Wednesday, May 31, 2006
YouTube Funk
So, I was a wanderin' around the internet and ran into some video on YouTube. I'd heard of YouTube before, but hadn't really thought about it as a resource for funk music. Well, well, well, wasn't I wrong! Since we're all about the funk around here, I thought I'd do y'all a favor and add some new links on the left. Down below our favorite artists you'll find a new section containing links to classic video (well, what I think is classic anyway) on YouTube. So far I've found stuff by the Meters, James Brown, Issac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield, the Bar-Kays, etc. I've even included a link to a video containing some early hip-hop footage. I haven't explored a whole lot yet (there are some 2800 videos listed in my search for "funk"), but so far it looks promising. I even found a random band that plays a pretty decent little funk ditty. If they had posted a name or more info, I'd probably feature them. Anyway, enjoy the links and hopefully this will inspire you to do some digital digging on your own.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Rant -- the poor state of Funk
A week or so ago I spent some time going through every artist listed under "funk" on Soundclick.com. I've done a similar thing on music.download.com and I started last night to venture into the world of music on myspace. In all of my explorations of the funk, I have yet to find an artist worthy of featuring here. There are a number of things wrong with funk music, and I'm afraid that the somewhat commercial artists (Antibalas Orchestra, Soul Donkeys, Daktaris, Sugarmen Three, Connie Price and the Keytones) don't escape unscathed, either. The commercial artists are closer to decent funk to be sure. The bands are at least staffed by well-meaning folks who understand what good funk ought to entail. However, in many cases it these efforts fall short. Here is my list of the Top 5 Not Funky Things in Modern Funk Music:
1.) Your rhythm is not funky. This is sin numero uno, mainly because it's most often abused. On the free funk side I hear many rock bands who think throwing in a guitar with a wah pedal and a pseudodisco beat make funk. It takes years of practice to master funk drumming, it's not something that happens overnight (I know mostly because I'm trying to do that myself). Most of the rhythms I hear are too straight-ahead to be funky. This is often the disease that affects the more commercial releases -- they have the pattern right, but the elusive "feel" is missing and instead we get a robotic approximation of funk. On the other hand, too much swing can also kill a funk rhythm. This is the sin committed by many of the "smooth jazz" funk wannabes, they play a swing rhythm and "ghost" the notes so much it sounds like someone badly tapdancing to the "samba" beat on a casio. Too rigid or too swingy of a feel will kill a funk rhythm, so please practice, practice, practice and listen to lots of funk so you can hear the difference. Thanks.
2.) Your bass is not funky. Now I love me some Larry Graham and P-Funk, but the whole slap-bass thing is waaaay out of control. I want to slap the bassist, usually, and while it's debatable whether the bad timing and horrible rhythm is his fault, he's a partner in the funk with the drummer. Perhaps there's some super-secret brotherhood of drummers and bass players which only promotes the swingiest, slappiest members to the highest ranks. That's great, but please don't call it funk. Also, while I like a bit of piano in my funk that isn't the sound I like to hear coming from the bass. Please listen to the Meters (and invite the drummer) and notice how totally-freakin-awesome that bass sound is. I'm not saying it's the only sound, but for funk I'd consider that square one, the launching point from which a million tones flourish. And while you're at it notice how the bass player is an integral part of the _rhythm_ section. Oh, and leave anything with more than four strings at home.
3.) Your drum sound is not funky. Don't even get me started on this one... If you're using more than two or three mics to get your drum sound then you're already lost. If your snare rings for longer than about a second then choke it, muffle it, maybe loosen the head, get an SPL Transient Designer, or do something. Anything. Just don't play funk on that darn kit 'cause it won't work. And get rid of anything over about two toms and a crash and ride cymbal. A good rule of thumb here is one trip to carry the kit from the car to wherever you plan to play. More than that and you should consider switching genres.
4.) General MIDI sounds are not funky. Not that most arrangements I hear are stellar to begin with, but nothing kills the feeling of funk like cheesy sounds. Now that's not to say there can't be a bit of cheese -- Joe Coleman's "Get It Off The Ground" has a borderline nasty (and not in a good way) electric piano sound that mysteriously blends superbly with the track. However, layering the whole track in gobs of strings and electric pianos and other gooey ickiness is the quickest way to be relegated to elevator music.
