funky house sceptics, let me draw your attention to this

interesting. i'm struggling a little to unpack the last paragraph but i think i get what you're saying. definitely agree about redefining the terms, i don't feel that 'authentic' etc is any longer a useful or productive one, because it feels (to me) so loaded

integrity is an internal quality that cannot be abstracted away from the particular piece of music expressing it... there is nothing to tell us which ideas or notions must be the focus of integrity in the absence of the experience of that act of fidelity

by 'act of fidelity' do you mean a producer's act fidelity to an 'authentic' lineage? essentially do you mean that integrity is a better term because it does not carry assumptions about what is 'integral' to a genre?

when the discourse is moved into the realm of trying to understand why or how music is defined, and establish ways of recognising and understanding what we mean by 'funky', its a totally different exercise. i think this is also different to trying to understand why or how funky means or feels anything to anyone, which i think is probably the most interesting discussion to be had in the journalistic / academic realm, although it probably also has a fairly high kill-joy potential!

i guess the fundamental problem i have with authenticity as a concept (and it may not feel the same to many people) is that as a term it feels so bound up in and loaded with a (lazy) discourse that is about value, in a purportedly objective sense. i think there is still a broadly held assumption that one's subjective sense or understanding of authenticity translates to a universally applicable norm, necessarily conferring value. that assumption irritates me quite a lot, although it shouldn't!

random q - who has the best radio shows in funky apart from marcus nasty? mak 10?

I find Crazy Cousinz on radio unlistenable - horrible mixing plus too many rewinds and a slightly hysterical appeal for missed calls add up to a totally dud experience...

DJ NG not bad, but Footloose is probably the best after Marcus for me - good percentage of new stuff in all his shows but not nearly as energetic as a marcus set. Honourable mention to Perempay.

The real problem with Crazy Cousinz shows is the way they constantly switch off the music to make their shout-outs etc, it's very jarring.

Ben I'll be responding to your last post soon - stuff to think about!

cool Tim, no rush! its something i'm interested in talking about cos i think my thinking on the matter is still quite muddled, so its always good to explore

i really like Mak 10's shows, esp in the bits where he plays it a bit housier / vocal, i've found the tuffer bits he's playing of late a bit tiring though. Footloose is always great. i've not checked CC for a while but i do actually usually enjoy their shows quite a lot, so much energy. i really like Dubplate Banton/HHBanton, and the one Twista show i have is wicked. need to check more of the Rinse lot more regularly i think, MA1 and such

interview with Tippa from Circle...

http://futurenextlevel.blogspot.com/2009/03/dubbage-interview-with-tippa-from.html

explains the dubbage things I was asking about upthread

that geeneus show you linked to is pretty good actually. gets interesting about half way through. his comments about grime djs are kinda otm/funny too.

which geeneus show is that?

the most recent one. 18th march i think?

cool, will check it out :)

So basically Circle are funky's Tuff Jam, right?

I have nothing against the style of music they play - I like it a lot actually, basically they're doing Jerome Sydenham/Dennis Ferrer/Quentin Harris style deep-tech yeah? But they're kidding themselves if they think they'll create a new genre out of this sound now, when there's already been such intense activity in this area for the past couple of years.

to some extent, but they don't (at least yet) quite have the same musical capacities as Tuff Jam did... but i am a total Tuff Jam fanboy so maybe not offering a neutral perspective! from a more social perspective it seems a good comparison though

i think their selection is a bit more expansive than just that NY deep sound though, loads of quite maximally arranged techy but housey european stuff, some more trad. UK deep house guys etc, broken beat plus chicago/US deep. funnily their selection is probably broader than most UK guys, just with much more explicit boundaries and exclusions.

strikes me that much of their position comes quite a lot from social sides rather than music or sound in abstract, more so than many others. it seems that wanting to be as far from grime, the vibe that came with it and the mentality that dominated it is almost the defining factor of their perspective and musical choices

it does actually seem like more broadly the whole nursery rhyme / chant trend is splitting the scene in half, or at least polarising it, i've seen a lot of very, very impassioned critiques of that stuff of late, even from ppl like Marcus Nasty

"i've seen a lot of very, very impassioned critiques of that stuff of late, even from ppl like Marcus Nasty"

where?

heard a lot of chanty crap i hadnt heard before out on saturday, seems a lot of half baked producers are hunting the next 'heads, shoulders..' (which im unsure of) style vocal hook. I don't think ive heard an mc led funky track yet which i didnt think was gash

i hate all these mc/dance tunes.

im kinda hoping that they all bomb and everyone just ignores them.

it really brings the most pathetic get rich quick trotter elements to the fore. fuck doing the work lets hope the birds are thick enough to latch on to this one and ride the 5 minutes of fame

where?

