ultrafunk

Lettuce – “Rage!” (2008)

rune — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:58:31 +0000

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”

rune — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:55:45 +0000

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:

JustD – “87 87″

rune — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:23:09 +0000

Los Amigos Invisibles – “Mentiras”

rune — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:10:31 +0000

Nils Landgren Funk Unit – “Funk For Life” (2010)

rune — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 02:12:04 +0000

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!

The multitude of projects and roles that the man himself has had over the past 30 years or so are too numerous to list here, but since the unit was started back in 1992, they have managed to record nine albums, all strongly rooted in the funk, but with a wide variety of influences from many other genres. Although the members in the unit have varied greatly over time (R.I.P. Esbjörn Svensson), they’ve still managed to create a distinct sound and style that suits them well.

Jazz and funk improvisation has a stronger presence on “Funk For Life” than the previous albums released since 2000, and six of the twelve tracks are instrumental, some of them close to the 8 minute mark — letting the groove lock and then flow freely, allowing ample space for solos is something these highly skilled performers should do more often! I think that was the main reason it took some time for this record to grow on me, but it really has over the past few weeks since its release.

Nils and long time unit collaborator Magnum Coltrane Price are lead singers on the remaining tracks, with the exception of the uptempo Moog bass driven Tower Of Power inspired song “Finish What You Started”, one of the many standouts on the album. The rather laid-back atmosphere that permeates it all, is nicely balanced out by the lively and organic production that really captures the feeling of extensive studio jam sessions recorded and released for our listening pleasure.

Homepage: Funk For Life | Nils Landgren

Purchase & audio samples: Amazon.com (digital download)

http://www.funkforlife.com/

Dogg Master sample tracks

rune — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 03:17:49 +0000

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”

rune — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:20:44 +0000

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):

Download link: Rune mix 04 – Space is the Place to Chill (118MB mp3).

01. Jazzanova – Soon (feat. Victor Duplaix)
02. De Phazz – Wait ‘Till You See Him (Ella Fitzgerald, Verve Remixed)
03. Jamiroquai – Destitute Illusions
04. Spirit Catcher – Motown Spring
05. Al Green – Light My Fire
06. Rodney Franklin – One From The Heart
07. The Brothers Johnson – Q (album version)
08. Los Amigos Invisibles – Gerundio
09. Ian O’Brien – Amorous Perspective
10. Ian O’Brien – Where Does The Past End And The Present Begin?
11. Herbie Hancock – Bo Ba Be Da
12. Axiom Funk – Under The Influence (Jes Crew)
13. Paul Hardcastle – Rainforest (1985 vinyl album version remastered)

Johannes mix 3 – “Soul #1″

johannes — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:35:50 +0000

My first Ultrafunk post. Yeah! Thanks to my friend, funk & webmaster Rune for putting together this excellent site! Here’s my mix no. 3 – a soulful 45 special this time (the playlist and mix download link is available by reading the full post):

Recorded on one of the coldest days in Oslo for years. Icy, dark and snowy outside, and most sane people are staying indoors. In these circumstances, there is only one thing to do - turn up the heat, pour some smooth liquor in the glass, pull out a batch of records and fire up the living room with some quality soul!

This is the result.

Sorry for the lousy sound quality on some of the tracks… These are all taken from my collection of old, dusty and scratchy original 45 rpm records. Enjoy!

Download link: Johannes mix 3 – Soul #1 (85MB mp3).

01. Gene Chandler – Nothing can stop me – Constellation
02. Bettye Swann – The heartache is gone – Abet
03. The Parliaments – I can feel the ice melting – Revilot
04. Wallace Brothers- I’ll let nothing separate me – Sims
05. Ruby Andrews – You made a believer (out of me) – Zodiac
06. Tony Morgan and muscle power – Racial Segregation – Chess
07. Reni Crook – I idolize you – TMI
08. Willie Parker – I live the life i love – M-Pac
09. Tim and Jean – Twisted – Checker
10. Bettye Swann – Lonely love – Money
11. Chris Clark – Love’s gone bad – V.I.P
12. James Brown & the famous flames – Shhhhhhhhh (For a little while) – King
13. Little Carl Carlton – Two Timer – Back Beat
14. The Chevelles – The gallop – flaming Arrow
15. Krystal Generation – Wanted dead or alive – Mister Chand
16. Timmy Thomas – Stone to the bone – Glades

Funky Halvor + Rune – “Made In Tromsø”

rune — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 03:24:25 +0000

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):

Download link: Funky Halvor + Rune – Made In Tromsø (208MB mp3).

Alphonse Mouzon – “By All Means” (1981)

rune — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 11:00:05 +0000

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.