DJ Frankly Sick - FUNKY ARTICLE / FRESH MIX

[soundbwoy]

Yo guys, firstly here's my new mix. Most styles of Funky covered, all ABSOLUTE tunes. Please download and give me feedback on this thread.
Here's the tracklist:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/jwwwi3
(Intro) Jonny Blaze & Mike Mumbles - Just Don't Give A Fuck
Oh Snap! - Everyone's a DJ (DJ Mujava Remix)
Kid Cudi - Day & Nite (Greenmoney Remix)
Gracious "Napa Man" K - Migraine Skank
Lloyd - Girls Around The World (Ill Blu Remix)
DVA ft. Badness - Back Way
Altered Natives - Rass Out
Marlon D - Jesus Creates Sound
N.B. Funky - Riddim Box
Fanatix - Hi Grade
T2 - Secrets (T2 Funky Mix)
Uncle Bakongo - Bobo
Dubplate Wonder - Bashment Funk
Cooly G - Dis Boy Pt. 4
Blade - Tribal Master Minds
Kode 9 - 2 Far Gone
Underground Unit ft. Dafro - Shoulder Low
Apple - Messed
Ill Blu - Rider
Perempay & Dee - Buss It
Davinche ft. Doctor - Gotta Man
Sticky - Jumeirah Riddim
Apple - Chantes
Fr3e - Tribal Skank
Donae'o - Party Hard
S.Chu ft. Xara - You Got Me
Crazy Cousinz ft. Jazmine Sullivan - Need U Bad
Witney - What A Shame (1QY & F@Z Funky Mix)
Little Fritter - Headspin (Deepchild Remix)
Kode 9 - Black Sun
Ill Blu - Say Yes
http://www.sendspace.com/file/jwwwi3
WHHEEEEELLL!!!!

Secondly, I'm working on an article about Funky for (possibly) a student magazine.... not entirely 100% on some of the facts so if you want to make any factual corrections please let me know:

“Funky” isn’t my favourite adjective. In fact, it’s one of those words most people avoid using for fear of sounding like their Dad. And up until very recently “Funky House”, as a genre, with its syrupy diva vocals and over-glossy production, has been one largely avoided by any self-respecting soundman; a ghost strain of 70s disco persisting anachronistically amidst much darker, more macho forms of underground UK dance music. However unlikely it seems, though, “Funky”, or UK House, as some prefer to call it, is the most exciting progression in British urban music since Horsepower and El-B’s marriage of darker vibes and heavier bass to the traditionally sexy 2-step shuffle of UK Garage gave birth to Dubstep back in ’04.

What made Garage so compelling, popular and floor-ready was the fine balance of male and female elements within the sound palate. The 2-step beat was slinky and sexy, the vocals could be sugary, but these were kept in check by the chest-boxing pressure of the low-end and the tough snares, rimshots and woodblocks that comprised the punchy, sometimes aggressive Garage sound. Just like Drum’n’Bass before it, the demise of Garage stemmed from a gradual monopoly of the sound by Garage’s more masculine elements, notably the macho swagger of MC tracks, forming Grime. Grime, of course, for all its good points, isn’t as rave-friendly or danceable as its predecessor, and virtually disappeared in clubs around the same time that Dubstep started to gain real momentum. But that novelty has worn off: it is 2009 and we are confronted by a vast slew of producers jumping on the Dubstep bandwagon, producers with no real understanding of the music’s more subtle roots; we find ourselves stuck in a rut, having to half-step skank, screwface style, to slowed-down Drum’n’Bass devoid of any emotion beyond some sort of farcical aggression.

