This is one of Herbie Hancock‘s most underrated albums, and one of my personal favorites among many of this musical genius total output during his almost 50 year long career as a genre defining artist. It combines many of the different musical styles prevalent at the time with some of his previous endeavors, and somehow he manages to mix it into a coherent whole that is greater than the sum of it’s parts. Bits of jazz, hip-hop, afrobeat & funk are blended together using mostly programmed but very organic sounding beats, masterfully accompanied by a whole host of superstar session players, including many of his former Headhunters band members.
Posts by: rune
Herbie Hancock – “Dis Is Da Drum” (1994)
June 24, 2010 - posted in Records, Releases.
Incognito – “Transatlantic RPM”
June 23, 2010 - posted in News.
The new 30th anniversary album from Incognito (“Transatlantic RPM”) will be released worldwide on July 26. Featuring such artists as Chaka Khan, the legendary Leon Ware, Al McKay of Earth Wind & Fire and the former bass player/song writer in Jamiroquai, Stuart Zender, hopefully it will be an amazing release!
Funky Halvor + Rune – “Thursday Funky Stuff”
June 7, 2010 - posted in Mixes, Releases.
Sorry that we’re a bit slow on the update front these days — it’s summertime here and there are better things to do than sitting inside typing away at the keyboard, but as always, we bring you some sweet music to accompany the warm and sunny weather!
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Download: Funky Halvor + Rune – Thursday Funky Stuff (154MB mp3).
Flow Dynamics – “Flow Dynamics” (2007)
April 22, 2010 - posted in Records, Releases.
Call it sample-funk, organic breaks, vinyl mashups or whatever you like; Flow Dynamics, the Australian multi-instrumentalist and producer Dave McKinney’s self titled debut album contains just the right amount of real instruments and vocals needed to maintain the soul of all his diverse musical sources. This is hard-hitting, floor stomping funk music for the dance crowd with a few laid back grooves in between, reminiscent of the more well known DJ Greyboy and DJ Spinna.
Corduroy Industries – “Return to Motor City”
April 16, 2010 - posted in News, Releases, Tracks.
The legendary acid jazz band formerly known as only Corduroy, has just finished recording a new album of mainly 80′s Motown covers after a 10+ year long break from the music scene. According to Ben Addison, they are currently reviewing release options, and they will be performing live at the Düsseldorf annual Jazz rally on May 21.
Rune mix 06 – “Jazz and Beats”
March 21, 2010 - posted in Mixes, Releases.
This started out as a laid back jazz session that for some reason ended up somewhere completely different, which is a good thing!, all track selections guided by the solid beats (the playlist and mix download link is available by reading the full post):
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Lettuce – “Rage!” (2008)
March 8, 2010 - posted in Records, Releases.
Don’t let the band name fool you, this is straight up old-school funk played by a new generation of young musicians with plenty of tight chops and respect for the masters of the groove; James Brown, Tower Of Power, The Meters, Curtis Mayfield (which is featured on the album in the form of a very nice cover version of “Move On Up”) and many more. While all the members of the group are very competent players, their drummer Adam Deitch deserves special mention, he perfectly nails the funk down on every track.
Jamiroquai – “Mr Boogie”
March 8, 2010 - posted in Releases, Videos.
Their last few studio albums haven’t exactly been stellar, hopefully the new one coming out sometime this summer or fall will be a return to form:
Nils Landgren Funk Unit – “Funk For Life” (2010)
February 26, 2010 - posted in Albums, Reviews.
If you have read some of the previous reviews or other posts on this site written by me, you might have noticed that a majority of it is focused on relatively new artists and music, and that is no coincidence. I truly love funk, soul and jazz music from the 60′s and onward (even earlier with jazz), but one of the reasons I have for contributing to this site is to help spread the word about all the bands and musicians that keeps the music alive and fresh today by creating original material, and Nils Landgren together with his Funk Unit does just that, and they do it well!
Dogg Master sample tracks
February 18, 2010 - posted in Releases, Tracks.