― Yellow Carded (titchyschneiderMk2)

Marcus sez:

I AM NOT SUPPORTING FUNKY MC TRACKS THAT ARE REALLY GRIME TUNES OR OTHER PEOPLES TUNES THAT YOU HAVE MC'ED OVER AND ARE NOW PASSING OFF AS YOUR OWN.

IF YOU CANT MAKE IT AS AN MC YOU WILL DEFINATELY NOT MAKE IT AS AN ARTIST!
IF YOU ARE AN ARTIST YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER!
AND IF YOU ARE AN MC WHO IS JUMPING ON THIS TING YOU SHOULD KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING OR "LEAVE IT ALONE".

IM NOT SAYING THAT THEY ARE ALL SHIT IM JUST SAYING THAT WE NEED TO KEEP IT FUNKY TO REALLY ESTABLISH OUR SCENE AS AT THE MOMENT THERE IS NO CONSITENCY OR ANY SORT OF LEVELS WITH REGARDS TO THE MC TRACKS FOR INSTANCE DONAEO & VERSATILLE IN COMPARISON TO THE CRAP THAT HAS BEEN SENT TO MY INBOX.

THE HEAD, SHOULDERS, KNEES & TOES TRACK WAS ORIGINAL SO IT WORKED BUT EVEN THEY STRUGGLE TO PERFORM TO THE LEVEL OF AN ESTABLISHED MC ON A LIVE SET.

MY ONE OFF MC SHOWS ARE LIVE "RADIO SHOWS" TO SHOWCASE THE TALENT FROM WITHIN OUR SCENE AND ARE NOT TO BE TAKEN AS A GO AHEAD TO INCOURAGE OTHER DJ'S/MC'S WHO LACK IDEAS OR TURN THIS SCENE INTO A TALENTLESS HYPEFEST.

P.S

I HAVE NOT AND WILL NEVER PLAY THEM ON MY SHOW!!!!!"

http://ukfunky.free-forums.org/marcus-nastys-view-on-mcs-vt1252.html

+ further...

http://queenofsheba84.wordpress.com/2009/02/22/its-not-funky-its-whack/
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=131519630155
http://www.itsalotmagazine.com/ (p32)

this is funny:

http://profile.ak.facebook.com/object3/1045/64/n131519630155_4038.jpg

OMG, on the new Mak 10/Shantie set Ach (Benjamin?) posted on the dissensus thread (and btw welcome back Shantie MC!), the second track is JAWDROPPING. I think it's a remix of J-Will's "Deja Vu". Sweet but dark hi-tech robo-pop, with a rhythm as memorable as the tune.

just swinging by to register the fact i saw Harry Hill singing Bongo Jam on Tv Burp in a funky house related gag last night.

i wish i knew what more of these tracks were called. im def converted full on to this now though. need to get down to more funky events.

I'm Ach. I've just checked out the J-Will original, that's a very good video, especially with Wretch who I've always liked. Pretty sure the funky mix is by Soul Tonic Sound System. I can't find their myspace as yet but there are a number of tracks by them on ukfunky.com

Thanks Ach! Soul Tonic Sound System did an excellent remix of a Doctor tune too I think - it's on one of Faze's mixes. I can totally believe this remix is by them.

I know that i've touted the secret black dog --> uk funky connection before, but Mos' Wanted's "Frozen" (on the new Marcus Nasty set) really does sound like something off Temple of Transparent Balls. But it's also smashing. I like how a lot of the time this music seems utterly oblivious to its own oddness.

was listening to a dj ng set on rinse the other day, with mc versatile (i think). he seemed a bit self conscious about some of the softness of the tunes that were being played (it was more typical funky house rather than funky), constantly repeating 'this is the new garage' in between almost defending the tunes (if only to make himself feel better lol). i like 'funky' but half the other shows on rinse seem to be playing the usual watery proper funky house. makes you remember this this sound is still in its early stages.