5.) Wah-wah guitar is not (always) funky. It's a staple of 70's soundtracks and disco, and even the Meters (notice I mention them alot? There is much to learn, grasshopper) use it to great effect on "Just Kissed My Baby". This does not, however, give license for every guitar player in the known universe to squonk away playing eighth notes while rocking the wah pedal and call it funk. For a great reference here, listen to "Sex Machine". Notice how that guitar uses no wah, yet it's one of the funkiest things in the song? It helps that the bass and drums are tight and playing stuff relevant to the track, but that guitar is clean as a whistle with no wah in sight. And if "Sex Machine" isn't funky then funk doesn't exist. For those trying to recover from wah attack, I suggest you try playing your funky guitar part on an acoustic guitar and see if it still grooves. You may want to play along to some decent bass and drum tracks (looping old breaks is your friend) as well to get a feel for how the whole drum/bass/guitar machine should work together.
I was originally going to make this a top 10 list, but it's hard not to rant at length about these issues. Among the other things I'd mention if I wanted to waste more of your time is that old can mean moldy and throwback can mean throw away. Or that you don't need a 13-piece band to make funk, or that just because you have a 13-piece band at your disposal doesn't mean you're funky. And on and on. I'll spare you the sanctimony (I've already used my alotted amount for today) and get back to sifting.
1.) Your rhythm is not funky. This is sin numero uno, mainly because it's most often abused. On the free funk side I hear many rock bands who think throwing in a guitar with a wah pedal and a pseudodisco beat make funk. It takes years of practice to master funk drumming, it's not something that happens overnight (I know mostly because I'm trying to do that myself). Most of the rhythms I hear are too straight-ahead to be funky. This is often the disease that affects the more commercial releases -- they have the pattern right, but the elusive "feel" is missing and instead we get a robotic approximation of funk. On the other hand, too much swing can also kill a funk rhythm. This is the sin committed by many of the "smooth jazz" funk wannabes, they play a swing rhythm and "ghost" the notes so much it sounds like someone badly tapdancing to the "samba" beat on a casio. Too rigid or too swingy of a feel will kill a funk rhythm, so please practice, practice, practice and listen to lots of funk so you can hear the difference. Thanks.
2.) Your bass is not funky. Now I love me some Larry Graham and P-Funk, but the whole slap-bass thing is waaaay out of control. I want to slap the bassist, usually, and while it's debatable whether the bad timing and horrible rhythm is his fault, he's a partner in the funk with the drummer. Perhaps there's some super-secret brotherhood of drummers and bass players which only promotes the swingiest, slappiest members to the highest ranks. That's great, but please don't call it funk. Also, while I like a bit of piano in my funk that isn't the sound I like to hear coming from the bass. Please listen to the Meters (and invite the drummer) and notice how totally-freakin-awesome that bass sound is. I'm not saying it's the only sound, but for funk I'd consider that square one, the launching point from which a million tones flourish. And while you're at it notice how the bass player is an integral part of the _rhythm_ section. Oh, and leave anything with more than four strings at home.
3.) Your drum sound is not funky. Don't even get me started on this one... If you're using more than two or three mics to get your drum sound then you're already lost. If your snare rings for longer than about a second then choke it, muffle it, maybe loosen the head, get an SPL Transient Designer, or do something. Anything. Just don't play funk on that darn kit 'cause it won't work. And get rid of anything over about two toms and a crash and ride cymbal. A good rule of thumb here is one trip to carry the kit from the car to wherever you plan to play. More than that and you should consider switching genres.
4.) General MIDI sounds are not funky. Not that most arrangements I hear are stellar to begin with, but nothing kills the feeling of funk like cheesy sounds. Now that's not to say there can't be a bit of cheese -- Joe Coleman's "Get It Off The Ground" has a borderline nasty (and not in a good way) electric piano sound that mysteriously blends superbly with the track. However, layering the whole track in gobs of strings and electric pianos and other gooey ickiness is the quickest way to be relegated to elevator music.
