Funky Fridays #5

Been a bit quiet this week, so coming back with an extra special Funk number for you this Friday. It's the 1980 track 'Funkin' for Jamaica (N.Y.)' by Jazz trumpeter Tom Browne, paying homage to his upbringing in the Jamaica borough of Queens N.Y. Its got some serious attitude:

A Nice Fit

When one hears some of the super sonic Dubstep of late, it is hard not to cower away whilst conjuring up images of mythical monsters. Well the brains behind this September's Foot Locker advert have cottoned on to this rather nicely; advertising the new 'Space Diver' shoe, with the artist now known as Snoop Lion, taming a big cat that is surely from another world. All this to the tune of a Dubstep track that samples the 'Mars: Bringer of War' section from classical symphonic piece, 'The Planets', by Gustav Holst.

For one it inspires confidence in Foot Locker's ability to get your shoe size right.

Country Funk; 1969 -1975

Continuing in the Funk vain, this album has been keeping us going in the office today. If your the kind of person who likes ballsy Country & Blues accompanied with a few whiskies, then this is for you. Every song is carefully placed, with much time put into the smooth flow of the running order, resulting in a steadily rising tempo, perfect to accompany those whiskies. The compilation manages to create a new genre out of a combination of varying artists, who all, whilst stylistically different, must have been on similar wave lengths when writing these songs. As the good folks at Light in Attic Records say :

"The Style encompasses the elation of gospel with the sexual thrust of the blues, country hoedown harmony with inner city grit. It is alternately playful and melancholic, slow jammin' and booty shakin'. It is both and barroom raw. And whilst these all may seem unlikely combinations at first glance, upon close listen, it all makes sweet sense."

Well they are right about their creation. If one has to pick a track to illustrate why this album is a great listen, no easy feat, then maybe 'Lucas Was A Redneck' by Mac Davis is the one:

Funky Fridays #4

Going back to 1982, and cited as one of the most influential Hip Hop songs of all time, its Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five's, 'The Message'; and its just so good:

Then Ice cube, in 1993, remixed his 'Check Yo Self':

(Which had originally sampled Wilson Pickets 'Mustang Sally')

With 'The Message' to create, the now more popular, 'Check Yo Self, The Message Remix' 
A personal favourite resurgence of 'The Message'; the recent Duff Disco edit, 'Grand Master Duff':

Have a good friday....

A Nice Blend

A seriously cool new track, fresh out on Hypercolour, from Leeds based PBR Streetgang. Loving the blend of Hip Hop, Funk and House. Treat yourself:

If your liking their style, then download this track for free:

Closing with Mr Isaacs

Getting to the end of my to do list in the office. The bouncy, punchy rhythm on this is helping me to tick things off at a nice rate. Thought I would share for any in a similar boat:

And my personal favourite:

Have a good evening!

Not So Blue.

This slot is usually reserved for some Monday morning blues, but after two cups of coffee and hearing this song of Lauren Laverne's 6 Music show, adding it to my wish list, and subsequently realising it was already there from last week; a blue Monday track just doesn't feel that appropriate. Its the great Australian psych rock outfit, Tame Impala, and their track 'Elephant', from their forthcoming LP 'Lonerism', out on Modular People and available in the UK from October 8th.

Funky Fridays #3

FF is back again, nicely complimenting that friday afternoon feeling. This week its the tune that inspired Will Smith to take a holiday and write a hit song about it:

And for you Will Smith Fans, why not? Its Friday after all:   
Interestingly Will Smith did better across the the pond, peaking at #17 on the US Billboard top 100 to The Whispers #19, yet back on British soil the tables are turned with The Whispers peak chart position at #2 over Will Smith's #3.

Surely?

One of our favourite records of this year, 'World, You Need a Change of Mind', by Kindness, missed out on a Mercury nomination yesterday, begging the question, but surely? The album, whose name is a play on one of the first Disco records, Eddie Kendricks 'Girl, You Need a Change of Mind', 
is more than just a modern Disco album, instead a rather great and interesting record thats taps into a myriad of styles, as the genre tags below suggest. Of all the tracks, 'That's Alright', is the biggest treat:

And you can tell Kindness, aka Peterborough's Adam Bainbridge, has good taste, borrowing from this, 'good times on dance floor', 80's Funk number.    
We give it a Genuine nomination, thats for sure.

Star Quality

It is great to see when genuine stars emerge, and even greater when they really pull it off live. This is the musical heritage the last century bestowed upon us, and should be legacy we hand over. There are many great female singers out there, yet Jessie Ware seems to have that extra little something. We think her Bestival performance gives a few clues to what that might be....