im not sure that that tune is the SoulTonic Soundsystem one thats been knocking about, the one on the Mak 10 set seems more grimey and weird, might be though im not sure

http://www.myspace.com/soultonicsoundsystem

latest Footloose show is sounding stupidly good, loads of new stuff sounding great, just skipped through a bit then dropped into the more epic bit towards the end, Mercurial Myrmidon - Moving Shapes is so so so good, so euphoric! stunning vibes and such a disgraceful bassline. i nearly lost it on the tube today. i swear at this rate i'm going to be a born-again Christian by Christmas

there are some UK guys developing a really epic and deep but totally ruff approach that I am enjoying a great deal, kind of crosses over with some of the stuff Louie Vega and Kenny Dope are doing here and there and some of the stuff on Strictly / Defected...

still hanker for that Chunky Bizzle tune that was getting rinsed in the summer

thanks to Algierstwin on dissensus for the rip...

http://www.zshare.net/download/58148955bd92fe2e/

0200 - 0230

El B – I Feel
Black Russian – Soul Gypsy
Unknown – Broken Soul
Monsta Boy ft Dwaine Hayden – Sorry (Illmana Remix)
H2O ft Miss Fire - Falling
Platnum – Trippin’ (Ill Blu Remxi)
DJ Naughty – Darker Days

0230 - 0330

Plague A' Lero with Reverie Soul – Don’t Be Shy
Rockwell D & Gappy Ranks – Pull Up Dat
All The King’s Men ft Leo The Lion – All My Lions
Doc Daneeka – Deadly Rhythm
DJ Lil Silva – Different
Miss Fire ft Van Cleef – Lost in Your House
A Little Bit Funky - Looney Tunes Vol. 2

Producer Spotlight – Invasion Records (OB, DJ Fingerprint and Tadow)
Addictive – Domino Effect (OB Remix)
OB – Can She
Platnum – Trippin’ (Ill Blu Remix)
Tadow – What is House?
Tadow – Free
OB – Emergency Room
Fingerprint – Night Time

0330 – 0430

Todz & Beatz ft Branjae – Mystery
Diamond ft Sophia Romian – Fly Away
Illmana ft Chloe – Burning
Jade Smallz – I Found You
Seany B ft Lil London – Mr Seduction
Teddra Moses – Be Your Girl (DJ Perempay & Dee Soulful Mix)
Aphrodisiax – My Getaway
Temps Neviks – 4 The Love
Karizma ft Spen – 4 The Love (Groucho Marxx Remix)
Mercurial Myrmidon – Moving Shapes
MajorNote$ – Viva La Revolution
DJ Sami Sanchez – Air Raid
Claude Von Stroke – Who’s Afraid Of Detroit?
Sonikz – Woah
NB Funky – Riddim Box (DJ Sami Sanchez Remix)

0430 – 0530

Rob Rentford – It Is What It Is
Felly – Like This
Amiga – Amiga
Mr V – I Can Sing
House Amigos – Déjà Vu
Daddy Funk – W Flute
Zoo Brazil – Gainer
The Sunburst Band – Journey To The Sun (Dennis Ferrer Remix)
Souled vs. Reel People & Omar – I’m Out of Love
Karizma – 33rd Street
Ollie Brooke ft Nina Brooke – Fireflies
Anthony Moriah – Private Life (Guy Robin Main Mix)

0530 – 0600

Dexter Rico - Awakening
Ultra Nate – Love’s The Only Drug
S Tee – Bran Funk
TJ Cases – Hard Cash
Marco Del Horno – Samurai (DJ MA1 Remix)
Ralf Gum ft Monique Bingham – Kissing Strangers (Todz & Beatz Remix)

this grievous angel move down low track is pretty cool.... .

this might be trainspotteringly dull but i find it well interesting that James Lavonz is now in with Quentin Harris and that NY house lot

Yeah, though "Mash Up Da Venue" (still one of the most amazing garage tunes ever and I think a big reference point for a lot of the darker funky, intentionally or otherwise) was kind of an anomoly for Lavonz - everything else he ever did was fairly polite bumping post-Tuff Jam stuff (albeit often excellent).

