The Force Funk Sound

Went up to Hollywood the other day, my destination was Amoeba Records. I decided to go up there with a plan, a budget, a genre focus, and a couple titles in mind. As soon as I walked in the plan almost went all to hell until I took a moment to center myself . . . for those who have never been to Amoeba the effect it has on record shoppers may be lost on you, but  it can be a little overwhelming to be confronted with an ocean of music in every flavor imaginable. It’s CRAZY! For real!

Anyway, I found my way to the Electronica section and started to plow through it all and came across some goodies, but my favorite of the bunch is this 6 track gem by Arizona producer Zackey Force Funk & Kutmah. I’ve come across ZFF on a Dublab EP earlier in the year that I meant to post and lagged on, but I’m glad I waited because these tracks together are a nice representation of a twisted amalgamation of electro-funk from ZFF. The common linkage throughout the sextet would be the filtered falsetto of Mr. Force Funk’s vocals that anchor the listener through the Force Funk journey.

After listening to this dose of Zackey Force Funk I regret putting back the other release that I saw, but that’s the way it goes at Amoeba Records. A place where a budget is a record shoppers worst enemy.

Zackey Force Funk (download)

Future Funk in Paris

Future funk from Onra’s new album Long Distance! Soooo good!

Check out “High Hopes” featuring the vocals of Reggie B. When listening to the album, I can’t help but think of Onra as a mix between Dam-Funk and Washed Out, as well as other soul/funk producers like Jay Scarlett and Robin Hannibal (Quadron, Boom Clap Bachelors, Owusu & Hannibal) . The soul/funk music coming out on the fringes of popular radio that guys like Garth Trinidad tend to rep are some of the most exciting sounds I’ve been hearing in awhile. Throw some female vocals over a moody beat and that’s always enough to perk my interest as a listener.

A great compilation that promotes the soul/funk of the future is Circulations and Jay Scarlett Present New Worlds which was released in Japan in late ’08 that is fourteen tracks of quality from as many producers. If you are interested then hit me up or post a comment and I’ll get it to you!

Onra – “High Hopes”

 

Songs for Love & Longing

For the sake of bulking up the blog with some content, here are three that fit the theme.

Animal Collective – “My Girls“(ysi)

I absolutely love this song! I gotta admit that I was a little late on the Animal Collective train, but on Merriweather Post Pavillion the abstract sounds came together for me. Love these lyrics too:

I don’t mean to seem like I
Care about material things,
Like a social status,
I just want
Four walls and adobe slats
For my girls

A friend turned me on to Bibio a while back.This guy has a brilliant style! Some of the tracks on his LP Ambivalence Avenue feature vocals & guitar that just get better with each listen and then he shifts directions, laying the electronic Flying Lotus-esque heaviness down. The album is worth checkin’ out — he can literally do the acoustic/singing thing or else just go balls out with the beats, but I personally like the blend of both! Be patient with the track, the intro is long but 1:27 in is bliss!

Bibio – “Lover’s Carvings” (ysi)

Lovers’ names, carved in walls
Overlap, start to merge
Some of them underneath
Maybe they appear
In graveyards
Maybe they fade away
Weathered and overgrown
Time has told
Meaningful hidden words
Suddenly appear, from the murk
Maybe they’re telling us
That the end
Never was
Never will
The words have gone
But the meaning will never disappear
From the wall

This beauty of a track was found on a 7″ I got a few years back, which was acquired by accident (store clerk mistake), but when I heard it I was floored. It’s on Dntel‘s full length Dumb Luck — you may also know his work as Postal Service with the dude from Death Cab for Cutie. This was on the last mix I put together, “Sutras of Trouble & Ecstasy” which you can grab here (ysi)! Enjoy the tunes!

Dntel featuring Mia Doi Todd – “Rock My Boat” (ysi)

So I went out on a limb
Thinking maybe we could swim
Into the river of light
Into the ocean of pain