Different Strokes for Different Folks marks a full-circle moment for Ella Feingold, who first saw Charlie Hunter performing with Leon Parker at the Regatta Bar in the late '90s. She never imagined that decades later, she’d be playing and recording alongside him as both a peer and a friend. Today, Hunter describes her as “one of the baddest, greasiest guitar players on the planet.”
This exploratory duo project is a deep dive into the art of musical conversation. Built on a foundation of rhythm, space, and groove, Hunter and Feingold engage in a fluid, improvisational exchange, pushing beyond conventional structures to create something raw, immediate, and deeply immersive. Their interplay unfolds like a dialogue—organic, unpredictable, and rich with nuance—where silence holds as much weight as sound.
At its core, Different Strokes for Different Folks is an exploration of time and texture, where funk meets minimalism and melody meets motion. Rooted in jazz, soul, and ambient influences, the project embraces both synchronicity and divergence, allowing each moment to breathe and evolve naturally. It’s a testament to the power of the guitar as a vessel for personal expression—where innovation, authenticity, and human connection take center stage.
It’s music that’s complex but never complicated.
It’s music for rolling the windows down and cruising.
It’s music that makes your neck sore.
It’s music to get lost in and let your mind wander.
It’s music to sing over.
It’s music that makes you want to pick up your instrument and play along.
It’s music that takes its time.
It’s a musical conversation between two friends, captured over four days.
It’s minimalist funk.
Photo: Ella Feingold
Photo: Ryan Bell
“It’s SO good. I love it so much. I knew I would.” - Bill Frisell
“This is nuts, yikes! so funky 💯” - Raphael Saadiq
“It’s fascinating!. I love good music especially when it’s from a friend. It’s totally great that the sound is so naked and ‘raw’ because you both have such nice touch.” - Johnny Marr
“Ella, the album is nasty. A masterclass. So refreshing.” - Lenny Kravitz
“It’s a record that’s earnestly old-school by way of a simple approach: capturing a live-off-the-floor two-way conversation between singular instrumentalists. Feingold’s guitar—punchy and percussive but still delicate and detailed—lies on the right side of the stereo field throughout, communing with Hunter’s counterpoint of pulsing bass, which sits near the center, and snare-like guitar chords and knotty riffs on the left. No-frills drums, added by Hunter, pull together the sound, unifying the feel and tying the record to groove masters like Stevie Wonder and Sly Stone—the latter referenced in the album title and its opening track, “There’s Still a Riot Goin’ On.” - Nick Millevoi, Premier Guitar
Photo: Soren Smedvig
Photo: Ella Feingold
Photo: Ella Feingold
Photo: Ella Feingold
Photo: Soren Smedvig