5.) Wah-wah guitar is not (always) funky. It's a staple of 70's soundtracks and disco, and even the Meters (notice I mention them alot? There is much to learn, grasshopper) use it to great effect on "Just Kissed My Baby". This does not, however, give license for every guitar player in the known universe to squonk away playing eighth notes while rocking the wah pedal and call it funk. For a great reference here, listen to "Sex Machine". Notice how that guitar uses no wah, yet it's one of the funkiest things in the song? It helps that the bass and drums are tight and playing stuff relevant to the track, but that guitar is clean as a whistle with no wah in sight. And if "Sex Machine" isn't funky then funk doesn't exist. For those trying to recover from wah attack, I suggest you try playing your funky guitar part on an acoustic guitar and see if it still grooves. You may want to play along to some decent bass and drum tracks (looping old breaks is your friend) as well to get a feel for how the whole drum/bass/guitar machine should work together.
I was originally going to make this a top 10 list, but it's hard not to rant at length about these issues. Among the other things I'd mention if I wanted to waste more of your time is that old can mean moldy and throwback can mean throw away. Or that you don't need a 13-piece band to make funk, or that just because you have a 13-piece band at your disposal doesn't mean you're funky. And on and on. I'll spare you the sanctimony (I've already used my alotted amount for today) and get back to sifting.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
New Artist alert: Ken Ji
'Aight, call me old, but I like the more primitive style of breakbeat, more of a beat collage than a slick electrowhatever production. That's why, say, Ken Ji's track "Hit The Peak" does it for me (oh, and don't miss "Fizzy Drink"). I think of this style of breakbeat as more rock-n-roll than the newer stuff. It's a bit repetitive, but who cares? AC-DC wrote their one song over and over again and I still like it. Same thing goes here, and it's rather surprising how few folks still produce this kind of stuff. I called this blog "Electrofunk review" because I like funky beats first and foremost. Whether in electronic music, or funk, or hip-hop, or wherever. So long live the funk, and listen to Ken Ji because he gets it right. And you'll like it -- that's an Electrofunk guarantee.
Friday, May 19, 2006
New Artist alert: inconnector
Another day, another new artist. Today's pick (not that there will only be one per day, but it's a work week and I'ma slave) is inconnector. Another track that's lived and survived on my playlist for the last few months is "eRRor", a fun little electro-breakbeat ditty. Inconnector's sound is similar in ways to Crystal Method, only the compositions in my opinion are tighter. When I say that I don't mean they're locked to a particular musical form or song structure, rather I mean that the tracks "gel" -- everything sounds like it's put there for a purpose and serves that purpose well. That's what I consider "composed", in contrast to having random stuff playing because that's how music in a particular genre is supposed to sound. This malady can plague any type of music, but with the proliferation of loop libraries it's much easier to put together crap. Loops aren't a bad thing, we wouldn't have hip-hop with out 'em and the right loops together can be magic. But that doesn't mean that just because you can use a mouse and string together some loops from "Mr. Electric's Power House 1000" collection of "everything you need to make slammin' House and Trance tracks!" in Acid doesn't mean you're an artist. Anyway, this is supposed to be about inconnector and not all the other crap, there's plenty of it out there and sooner or later if you listen to enough music on free sites you'll come to loathe it as much as I do. O.k., so check out inconnector and enjoy. Electrofunk says check it out.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
New Artist alert: Binaerpilot
Binaerpilot is our first artist up for linking. I've been digging "Goof" and "Sanjorda" for some time now, both reside on my playlist at work. I checked in on the site today and he/she has a new track up called "Destroy the Popollution", which will also find a home on my playlist. Why do I like this stuff? Well, it's pretty simple -- it rocks! Not in a big-hair 80's sort of way, but in a bits and bytes sort of way. Well, maybe there'd be some big hair in there. Certainly it'd be a trip to see some rocker dude freaking out to this, but that's besides the point. The point is this doesn't suck. Many, many so-called "artists" out there that do electronic music get one of the loop-based software packages (such as Sony's Acid or Propellerheads' Reason) and fire away with preset loops. They make music that sounds like it should "fit" into some sort of genre with nary a thought for originality or composition. Not so with Binaerpilot (note: there shoud be an "umlat" (I think that's what they call it) above the "a" in the name, but I don't know the html code for it off the top of my head), this stuff gels as real honest-to-goodness songs, with progression and variety and style and all of that other good stuff. And there are vocals from time to time, more so on the newer "Destroy the Popollution" than the others.