But it is to this development that we can attribute a portion of Funky’s rising popularity – disillusioned ex-Grime producers with nowhere to go (but Ayia Napa, perhaps) have suddenly gone 4/4 and started championing their own permutation of House music, a style that is as much indebted to US House and Broken-Beat legends such as Kenny Dope, DJ Gregory and Karizma as it is to Grime and Garage (example: DJs such as Dubplate Wonder spinning Dope’s classic Sown Bwoy and Gracious K jumping on Don’t Panic for the Migraine Skank riddim). The resulting sound could herald a welcome return to the atmosphere of the Garage heyday – the perfect combination of a hard, belligerent production style that can’t be shrugged off after years of producing Grime instrumentals, offset by a sensibility for the class and soulfulness of House music. This is, essentially, a perfect combination for the dancefloor, and one much more exciting than Wiley and Dizzee’s uninspired attempts to slap Grime 16 bars on electro tracks.
So what does it sound like? The beat is essentially a soca-fied 4/4 kick with a slight garage shuffle and Kuduro-style syncopation. It is tribal, primal and complex. The polyrhythms that result from two tracks playing together are mind-bending, and as such, the mixing possibilities for DJs are endless. On top of the beat there might be vocals – ranging from a tribal yelp to a full blown vox such as the Crazy Cousinz’ sublime Do You Mind.

Even more thrilling is that this “UK Funky” movement brings more than just music to the table; it could help usher in a comeback for serious dancers. “Bruk” and Broken-Beat afficianados are getting excited at the dancing prospects of the Funky rhythm. Historically, in the USA, professional dancers would crowd House nights and show off their footwork with specific dancing styles and moves, but today the tradition is all but lost, especially in the UK. But we are on the brink of change: The “Funky” style has already spawned countless “skanks”, including the radio hit “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”, Fr3e’s “Tribal Skank” and the aforementioned Gracious “Napa Man” K’s “Migraine Skank”, in which the MCs call out the dance moves for the crowd to join in. This might sound like a gimmick until you actually go to, say, Pure, in Bedford, where you will genuinely see people lining up on the dancefloor to buss the Migraine Skank. Essentially, this demonstrates that people going to clubs that aren’t self-confessedly “underground” are going primarily for the music, which can’t be a bad thing, can it?

There are dissenters, though; Marcus Nasty, the founder of notorious Grime crew N.A.S.T.Y., is now the Funky scene’s biggest and most respected DJ. In an interview conducted by funky outfit Mini Kingz, he states: “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes… they came to the dance with something original. But don’t copy that. That’s not funky.” and writes off other MC or “skank” tracks as “slowed-down Grime”. And he’s not the only one; Bedford producer Lil Silva, whose tunes, although instrumental, are probably the hardest, fastest and most akin to jump-up Grime, recently vented his frustrations on Ras Kwame’s 1xtra show, bemoaning the runaway success of his hit “Seasons”, a track which countless MCs have since jumped on, without prior permission. Perhaps the most divisive remix of “Seasons” was Grime MC Ghetts’ Came to the Game vocal, controversial because its lyrical content was standard Grime fare - all beef and ego, delivered with a vicious flow and giving no encouragement to buss anything other than gats. As Marcus would say, that’s not funky. But with skanks such as the Bycep Curl (“I wanna see your bicep curl, go to the bar and nice that girl”) and the nursery Grime of Ring-a-Roses, some believe that the MC element should be discarded altogether.

The Funky scene is, as I write this, poised to realize its huge potential in both the mainstream and the underground markets. In the mainstream, K.I.G’s “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” has already found success, and both Donaeo and Crazy Cousinz, with “Party Hard” and “Do You Mind” respectively, could do the same with the right exposure. In the underground, the funky sound has been embraced by forward thinking DJs such as Kode9, Martyn and Brackles, who I have heard play Apple, D-Malice and Roska tunes respectively. Kode9 not only plays out funky tunes but produces his own, releasing them on his groundbreaking Hyperdub label, home to Burial. Underground club-nights such as U Dun Know and Night Slugs will help push funky even further in this direction. It could go big.