I don’t know who the French person behind the moniker is, but the music he creates is definitely worth checking out. On his MySpace page you can listen to a small selection of tracks, all of them heavily inspired by 80′s electro-funk artists like Zapp, Roger Troutman, Mtume, Atomic Dog era George Clinton and early 90′s hip-hop from the likes of Snoop Dogg. My favourite song (so far) is called “Bedroom Dance”, a bass-heavy boogie-disco tune with vocoder vocals that will make you move!
Rune mix 04 – “Space is the Place to Chill”
February 3, 2010 - posted in Mixes, Releases.
Post number 50 and our third mix in a row, but since we are all about bringing you great music, it’s all good! This one was created for relaxation and reflection while still being funky with an electronic twist to change things up a bit (the playlist and mix download link is available by reading the full post):
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Funky Halvor + Rune – “Made In Tromsø”
January 25, 2010 - posted in Mixes, Releases.
Inspired by the excellent performance of the funk cover band Badass Motherfunkers that was put together by Halvor for the Tromsø International Film Festival 20th anniversary party, we made this up-tempo mix (sorry, no playlist is available):
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Download link: Funky Halvor + Rune – Made In Tromsø (208MB mp3).
Alphonse Mouzon – “By All Means” (1981)
January 18, 2010 - posted in Records, Releases.
With an all-star team of performers including Herbie Hancock (keys), Freddie Hubbard (horns), Lee Ritenour (guitars), Alphonse Mouzon (drums/perc) to name a few, it’s no wonder this album contains some quality jazz/funk tracks, with the 14 minute title song leading the way. Most people have heard it on any number of compilation albums, but with the exception of one out-of-place track called “Space Invadors”, the rest of this record is just as good as “By All Means” and it’s well worth seeking out.
Funky Halvor – “Motherfunkin’ Boogie”
January 16, 2010 - posted in Mixes, Releases.
DJ 
Funky Halvor is back, this time with a pure boogie-disco mix that really kicks some serious ass — enjoy! (sorry, no playlist is available):
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Download link: Funky Halvor – Motherfunkin’ Boogie (142MB mp3).
The Brand New Heavies – “Heavy Rhyme Experience: Vol. 1″ (1992)
January 11, 2010 - posted in Records, Releases.
What happens if you combine a highly skilled 
live band with some of the best rappers in the business like Gang Starr, The Pharcyde, Masta Ace, Main Source and many more? You end up with an instant classic in the form of an album that has a very unique raw energy and drive that is often missing in much of today’s overproduced and highly polished commercial hip-hop. This one-off studio session pays homage to the roots of hip-hop by taking it back to where it all started; The Funk.
The Nextmen Ft. Dynamite MC – “Round Of Applause”
January 4, 2010 - posted in Releases, Tracks, Videos.
Charlie Hunter – “Gentlemen, I Neglected To Inform You You Will Not Be Getting Paid”
December 30, 2009 - posted in News.
Jazz/funk guitarist Charlie Hunter will release his latest album titled “Gentlemen, I Neglected To Inform You You Will Not Be Getting Paid” on January 12. 2010. Among the contributing musicians you will find Eric Kalb (Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings), Eric Biondo (Antibalas), Curtis Fowlkes (Jazz Passengers) and more. A free sample track can be directly downloaded here (5.5MB mp3).
Nils Landgren Funk Unit – “Funk for Life”
December 29, 2009 - posted in News.
“Funk for Life” is the latest album from the Nils Landgren Funk Unit that will be released on January 20. 2010, you can listen to a few sample tracks on their MySpace page. They will also be touring all over Europe this coming spring starting in early April (tour dates), catch them if you can, it’s a live funk experience of high caliber.
Update: A review of the album has now been posted here.
Johannes mix 2 – Eastern Bloc Party Breaks & Grooves
December 11, 2009 - posted in Mixes, Releases.
The title says it all, so please enjoy this eastern bloc party grooves mix courtesy of the finely honed vinyl hunting skills of Mr. Johannes (a visual playlist and the mix download link is available by reading the full post):
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