As far as "sound" is concerned, the beats are machine-drum solid (not recognizable as being from any particular drum machine, but programmed nonetheless). The compositions are structured and well thought-out, no senseless noodling or rocking the same beat for eight minutes. Much use is made of random electronic noises, from videogame-ish bleeps and bloops to squiggly basses and a few random vocal samples. It's clean, although I wouldn't necessarily describe it as slick due to the abrasiveness of some of the sounds (not that that's a bad think). Overall production is great; while I haven't had a chance yet to burn this to disk and test it in my car, my guess is it'll hold up well on any sound system.
Overall Binaerpilot is, in my opinion, one of the best of the "free" artists out there. Electrofunk says check it out.
As far as "sound" is concerned, the beats are machine-drum solid (not recognizable as being from any particular drum machine, but programmed nonetheless). The compositions are structured and well thought-out, no senseless noodling or rocking the same beat for eight minutes. Much use is made of random electronic noises, from videogame-ish bleeps and bloops to squiggly basses and a few random vocal samples. It's clean, although I wouldn't necessarily describe it as slick due to the abrasiveness of some of the sounds (not that that's a bad think). Overall production is great; while I haven't had a chance yet to burn this to disk and test it in my car, my guess is it'll hold up well on any sound system.
Overall Binaerpilot is, in my opinion, one of the best of the "free" artists out there. Electrofunk says check it out.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Current Funk Filter - Gold Standard Funk
Here's a list, taken directly from my WMA playlist titled "Gold Standard Funk", of tracks that I consider to be the standard against which other funk is judged. As such you can use it as a "filter" to calibrate my opinions against your own. If you like this stuff, then there's a greater chance you'll like the stuff I link to. If not, then you know you won't like the stuff I recommend. It's also the list of things I'm listening to while working on my own stuff as a reality check. If my tracks stand up well against these, then they should be alright. Tracks are shown in the format "title - artist":
Gold Standard Funk
------------------
Colour Blind - Beverly, Frankie
Every Man for Himself
Tippi-Toes - The Meters
Nothing Is the Same - Grand Funk Railroad
Check Your Bucket - Eddie Bo
Get It Off The Ground - Coleman, Joe
Summer Madness - Kool & the Gang
Headless Heroes - Eugene McDaniels
La Lupita - Ñico Gomez
Talking 'Bout Love - George Soulé
Kumquat Kids - Eddie Henderson
Hook 'N' Sling, Pt. 2 - Eddie Bo
Stone to the Bone - James Brown
Funky Stuff - Kool & the Gang
Cold Sweat, Pt. 1 - James Brown
Pungee - The Meters
Bumpin' Bus Stop (part 1) - Playboys
Funky Miracle - The Meters
Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine - James Brown
We Are the Chosen Few - The Chosen Few
Ghost A' Go Go - Rome, Richard
Stretch Your Rubber Band - The Meters
Burning Spear - S.O.U.L.
To Be Free - Luther Davis Group
Tighten Up - Archie Bell & the Drells
Do the Funky Chicken - Rufus Thomas
Funk 4 Demo - Poser P
Tramp - Lowell Fulson
Your Love - James Brown
Thinking - The Meters
Gold Standard Funk
------------------
Colour Blind - Beverly, Frankie
Every Man for Himself
Tippi-Toes - The Meters
Nothing Is the Same - Grand Funk Railroad
Check Your Bucket - Eddie Bo
Get It Off The Ground - Coleman, Joe
Summer Madness - Kool & the Gang
Headless Heroes - Eugene McDaniels
La Lupita - Ñico Gomez
Talking 'Bout Love - George Soulé
Kumquat Kids - Eddie Henderson
Hook 'N' Sling, Pt. 2 - Eddie Bo
Stone to the Bone - James Brown
Funky Stuff - Kool & the Gang
Cold Sweat, Pt. 1 - James Brown
Pungee - The Meters
Bumpin' Bus Stop (part 1) - Playboys
Funky Miracle - The Meters
Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine - James Brown
We Are the Chosen Few - The Chosen Few
Ghost A' Go Go - Rome, Richard
Stretch Your Rubber Band - The Meters
Burning Spear - S.O.U.L.