Can't stop listening to that Mak 10/Shantie show, it's taken over my life. So many great tracks/moments:

- that opening vocal track with the slightly stalkerish lyrics and all the clattery snares, which acts as a great taster for:
- OB's astonishing "Domino Effect": that's the eerie bleepy one with the lonely cyborg singing "That's the way the domino falls... You had me from the very start, now it's time that i surrender... something in my HEART... just went click..." This is such an interesting track from a paradigm pov: I'm actually a little bit over a lot of the more conservative, soulful post-"Time To Let Go" vocal tracks, but this is so much more expansive and unusual than that (as is the "Deja Vu" remix near the beginning) - icy synthish sonics but not falling into the electro-house trap, closer to Cassie's "Me & U" or Aaliyah's "We Need A Resolution" if anything, perhaps crossed with early Nightmares on Wax. I really couldn't think of a better direction for vocal funky tracks to go in.
- The bootleg of Hardhouse Banton's "Reign" with D Double E on top, I didn't think this was amazing until the second beat variation comes in and it matches D.E.E's rising urgency perfectly.
- An otherwise too masculinist tribal-breakbeaty track totally redeemed by being played off a heliumed-up version of "Genie In A Bottle"
- That awesome track with the grimey strings and the diva shrinking "IT'S THE NEW SOUND!!"
- The one with the guy commanding "jump and skank to the beat!" over the ridiculously big bassline.

Also re Mercurial Myrmidon, I've decided that "House of Emotion" is even more massive than "Moving Shapes", though both are fantastic.

I have a feeling Vahid would like them.

Actually I think "Domino Effect" is technically: Addictive - Domino Effect (O.B. Remix) or maybe (Invasion Remix). I note that it's on the Footloose show linked to above. I'm having difficulty downloading that set in full but I really want to hear the Invasion Records producer showcase section! Love those guys so much.

Speaking of which I just went on a splurge on ukfunky.com and got Tadow's "Rising Sun" and Fingaprint's "The Takeover" amongst many others.

My biggest find was discovering that Swift Jay's "Toppa 5", aka the tune from last year with all the Elephant Man samples and the totally insane stuttery groove.

http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/75/aprilv.png

http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/4986/aprilbk.png

Tracklist:
Alison Hinds - Roll It Gal (A Little Bit Funky VIP)
Shereen-Crystal & Benji Whytepatch - Wanna See You Dance (Funky House Mix)
Funkystepz - Bounce (FaZe Special)
S-Tee ft Tasha - Touch On Me
Marco Del Horno - Samurai (MA1 Remix)
Diamond Ft Sophia Romain - Fly Away (Remix)
Lil Silva - Funky Pulse
Chaka Khan ft Mary J Blige - Disrespectful (Donaeo Remix)
Dj Champion - Tribal Affair
Dj Q Ft Natz - Yours
Nathan Soul - Hey Makarimba
Ms Dynamite - Bad Gyal
Lil Silva - Different
Footsteps ft AL - Tell Me
Sticky - Jumeriah Riddem
Perempay N Dee - In The Air (Bopstars Wonky Mix)
Crazy Cousinz - Feel My Drums
Mary J Blige - Just Fine (At One Remix)
Sweet Boy Candy - Bongo Boy
NTL - That Girl (Guy Robin & DJ Leo Dub)
Nu Sound Therapy - Hard Steppin
Skepta - Sunglasses At Night (Dj Naughty Mix)
Aardvark - Nosestep
S-Tee - War
Toddla T ft Serocee - Shake It (Donaeo Remix)
Major Notes - Holy Ghost
Kasia - Mr Delirious (Dj Naughty Remix)
Tiny Lou - What Have You Done Phunked
Sinead Hunter - Like a Drug
DJ MA1 - Waterfalls
Dj Drizz ft Deesha - Let Ur Freek Out
Fuzzy Logic - El Mataron
Lee Wilson - Life (Reel Soul Remix)

Download:
zShare: http://www.zshare.net/audio/586132966058906c/
Rapidshare: coming soon...

Split Tracks will come in a bit, dont have time with uni work and that at tho mo....

Cheers Faze! Very excited about nabbing this!

Rapidshare: http://rapidshare.com/files/221046488/FAZE_-_Deep___Funky_April_Edition.mp3

Skepta - Sunglasses At Night (Dj Naughty Mix)

Wait wtf?!

it sucks (well the orig does at least)

Oh it's not THAT Sunglasses At Night. I don't know whether to be relieved or disappointed.

