man" for good reason. Schmidt has a knack for sweetening the groove on every project he's ever been involved in, although he is often uncredited on many of the big hits he has worked on. For this reason, he is mostly thought of as a "secret weapon" of sorts, a moniker he doesn't mind at all, as long as he gets paid. Markus was in the middle of a South Florida vacation when the pandemic hit and decided not to risk travel, so he stayed put in his South Beach rental and enjoyed long walks on the beach every morning, which became a ritual of sorts that became a beneficial tool to keep his sanity and creativity intact. On his daily stroll one morning, Schmidt could hear a rhythmic patter in the distance, and as he got closer, he could see that the sound was coming from a solitary stroller on the beach singing/rapping while making rhythmic accompaniment with parts of his own body. Markus followed for a while, and when the two caught up, Schmidt introduced himself and complimented the music maker. This musical fellow turned out to be Karl Lennox, a talented upcoming American R&B/Hip-Hop vocalist that had been recently discovered by the newly re-vamped Afrowax label - the infamous South Beach dance-electronic label that helped turn the world on to speed-garage and other groovy things in the early 2000's. Long story short: Markus and Karl became fast friends, began collaborating musically and naturally happened upon a sound that could loosely be described as Euro-lectro - soulful, adventurous and groovy, just like the early Afrowax singles that Markus owned when he was a teenager - and the folks at the label agreed. Their eagerly anticipated second full-length release "I'm The Groove Man," offers an embarrassment of riches with 17 meticulously crafted new tracks that further cement this unique partnership.

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