To Be Free - Luther Davis Group
Tighten Up - Archie Bell & the Drells
Do the Funky Chicken - Rufus Thomas
Funk 4 Demo - Poser P
Tramp - Lowell Fulson
Your Love - James Brown
Thinking - The Meters
First Post -- our mission
My mission at the ElectroFunk Review blog is to bring you the finest in free funk and electronic music from around the Internet. I spend a fair amount of time scouring the "free" music sites in search of good funk and electronic music, thus I'm in a position to do a bit of filtering for the discerning music fan. Here's some guidelines for the fellow traveller who may run into this site (I have no idea how you'd find it, but if you do then welcome aboard!):
1.) If I find something worth noting, I'll post a "New Artist" alert with a blurb about why they're worth your time and add the artist to the links section on the leftt-hand side of the page. If there's an easily accessible "download" link, I'll include it for the standout tracks. Many of the free sites require registration to download tracks. Check the comments section below this post for useful instructions on how to access those sites...
2.) Since much of what passes for "funk" these days sucks, I may post from time to time about particularly horrid examples of what folks are doing to the genre. When I say "funk", by the way, I mean the original funk music, not its offshoots such as hip-hop. For instance, even though the Black Eyed Peas are listed on music.download.com under "funk", they don't really play anything that resembles funk music. They're mostly hip-hop and pop and thus fall out of the range of our reviews. However, since some genres (specifically smooth jazz) lay claim to continuing in the vein of the original funk music, they're valid targets for criticism. Yeah, that's probably an arbitrary distinction but alot of what's wrong with modern funk is a result of smooth jazz's evil influence.
3.) Other topics may intrude from time to time. I record stuff myself at home so I may comment on recording techniques I've found that are useful, or pieces of gear that I particularly like, etc. I also do music in both of these genres, my stuff can be found by following the links on the left-hand side of the page. I won't review my own tracks, although I may post a note from time to time with updates about stuff I've done.
4.) This pretty much goes without saying, but anything I write or link to (including my own stuff) is open to ridicule, derision, discussion, etc. in comments. That's what comments are for. I have strong opinions about music (here's one: basses with more that 4 strings, and often the people who play them, have no business in either funk or electronic music.), so I don't expect anyone else to hold back when expressing what they think about these things.
O.k., then, I have a bit of a backlog to work through so I'm off to do it in between stints of workin' for the man. Peace, and don't fake the funk.
1.) If I find something worth noting, I'll post a "New Artist" alert with a blurb about why they're worth your time and add the artist to the links section on the leftt-hand side of the page. If there's an easily accessible "download" link, I'll include it for the standout tracks. Many of the free sites require registration to download tracks. Check the comments section below this post for useful instructions on how to access those sites...
2.) Since much of what passes for "funk" these days sucks, I may post from time to time about particularly horrid examples of what folks are doing to the genre. When I say "funk", by the way, I mean the original funk music, not its offshoots such as hip-hop. For instance, even though the Black Eyed Peas are listed on music.download.com under "funk", they don't really play anything that resembles funk music. They're mostly hip-hop and pop and thus fall out of the range of our reviews. However, since some genres (specifically smooth jazz) lay claim to continuing in the vein of the original funk music, they're valid targets for criticism. Yeah, that's probably an arbitrary distinction but alot of what's wrong with modern funk is a result of smooth jazz's evil influence.
3.) Other topics may intrude from time to time. I record stuff myself at home so I may comment on recording techniques I've found that are useful, or pieces of gear that I particularly like, etc. I also do music in both of these genres, my stuff can be found by following the links on the left-hand side of the page. I won't review my own tracks, although I may post a note from time to time with updates about stuff I've done.
4.) This pretty much goes without saying, but anything I write or link to (including my own stuff) is open to ridicule, derision, discussion, etc. in comments. That's what comments are for. I have strong opinions about music (here's one: basses with more that 4 strings, and often the people who play them, have no business in either funk or electronic music.), so I don't expect anyone else to hold back when expressing what they think about these things.
O.k., then, I have a bit of a backlog to work through so I'm off to do it in between stints of workin' for the man. Peace, and don't fake the funk.