It could also go wrong: how will the movement cope with suffering such large divisions so early on in its development? UK House, as we know it, is barely a year old, but already it has split off into two distinct sub-genres; a first in the history of UK dance music. How this will impact on Funky’s trajectory remains to be seen. All we can do is hope that the MCs don’t kill it before it really takes off – at this early stage, it would go down quicker than Garage did so many years earlier.

If you want to hear Funky in Cambridge, there is a regular night called Rotator at Fez on a Thursday. Also look out for any nights at the Junction. And of course, if you catch myself behind the ones and twos, make sure you’ve mastered your Tribal Skank.



Constructive criticism appreciated on both counts!!
Keep it funky

[webstarr]

marcus nasty wasn't an emcee, he just started & "managed" the Nasty Crew

[soundbwoy]

safe

[groucho_marxx]

Dont agree with your statements about Funky house.

Sure some stuff was a bit cheesy but this was a mere fraction, unless you were living it at the time in the shops and clubs its gonna be hard to be accurate. you cant imagine how many of my MAW, Kid Kreme, Copyright, Africanism, Hardsoul, Dennis Ferrer, Kerri Chandler,Defected, Spacekat, Vega, King St records came off shelves in the late 90s into the new century, marked Funky House, and the said producers were pretty much the reason there even is a genre called 'Funky' after all, its what got the vast majority of ex garage crew interested in this music in the first place, as soon as they heard Its Yours by Jon cutler it was all over. plenty of artists mantioned, your average ''self respecting soundman'' should have been on.

remember, house is listened to, danced to, bought and made by people from all walks of life, in all different countries, its a mega genre and funky house can be anything acceptable as a mainroom track with elements of funk, disco, soul, tribal, almost like a universal sub-genre.

you cant just rubbish it because you didnt like it, or have a mis-informed view that it was all fluffy pop, thats a bit narrow minded mate, i was never a garage head, but i see that it was a hell of a lot deeper than 'do you really like it', 'da click' 'chocolate boy', 'monsta boy' etc.

Also Uk Hous music is almost over 20 years old, its like me inventing a new genre called Hip Hop.

This aint a pop at you or your article, but just some things i feel need to be pointed out from a house head whos been there and done that.

good luck

[soundbwoy]

You're raising a bit of a moot point to be honest; there's good music in almost every genre. And if you check the tracklist of the mix posted directly above it, you'll see that I'm perfectly au fait with Dope, Defected, Dennis Ferrer et. al. Similarly, I'm well aware of the (albeit tenuous) links you're drawing between that Funky and this Funky - I actually mention this in the article (DJ Gregory, Kenny Dope). But the point is the connotation. If you take UK House as the new underground UK dance music, then for comparison's sake you have to then compare non-UK original Funky House alongside Dubstep, Drum'n'Bass, Garage etc. I'm just flagging up the connotations. Defected style house has a "hard" element to it, but nothing like UK House. And Defected is really as "hard" as it gets, so regardless of whether the Funky House is "good" or "bad", it isn't really dark. And like you said, it's commercial on a whole other level. That's the point I'm making. I don't want to have to put *btw there is also good Funky House* because that would be standardly anal/redundant imo. It's more interesting if I flag up the comparison than sit on the fence. At the end of the day, how many brehs on this forum are gonna be like 1st favourite genre of music: Dubstep 2nd: Funky House. Not a lot. Especially if we disqualify Defected etc. ! See?

[soundbwoy]

And also -

"Also Uk House music is almost over 20 years old, its like me inventing a new genre called Hip Hop.