Mala In Cuba

Yesterday saw the release of the album 'Mala in Cuba'. Since forming the Digital Mystikz with Coki and the subsequent creation of the DMZ label and the DMZ club nights at the Mass in Brixton, Mala has been at the forefront of changing the face of underground music. What, back in the early noughts, was a little known style of music, has been integral in spawning the global phenomenon known as Dubstep. Some of which is now, quite frankly, rather offensive to the ears. Mala, whilst influencing many in the new mutated version of the game, has stuck to his distinct style. And now after visiting Cuba with Giles Peterson, he is back with something a little different, mixing Latino & Cuban styles and his love of intelligent drum patterns, with those signature bass lines; rolling, deep and hypnotic, still resonating throughout. Have a listen to a little preview below, though remember as always with Mala, it will be best listened to live, and for that you'll have to wait until the 17th of November at the the Brixton Electric. (Tickets)

Monday Morning Blues

A stunning Blues track from Eddie Clearwater; perfect for indulging in that Monday Morning feeling:

Funky Fridays #2

Going back to 1983 for our second Funky Fridays instalment, its James Otis White Jr's 'Baby Come On'. Try and sit still to this one:

Brilliant

(Click image to watch)

Summer Retrospective

As the weather in London is so great today, it seems apt to heighten the summer mood by reminiscing over the top 10 personal live musical highlights of this summer.

1. Grace Jones. Headlining the Sunday of Lovebox Festival. Hearing 'Pull up To the Bumper' live for the first time ever was too good for words. Juxtaposed to an extremely amusingly dressed crowd that only Lovebox Sunday can pull.


2. Tom Petty. The Albert Hall. (Left). Hit after hit, need more need be said?

3. Blur, Hyde Park. A chorus of 80,000 to practically every word sung by Damon Albarn. People complained about the sound afterwards, but wasn't a problem if you had made it to to the front.

4. The Other Tribe. Bestival Warm Up Party at the Bussey Building. The whole crowd were blown away, in between songs all you could hear was people asking "who is this great band". We went on to book them for Bosco club, again they worked their magic on the crowd and subsequent dance floor.  Catch them at Bestival this weekend, and say you saw them 'before they were big'. Fearne Cotton had them play on her Radio live lounge yesterday, so you don't have long!

5. George Clinton & Parliament/Funkadelic. Hop Farm. (Left). What a cool band, forget Gangster Rap, Pimp Funk is where it's at.

6. Roni Size & Dynamite Mc. Relaxation Generation festival. Hearing the Reprazent classic 'Brown Paper Bag' live was something else. To add to this, Elisabeth Troy performing 'Sincere' with Zinc on decks was rather special.

7. Primal Scream. Hop Farm. It clashed with Bob Dylan, but Primal Scream were always going to play a better show.

8. Chic & Nile Rodgers (left). Lovebox. "We're not a covers band, we did this shit in the first place", followed by a hit parade that very few could match.

9. The Sheepdogs. Hop Farm. They where the first act on the Sunday main stage, a friend sent this song over the week before, saying 'be sure to watch them'. Being the only person in the crowd knowing the lyrics was kinda fun.



10. Last but definitely not least; Damien, Julian and Stephen Marley playing the opening night of the Jamaica 50 celebrations, at the 02 indigo. A great intimate venue and a touching family performance. Along the highlights was the Damien Marley version of 'Could you be loved'.

A Great New Track

A new release on Theo Parrish's Sound Signature label, teaming up with Andrew Ashong for the very uplifting 'Flowers' EP. The title track on Side A:


And the funkier 'Take it slow' is nestled into Side B. Listen below for a sneak preview:

Quality in the Charts

Flying in at No.3 in this weeks UK Album Chart, is the great debut album 'My Head is an Animal' by Of Monsters and Men, (John Steinbeck roll over). Hailing from Iceland, this Indie Folk six piece outfit have already made history with the best album performance by an Icelandic Artist in US Chart History, debuting at No.6 on the Billboard Chart beating Bjork's Volta.

Their sound is reminiscent of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, with lovely male and female harmonies coupled with uplifting melodies. With a bit Florence and The Machine thrown in for good measure. Or maybe its their own. Have a listen, buy the album, form your own opinions. "The message is in the music." (Click image below to watch)


And of course you'll most likely have heard their hit single 'Little Talks:

Blue Mondays

A lovely track to brighten up your Monday morning:

A Fascinating Read

Viviene Westwood and internationally renowned scientist James Lovelock, met back in 2009 to discuss the future of the planet and the Human race. Last Saturdays', Dazed and Confused, documents this intriguing and thought provoking conversation. It is available to read here on Dazed Digital online.