Yeah, though "Mash Up Da Venue" (still one of the most amazing garage tunes ever and I think a big reference point for a lot of the darker funky, intentionally or otherwise) was kind of an anomoly for Lavonz - everything else he ever did was fairly polite bumping post-Tuff Jam stuff (albeit often excellent).

yeh there's some truth in this, i think he was always on a certain trajectory, but thats part of whats interesting to me i think. just funny where people end up and pop up. also just for fun...

kind of like his 4x4 Mash Up Da Venue. Vibration is still one of my absolute favourites too. that and Mash Up Da Venue are easily two of my all time favourite records. i consistently enjoy his use of outrageously odd bass sounds in the oddest of contexts (even his soulful stuff is very odd i think)

with you on some of those vocal tunes about at the moment, that really cold, emotionally catatonic vibe - feeling it.

some really really interesting things picking up again in these recent sets, felt like there was a slight lull but the new year is killing it now

are you still having trouble getting the Footloose rip Tim? i could up in parts or something if so and you want any of it

oh yeh and that other Mercurial Myrmidon tune is sick! he is shaping up to be an amazing producer, wasn't convinced by his first few but he's doing it now. total carnage on that one. still sold on Moving Shapes, the way Footloose drops in and out of it in that show above takes it somewhere else

Yeah "Vibration" is great.

Re the Footloose set, it's just that zshare tends to stop downloading and random points for me, so then I have to start all over again. It usually takes about four goes with these large sets. I'll try again tonight - thanks for the upload!

Interesting that the "Am I Your Girl" tune turns out to be DJ Q of bassline fame - I don't think this is as good as his best bassline stuff, though I like that skanking offbeat counter-rhythm sound he uses through much of it.

it wasn't me on the upload, just the link :) it was a guy from dissensus who uploaded

i can put it up on a different upload site if needs be, just let me know

started listening to that Mak 10 show at last... boy. he is such a badboy once he gets going, he knows how to hit a vibe and ride it. totally feeling you on the new breed of tune coming through, totally plugging that gap i was bemoaning upthread opening up between straighter housey stuff and bleak tribal grimey stuff... exciting times. that along with the likes of Mercurial Myrmidon and some of the weird housier stuff on the Footloose show are finding a beautiful sweetspot somewhere very fresh and compulsive

also LOVE shantie!... he's such a joker, pure vibes. totally brings things to life... "we do it for the girls, do it for the geezers"...

"...dedicated funky listeners!"

I love Shantie so much, it's almost creepy. Esp. since he hasn't bothered to come up with any new rhymes in the past year. I love it on that Mak 10 set when "Seasons" starts up, and he announces "and you know what goes PERFECT with this!!!", then waits for the tune to break into its main groove, then rapidfire:

"Rude boy nowaday what you a do/pick up your gun from god knows who/ain't got an idea ain't got a clue/what you gonna do when they come for you??"

Not to mention on Crazy Cousinz's "Always Be Mine" where he darkly portends "funky comin' in the breeze..." just before the tune flips into its spooky dancehall section, and then starts guffawing at his own inadvertent good timing.

Re Mak 10, yeah particularly on this show there's a sense of him occupying the middle ground in a good way, whereas Marcus can sometimes feel a bit bipolar in his swings between vocal tracks and sparer instrumentals. To my mind, as with 2-step, there's no reason that vocal tunes can't be dark and experimental and no reason why dark and experimental tunes can't have vocals. Though that said a lot of my favourite tracks this year have been instrumental. But I think vocals often make tunes seem harder than they were as instrumentals, rather than the other way round - e.g. for some reason Wookie's "Gallium" becomes ruffer as "Fallin".

Actually the newly vocalled "Always Be Mine" is a good example of the fact that anything can be vocalled. It reminds me of old Wideboys remixes.

The most extreme version of that though will always be the Lorraine Cato vocal mix of "Pulse X".

Shantie has just got a good vibe, what many mc's don't... he sounds like he has so much fun, and loves the tunes, and has simple rhymes that make you smile

agreed on vocals, both in the sense that fluid vocals can really draw out the percussive tuffness of the rhythm (if its there), but also in vibe they can (paradoxically) take things to a stranger and unique place... like that Domino Effect would be a nice enough deep techy number anyway but i think the vocals put it in an entirely different space for me

slightly unrelated and it may not be rated but i've been absolutely lapping up this Timmy Regisford / Shelter tribute mix these last weeks

http://frazer-houseproud.blogspot.com/2008/12/blog-post.html

if you ain't got a PIN it's a facebook ting

Gratuitously reviving this thread to note that the two Mak 10/Shantie sets (the deja one from March and now the new rinse one) have monopolised my life even more than the classic marcus nasty sets from last year. This really is the most astonishing stuff!

marcus is still better than mak.

tho shantie with marcus would be better still ;)