Uh. What?
You're well off here.
I think the need to distinguish between house music in the UK, and UK House music as a fledgling genre is fairly overwhelming. I can hardly believe you're confused by the name?
Go listen to rinse for the past year and tell me something isn't happening...
[/quote]

[groucho_marxx]

You're raising a bit of a moot point to be honest; there's good music in almost every genre. And if you check the tracklist of the mix posted directly above it, you'll see that I'm perfectly au fait with Dope, Defected, Dennis Ferrer et. al. Similarly, I'm well aware of the (albeit tenuous) links you're drawing between that Funky and this Funky - I actually mention this in the article (DJ Gregory, Kenny Dope). But the point is the connotation. If you take UK House as the new underground UK dance music, then for comparison's sake you have to then compare non-UK original Funky House alongside Dubstep, Drum'n'Bass, Garage etc. I'm just flagging up the connotations. Defected style house has a "hard" element to it, but nothing like UK House. And Defected is really as "hard" as it gets, so regardless of whether the Funky House is "good" or "bad", it isn't really dark. And like you said, it's commercial on a whole other level. That's the point I'm making. I don't want to have to put *btw there is also good Funky House* because that would be standardly anal/redundant imo. It's more interesting if I flag up the comparison than sit on the fence. At the end of the day, how many brehs on this forum are gonna be like 1st favourite genre of music: Dubstep 2nd: Funky House. Not a lot. Especially if we disqualify Defected etc. ! See?

that totally depends on weather youre doing it for 'brehs' on this forum or to be factually accurate.

I have been listening to rinse since before there was even such a genre as 'funky', during thier first delvings into house as i have friends that are djs on there and seen it grow to what its bcome today.

i appreciate your points, but in Flyin, The xchange, Reckless, Phonica and Vinyl Junkies they ALL had shelves marked as UK House, again with pretty much your mainroom/funkyish tunes from UK producers.
good luck with your article none the less.

[soundbwoy]

that totally depends on weather youre doing it for 'brehs' on this forum or to be factually accurate.

I have been listening to rinse since before there was even such a genre as 'funky', during thier first delvings into house as i have friends that are djs on there and seen it grow to what its bcome today.

i appreciate your points, but in Flyin, The xchange, Reckless, Phonica and Vinyl Junkies they ALL had shelves marked as UK House, again with pretty much your mainroom/funkyish tunes from UK producers.
good luck with your article none the less.

Hmm - my point out brehs on the forum (lol @ quote marks ) was that they constitute the "soundmen" that I'm talking about, they are a target audience for this new Funky House, whereas they are not a target audience for non-UK Funky House (the sort that traces its lineage back 20 years, like you say)

You say they "had" shelves - when are you talking about? Who are these producers? Because if they aren't the new generation of Grime refugees, then the UK House label on the shelves is a catch-all category and must be distinguished from this new form of house emerging that has been dubbed - now - as UK House / UK Funky.

For example, go on BM Soho, Uptown, Chemical etc and you will see all these producers - Lil Silva, Naughty etc. appearing in the DUBSTEP section with an addition to the release title - [UK FUNKY]. In BM Soho they have a separate section "UK House" same with Uptown - but these sections are NEW.

Thanks for your input, anyway, even if we don't see eye to eye. Refreshing to see someone stick up for Funky House round these parts!

[groucho_marxx]

i used passed tences because i havent really shopped for records for a couple of years.
its all good, things change, its all opinions anyway.
again, good luck with your article.

[fda]

Even more thrilling is that this “UK Funky” movement brings more than just music to the table; it could help usher in a comeback for serious dancers. “Bruk” and Broken-Beat afficianados are getting excited at the dancing prospects of the Funky rhythm. Historically, in the USA, professional dancers would crowd House nights and show off their footwork with specific dancing styles and moves, but today the tradition is all but lost, especially in the UK. But we are on the brink of change: The “Funky” style has already spawned countless “skanks”, including the radio hit “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”, Fr3e’s “Tribal Skank” and the aforementioned Gracious “Napa Man” K’s “Migraine Skank”, in which the MCs call out the dance moves for the crowd to join in. This might sound like a gimmick until you actually go to, say, Pure, in Bedford, where you will genuinely see people lining up on the dancefloor to buss the Migraine Skank. Essentially, this demonstrates that people going to clubs that aren’t self-confessedly “underground” are going primarily for the music, which can’t be a bad thing, can it?


