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New Funk Groups?


Les Mizzell

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Just out of curiosity, are there any new bands out there following in the footsteps of Earth, Tower of Power, Ohio Players, The Commodores, War, Kool & the Gang, Confunkshun - that have kept enough of the old-skool groove to still sound "funk", but with a modern edge?

 

Needs to be real "Shake Yer A**" stuff, not watered-down "kinda funk easy listening...".

 

Brass section preferred!! - especially if they can play their butts off along with funky keys/guitar and stomping bass/drums.

Les Mizzell

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LesMizzell, the closest I have heard nowadays is Soulive. Especially when they bring the horns out. They get kinda funky but moreso on the jazzy tip.

 

Then again, lately they have added a Led Zeppelin cover and some other stuff to the mix, so they sound more jazzy-rock.

 

At any rate, the cats can get funky. In fact they do a nice instrumental job with EWF, Sly and War covers too.

 

Otherwise, I don't think there are any mainstream acts following in the footsteps of the giants you mentioned above.

PD

 

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy"

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Omar has a really cool, very modern take on the funk and he's definitely influenced by the artists you name. Check out the song I Guess on Best By Far . Amp Fiddler's Waltz Of A Ghetto Fly was funky through-and-through. He's a fantastic keyboard player too.

 

Also, if you're into that sort of thing, there are lots of bands in the Deep Funk scene (Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Poets Of Rhythm, Breakestra) that sound exactly like small-label funk bands from the 70s. Personally, I'd rather hear the originals!

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He released a new album recently - I haven't had a chance to pick it up yet, but I saw him perform the first couple of singles on Jools Holland and they were both excellent. One of them ("It's so") is on his MySpace page .

 

I heard Omar is pretty well-respected in the States - the new album features Stevie Wonder, Angie Stone and Common. It's weird how many people in the U.K. only remember him as an acid-jazz one hit wonder. I'd say he's probably the most consistently brilliant soul artist in this country right now. Well, him or Lewis Taylor!

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Interesting conversation at the Bass Forum, thanks for that. I'm a huge 70s funk & soul fan but, for what it's worth, I think there's more of the spirit of real, raw funk in, say, Erykah Badu's "Mama's Gun" or Omar's records than in anything made by the retro, Desco-type bands. I usually get flamed for saying that on funk forums.

 

Speaking of Omar, check out Ivana Santilli's latest album if you haven't already (he produced some of the tracks). There's some really bouncy, well-performed funk pop in there.

 

I found out about her on this forum - thanks Sven!

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I second the calls of Soulive, Sharon Jones, Amp Fiddler and Ivana Santilli.

 

To the list, I'd also add Sugarman 3 (also on Dap-Tone Records, home of the Dap Kings), Jamie Lidell ("Multiply" is one of the best pop songs I've heard in a long time) and Jill Scott. I don't know how hard her live album is to find - a buddy of mine lent it to me, and he picked it up when he was living in New Zealand - but it's definitely worth getting. Tight, tight band.

 

Also, another friend of mine hipped me to this British soul singer named Lewis Taylor, and his album Stoned. I don't know that it's available State-side yet but he's got a MySpace. Awesome music.

 

David

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Originally posted by Rahsaan:

Amp Fiddler's Waltz Of A Ghetto Fly was funky through-and-through. He's a fantastic keyboard player too.

Lovin' some Amp! Especially since he was once the youngest member of P-Funk touring band.

 

For all you keyboard players out there that love a funky a$$ clavinet player. Amp is your man!

TROLL . . . ish.
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