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School Me on Modern Funk

Mr. CasualMr. Casual 953 Posts
edited March 2007 in Strut Central
Any new bands to know about...?

  Comments

  • mordecaimordecai 2,204 Posts
    I was thinking of starting a similar thread. The Spanky Wilson w/Quantic Soul Orchestra album is pretty good with "Don't Joke With A Hungry Man" being my highlight.

    Olski's Melting Pot Music label also has a lot of funky goodness. Breakout's "Planet Rock" and A-Ko's tracks being the standouts for me on the label's comps. (Day of course too )
  • prof_rockwellprof_rockwell 2,867 Posts
    cosign on Quantic Soul Orchestra. Both their albums are hella tight, haven't heard the collabo one mentioned above.

    Also: Poets of Rhythm, Nostalgia 77, The Broken Keys, Breakestra, The Budos Band, El Michels Affair, Connie Price, Antibalas (afrobeat), Daktaris, Lefties Soul Connection, Sharon Jones, Binky Griptite

    check for alot of the Daptone, Truth & Soul, Soul Fire, Ubiquity catalogues as well.
  • asstroasstro 1,754 Posts
  • fishmongerfunkfishmongerfunk 4,154 Posts
    all retro-revival funk bands suck...even the ones that can play

    fuck a soul fire
  • PrimeCutsLtdPrimeCutsLtd jersey fresh 2,632 Posts
    all retro-revival funk bands suck...even the ones that can play

    fuck a soul fire

  • fishmongerfunkfishmongerfunk 4,154 Posts

    believe it....some people are really into photo-realism and thats fine by me but i stand by my drunken post
  • SoulOnIceSoulOnIce 13,027 Posts

    believe it....some people are really into photo-realism and thats fine by me but i stand by my drunken post

    So no band past 19** can play funk?



    I think it's funny when people diss modern
    bands for being derivative, as if bands in the
    60's & 70's - especially the low-budget private label
    bands that everyone sweats and throws money at - weren't
    completely derivative of each other.
  • PrimeCutsLtdPrimeCutsLtd jersey fresh 2,632 Posts
    photo-realism

    thanks...I had too google that...still not quite sure what it means...yes it's late...
  • fishmongerfunkfishmongerfunk 4,154 Posts
    derivative is one thing but we are talking about straight up retro bullshit

    funk is really a way of playing your instrument not a james brown groove retreaded for the millionth time. time to break new ground.

    not saying there weren;t copycat artist before cause we all know there was and always will be.

    so here are a few funky modern artist (imho) that have funk but don't play "funky"

    1. sade
    2. anita baker
    3. tony allen (black voices)
  • yuichiyuichi Urban sprawl 11,332 Posts
    All the ones that professor_rockwell said are good. But unfortunately they would be categorized as Neo Funk. If you want that "Modern Funk" sound, this is at the apex of that genre:
  • SoulOnIceSoulOnIce 13,027 Posts
    Yeah, but I don't see anything wrong with
    going to see a band that plays a certain style
    of music that was popular in a certain era.

    I'm not talking about Beatlemania-type shit, believe
    me, I have no tolerance for cornball stage shows ... but
    a band can play 60's/70's style funk and not be irrelevant.

    Shit, it's dance music. One of the most danceable
    styles of music ever. I guess people going to see some
    Daptone act and just watching them and posting up with a beer
    is kinda pointless, but people going to see a funk band and
    getting down and having fun makes sense to me.