Constructive criticism appreciated on both counts!!
Keep it funky

The dance aspsect you refer to is slightly inaccurate- In the US there are dancers (no doubt some professional)but they are by no means exlusive there are also plenty of street dancers- The Key difference is that the US has a continued dance led club tradition (going back even before disco) and far from being all but lost continues to this day at clubs like the shelter

Here in the UK - To cut a long story short some small white pills arrived on the scene n 1988 and by late 1990 hardcore rave dominated..yes the scene became not only commercial but drug led with music to match, of course this all but killed the dance led scene and it took a long time to recover!

That said your observation about the serious dancer returning to the scene could happen - as it goes I was in Birmingham last Bank Holiday where some heavy dancing was gong on to Broken, House and Jazz Fusion.

One other point you may want to include is that the UK House scene does not appear to be drug led (i.e pills) which is a major plus

I have read several times about Lil Silvas track seasons being Grimey- I disagree in fact that tune (and Geeneus Yellow Tail amongst others) whilst being fresh are (to my ears) very reminiscent of straight up New York House like Fallout and The Outer limit both tracks are late 80s!

UK House is developing that is for certain and while there are fresh exciting hard raw real diverse tracks and some killer vocal tracks there is a long complex history that has led to the current point-


As for the scene splitting (as seems to happen in every new scene here in the UK) I don't think it would be such a bad thing in this case. Good tracks with restrained MC-ing or yard style singing eg Donaeo fit in with the funk element of UK House where as Maxwell Ds tracks (which imo lack any funk element) being more hypey would appeal more to the Grime\Dancehall crew. Any split would therefore be natural (and not unexpected)

[soundbwoy]

The dance aspsect you refer to is slightly inaccurate- In the US there are dancers (no doubt some professional)but they are by no means exlusive there are also plenty of street dancers- The Key difference is that the US has a continued dance led club tradition (going back even before disco) and far from being all but lost continues to this day at clubs like the shelter

Here in the UK - To cut a long story short some small white pills arrived on the scene n 1988 and by late 1990 hardcore rave dominated..yes the scene became not only commercial but drug led with music to match, of course this all but killed the dance led scene and it took a long time to recover!

That said your observation about the serious dancer returning to the scene could happen - as it goes I was in Birmingham last Bank Holiday where some heavy dancing was gong on to Broken, House and Jazz Fusion.

One other point you may want to include is that the UK House scene does not appear to be drug led (i.e pills) which is a major plus

I have read several times about Lil Silvas track seasons being Grimey- I disagree in fact that tune (and Geeneus Yellow Tail amongst others) whilst being fresh are (to my ears) very reminiscent of straight up New York House like Fallout and The Outer limit both tracks are late 80s!

UK House is developing that is for certain and while there are fresh exciting hard raw real diverse tracks and some killer vocal tracks there is a long complex history that has led to the current point-


As for the scene splitting (as seems to happen in every new scene here in the UK) I don't think it would be such a bad thing in this case. Good tracks with restrained MC-ing or yard style singing eg Donaeo fit in with the funk element of UK House where as Maxwell Ds tracks (which imo lack any funk element) being more hypey would appeal more to the Grime\Dancehall crew. Any split would therefore be natural (and not unexpected)

Yo thanks very much for your considered reply! This is really the bit I wanted some correcting on actually, I think maybe you posted about this somewhere on the forum and I picked up that angle on the skank bit from there? Either way, I'll go check up on Shelter and make some changes.

I'm totally with you on the scene splitting bit - Migraine Skank, Tribal Skank, HSKT I personally think are complete tunes - and the idea of doing that kind of vocal over the house tempo has huge potential. The only problem is the quality control (Swine Flu Skank anyone?). When done right, the shit is RIGHT. But just got to be careful people don't start thinking UK Funky = Skank Tracks rather than the vocalled less grimey, more funky tracks. Yagetme?

