Aurra

Centered on Steve Washington alongside vocalists Starleana Young and Curtis Jones, Aurra emerged from the Ohio funk ensemble Slave. Across its late-seventies and early-eighties run the project issued several albums, the majority appearing on the Salsoul imprint, while its rotating cast of players maintained close connections to the parent band. Aurra guided Salsoul forward by crafting club-oriented tracks built around synthesizers and programmed beats. In contrast to the label’s earlier emphasis on lush string arrangements, live instrumentation, and driving disco pulses, these later efforts balanced traditional songwriting with dance rhythms, resonating equally with radio and DJs.

Washington assembled Aurra as an extended-family project, drawing on friends and Slave road personnel until the roster occasionally reached a dozen members. Besides the central trio of Washington, Young, and Jones, the lineup at times featured Mark Adams, Steve Arrington, Charles “Cedell” Carter, Philip Field, Buddy “Hanks” Henderson, Jennifer Ivory, Tom Lockett, William Young, and Mike Young. Through these efforts Washington secured a deal with Salsoul, then one of the leading disco labels.

Although the self-titled 1980 debut surfaced on Dream, a Salsoul subsidiary, the next three long-players—1981’s Send Your Love, 1982’s A Little Love, and 1983’s Live and Let Live—came out directly on the parent label. Financial strains surfaced during the period surrounding Live and Let Live, prompting Young and Jones to question Washington’s handling of affairs. The resulting friction led Washington to exit and propose selling the Aurra name; he ultimately retained it after the proposed transaction stalled. He then cut a new Aurra album for Quest, enlisting former Bride of Funkenstein Sheila Horne and Chaka Khan sibling Mark Stephens, yet legal objections from Young and Jones kept the recording unreleased.

After parting from Salsoul, Young and Jones completed a fifth Aurra album, 1985’s Like I Like It, issued on Next Plateau. The title track became the group’s first British chart entry. Seeking to avoid further legal complications, the pair subsequently performed as Déjà and reached number two on the R&B chart in 1987 with “You and Me Tonight.” Young departed the duo in 1988 to pursue solo work, releasing an album in 1991 while also supplying background vocals for her husband, Kool & the Gang’s J.T. Taylor. Jones kept the Déjà name active with Mysti Day and issued a second album under that banner.