Funky Friday

Back in the mid 80's it was a fine line between New Wave and electronic/industrial music. Not every fraction loved the other. But one all could agree was Frank Tovey aka Fad Gadget. He was one of the first who combined synthesizer sounds with the sound of found objects like bottles. Germany's Einstürzende Neubauten was another one and therefore it is reasoned that they had a guest appearance on Collapsing New People. It is one of the songs that coined the sound of the early 80's. Typing these words I remember one Fad Gadget's performances I was lucky enough to watch them live.

Funky Friday

I think it was in the late 70s when the ZE-label appeared on the scene but I got aware of it in the early 80s. The No Wave scene was gone and many artists were signed by ZE-records. In these days a new fresh and weird sound slopped over from the other side of the Atlantic ocean. James Chance, Material, Lydia Lunch and others fascinated us with their new and unbound sound. Lizzy Mercier Descloux was a forming member of French punk scene together with Michel Esteban the co-founder of ZE-label. Soon they moved over to New York to join the local punk scene around Patti Smith and Richard Hell. Her first record Press Colour was a brilliant little masterpiece of funk-influenced punk. Like many others she made cover-versions of well known songs and her version of Arthur Brown's Fire might be a good example how to interpret an old song. With her second record Mambo Nassau she had more influences of African music in her sound. But still the funky guitar ruled the sound although the sound was warmer than before. After a few more records she quit the music business to live in the Caribbean and working as a painter. She died 2004 at her birth place in Corsica.

Funky Friday

I know it is Eastern time but I don't celebrate this days. Not that I am an agnostic but I've no family to celebrate. Therefore I will give you the regular funky music on Friday. This is one of the classic songs by Talking Heads in a wonderful Leftside Wobble Dub mix.

Enjoy and have some great bank holidays for Eastern time.

Funky Friday

One of Manchester's best bands in the early 80s were A Certain Ratio. Their first records on Factroy Record were still played in my house. Their so called post-punk-funk was groundbreaking and the way they played the bass were so innovative for new music. I think that I don't have to lose more words of a band that impressed me much more than 30 years ago and let the music speak for it. Knife Slits Water is from their underrated second record Sextet.

A Certain Ratio had the funk and I ask myself why there are less remixes/edits of their songs. One of them I found when I prepared this post.

Funky Friday

I know, this tune is not really funky but the main idea behind this series was to post some songs that have a funky sound in itself or have a bass-line that impressed me much in the early 80s. Today's song is from the Au Pairs, a band formed in the late 70s and were successful with their first record Playing With A Different Sex a real post punk classic. This record was on heavy rotation in these days and I still like the sarcasm in this song. I listen to this record still from time to time and I have to say it is an underrated classic from this time.

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Funky Friday

Jah Wobble and Bill Laswell were always a beacon to me. They drifted between punk, New Wave, Jazz and industrial during their years. I still love Jah's bass on the records that made them different to most of all that was published during their years in progress. This is a sound that sounds like BOF and way backn in time when your hear it for the first time. But if you get into the music, the groove and the improvisation you might get lucky you heard this music. It is timeless and far beyond the mainstream. Give them a chance to listen and you'll get satisfied.

Funky Friday

In  the early 80s at my place a lot of folks marked off with their musical favourites. A lot turned into old fashion chart music, some selected jazz and funk and the rest turned into punk and new wave. There are less bands we could agree to. One of them was Kid Creole and the Coconuts. They made a real fresh sound from old style funk and Rhythm and Blues and precursor of New York Nu Disco. Me and some DJ's from our local pub went out for a live concert to see them. And we were exited for what we got. A full concert of a small big band with roots in rock and funk history. Mighty grooves and a great performance and we male guys moved our legs to the rhythm. Their sound might be old-fashioned today but I have a lot of good memories to that sound and time.

Funky Friday

It was in the early 80s when my musical preferences were into that so called New Wave a close friend of mine remained still in jazz and fusion. One day he surprised me and introduced a record of Liquid Liquid to me. I don't know how he explored this unkind music but for me it was a new experience of sound. Liquid Liquid's music is essentially groove-based and by a variety of sources, as funk, dub, reggae and punk. Their music was different to many other bands looking for a common sense to get a high position in the charts. They were also members of the New York Nu Wave scene. A few years later Grandmaster Flash sampled their Cavern for White Lines.

Funky Friday

Talking Heads appeared on the late 70s as one of these American New Wave bands that brought us a very new sound. Their first record was very experimental in a way as they were searching for their sound. Songs full of simple figures and rhythm with David Byrne's hypertensive vocals. For their second album they signed Brian Eno as a producer and they slipped more and more into black music - especially Funk. Best example was their version of Al Green's version of Take Me To The River.

A few years later they made the funk in their music perfect. The bass-line on Houses In Motion might be a good example for.

In 1980 Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz started with their side project Tom Tom Club to experiment with some different sounds. Rap, Soul and Rock based on a fundament of Funk. Of course not the music of today but in these times this kind of sound was new and we loved every kind of music that we could dance to.

And even the classic song by The Drifters sounded new and fresh these days.