Anyway I'll do some work on it! Thanks again

[deejay mosca]

[deejay mosca]

U Dun Know

not

U Dun No

safe

[soundbwoy]

I dun know

[fda]

Yo thanks very much for your considered reply! This is really the bit I wanted some correcting on actually, I think maybe you posted about this somewhere on the forum and I picked up that angle on the skank bit from there? Either way, I'll go check up on Shelter and make some changes.

I'm totally with you on the scene splitting bit - Migraine Skank, Tribal Skank, HSKT I personally think are complete tunes - and the idea of doing that kind of vocal over the house tempo has huge potential. The only problem is the quality control (Swine Flu Skank anyone?). When done right, the shit is RIGHT. But just got to be careful people don't start thinking UK Funky = Skank Tracks rather than the vocalled less grimey, more funky tracks. Yagetme?

Anyway I'll do some work on it! Thanks again

No problem- The shelter angle could be a whole study in itself so I don't think its necessary look into it too much also its not really relevant to the UK House scene, - I was just pointing out that the dance culture in the US was not diminished the way it was here.

There are still a lot of dancers here on the Jazz and Broken scenes (many of them use to throw down to house in the mid 80s) so it may be just a matter of time before the music reaches them thereby taking the scene full circle.

PM me if you need anymore info on the dance aspect of house

As for the split I've no issue with 1 or 2 Skank tunes as long as they don't become the focus

Either a singer over a house groove (e.g Miss Fire- do you feel the same) or spoken vocal (eg Tadow Free) or Just instrumentals (Geeneus Yellowtail) are fine- Novelty tracks should be kept to a minimum- Lets see how the producers & DJs proceed...

[unknown soulja]

lol at mosca getting his brand guidelines out

[soundbwoy]

the reason i get it wrong is because there's an advert outside this pizza chain in cambridge, the restaurants called Uno, yeah. So they put this hench sign outside saying U NO it's good value. Getit lolz?
Anyway
Whenever I walk past that sign I always go U DUNNNN no its good value and think about doing some graffiti...

[faustus]

great mix

nice 1 especially for putting that badness track on it, doesnt get enough love imo

[soundbwoy]

Thanks man! Glad you rate it.
Well with you re: the Badness track. First time I saw the track title I was like, sounds sick, heard a clip, wasn't sold, left it. But then someone (perhaps you?) was bigging it up here on the forum and I listened properly. And tune is HEAVY, Badness' slightly off key signing is purrrreee fire. He should do more cause he's got that dancehall style that fits really well.
What about the Shoulder Low track, you heard that before? Such a shame about the lyrics but the instro (which don't exist) is HARDDDD!

[thunderloops]

just wanted to stick up for Groucho Marxx here because i think you misunderstood him quite right and he's very polite. It seems to me what he's saying is these things don't just come from nowhere. You can get excited about a new movement but there is usually a continuum if you look in the right places.

You talk about producers being 'refugees' from grime; what i think happened is that those producers discovered some sounds that already existed and started applying them to their own contexts, bringing garage, grime and Jamaican influences.

If you listen to producers like Pastaboys or Osunlade you'll hear the distinctive UK Funky-style beat in a lot of their tracks. That particular thread has been around quite a long time. I don't know but it may be that Garage and Funky's connection with holiday resorts (mainly Ayia Napa) has got something to do with it, since there's usually a hell of a lot of house about in those places. I don't know if that's true or not, just an idea.

I guess it's a similar story with wonky. I read Simon Reynolds discussing wonky as a spin-off of dubstep. This just betrays ignorance on his part. I mean Dimlite's A/DD came out in 2003, and stateside the thread is longer still. This is probably because he's coming from the hardcore/dubstep side and not the hip hop side where there's more knowledge about these roots.

On both these counts it's not to say something isn't happening, it's just looking for where the precursors are.