    I'm no cheerleader for the shit - I've seen like 2 or 3 of
    these kind of shows, was never blown away, but you claiming
    they "all suck" just seemed a little extreme.
  • fishmongerfunkfishmongerfunk 4,154 Posts
    claiming they "all suck" just seemed a little extreme.

    possibly extreme. i have gone to bars before and danced to 2nd and even 1st rate cover versions and thats fine. these people provide a service and i am not above getting wasted and having fun.
  • SnagglepusSnagglepus 1,756 Posts
    Some of the new bands are doing some interesting things (Poets of Rhythm/Whitefield Brothers, Budos Band, El Michels Affair) ... the Didier's Sound Spectrum record is pretty crazy. It's not all completely "retro". Many of the bands are evolving the sound. But hell, even if a band is doing a straight up retro act, it's a decent night out. Sharon Jones shows are a blast. I don't see why a genre as fierce as funk should have to die so quickly. How long have we had the blues? Or "rock and roll"? Folk? "Classical"? How long did hard JB style funk last? A few years before the music industry was ready to sell a new sound? Let the kids play funk if they wanna play funk. Just no slap bass please.
  • Otis_FunkmeyerOtis_Funkmeyer 1,321 Posts
    Both the neo-funk groups and most of the groups in the 60s-70s were derivative. But back then, you have to assume that a lot of them were trying to cash in on what was the current trend at the time. The funk bands now do that sound purely for the love of it, they know full well that's not the current sound and they have 0 chance of having a hit radio single. That is the opposite of "selling out".

    Which has more cred?

    Also, they don't play it because it's retro or a tribute, they play it because they prefer it to what's on the radio now. Artists should make music that they would love to listen to.

    The neo-funk albums are also generally more solid than the old ones, most of which have two funk tracks if you're lucky.

    Funk is an art and there is no reason that it should be confined to a certain time period.
  • schobbejakschobbejak 36 Posts
    You can add New Mastersounds to the list..
  • bull_oxbull_ox 5,056 Posts
    Also, they don't play it because it's retro or a tribute

    You can say this about the live shows, but you can't say it about the records... the recorded output is both. Trying very, very hard to sound like old stuff. Which is just as retro-revivalist as dudes making garage throwback records in the 80s and rockabilly guys in the 70s.
  • MarkusGarveyMarkusGarvey 25 Posts
    http://www.myspace.com/damfunk

    STR8 DOPE

    Don't sleep!

  • 99Problems99Problems 1,541 Posts

    I will ride for Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators every day of the week. That album is great in any era.
  • Otis_FunkmeyerOtis_Funkmeyer 1,321 Posts
    Also, they don't play it because it's retro or a tribute

    You can say this about the live shows, but you can't say it about the records... the recorded output is both. Trying very, very hard to sound like old stuff. Which is just as retro-revivalist as dudes making garage throwback records in the 80s and rockabilly guys in the 70s.

    Also, they don't play it because it's retro or a tribute

    You can say this about the live shows, but you can't say it about the records... the recorded output is both. Trying very, very hard to sound like old stuff. Which is just as retro-revivalist as dudes making garage throwback records in the 80s and rockabilly guys in the 70s.

    I'm not sure if you are referring to the recording techniques or the musical composition, but either way I disagree. They are not trying to sound "old", they are trying to sound "good". Funk that is recorded with modern recording techniques sounds absolutely awful (see the 90's JB Horns CDs - unlistenable). Funk just doesn't sound right that way.

    As far as composition, as I said, it's the kind of music they like, and they make records for other people who like that music (those people tend to always want more of it...). As said above, people have been making blues and jazz records for 80 years, why shouldn't people continue making funk records?
    Do you really think the neo-funk bands are reminiscing about the good old days of the 60s and trying to recreate them? Most of them aren't old enough to remember.

    I agree you need to have SOMETHING new about the music. A 100% JB clone is never very interesting no matter what time period. But JB invented a genre and I believe there's lots of room left for exploration and experimentation within that genre.

    Anyway, the bottom line for me is that a song is either good or bad, the year has no relevance. For instance, the Poets of Rhythm's Discern/Define album has many great songs and is musically groundbreaking and it's still pure funk. On the other hand, The Calypso Kings' Soul Strike! is recorded well, but lacking in composition and innovation.

    Speaking for myself and my band, when I write a song, I just write what I hear in my head. Most of the time it happens to be funky (probably because I listen to funk a lot). Should I dismiss that inspiration because funk has "already been done"? Or should I write and record the music that's inside of me? That's the difference between expressing yourself artistically and trying to get a single on the radio for money and fame.
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