Now that Summer has finally arrived, Alex Walden has been on a deep dive in an attempt to collate his summer playlist. While the process remains unfinished, Alex has found five albums that he deems to be essential listens this summer.
Summer is finally here! While the weather is arguably the best part of the season, I’d say that the overall vibe of summer is the best part, there’s just something about the sense of community and peace that is nothing short of perfect. However, it doesn’t beat the well-known fact that music just sounds better during this time of the year. It’s the classic indescribable theory that because the weather is nicer, all music hits that extra 10% harder. This year, after bouncing between genres like there’s no tomorrow I’ve found that I recently keep coming back to funk music. In this list of five essential funk albums to keep an ear to this summer, I’m sure you’ll be able to understand why. With grooves from all genres including, techno, hip hop and even punk, there’s 100% something for everyone here.
NxWorries – Yes Lawd!
| Released | 21 October 2016 |
| Highlights | Wngs, Lyk Dis, Suede |
| For fans of | J Dilla, Silk Sonic, Erykah Badu |
The combination of hip-hop/soul artist Anderson .Paak and producer Knxwledge has led to nothing less than the perfect project to begin this list. NxWorries have perfectly blended the elements of soul and funk together with Knxwledge’s neo soul production which can be heard on tracks such as Wngs, Link Up and Can’t Stop along with Anderson .Paak’s charismatic “playa” style lyricism with tracks like Livvin and Suede which ultimately sounds fresh yet retro at the same time. With lyrics that make you feel like a million dollars as well as samples from The Notations, The B. B. & Q. band and even the legendary Gill Scott Heron, it’s clear that this album was destined to be great considering the classic artists that feature as audio samples throughout.
iLEVEL – I-Level
| Released | 1 January 1983 |
| Highlights | Stone Heart, Give Me, No. 4 |
| For fans of | Patrice Rushen, The System, Kool and the Gang |
What began as my father wanting to show me a track with a killer bassline ended with me discovering a hidden gem of an album that I keep returning to. Travelling all the way back in time to 1983, London’s iLEVEL never really got their big break, which is a shame considering that their first album showcases just how much potential they had. From no more than the first 30 seconds of the opening track, Minefield, iLEVEL deliver a light and, crisp groove which can be rediscovered throughout the album in tracks like Treacle, Stone Heart and my personal favourite, Give Me. Whether you’re fully dancing away or just simply bopping your head along while sat at your desk like I am right now, you can’t help but dance along to these tracks in some form, they’re infectious.
Despite these incredibly groovy numbers, not every moment has to be full of fun and energy; sometimes people just want to relax and iLEVEL have that covered too. Tracks such as Heart Aglow and No. 4 allow the listener to relax while the music takes more of backseat but don’t get it twisted, these tracks still refuse to compromise on the funk.
Yung Bea – BA3
| Released | 4 August 2016 |
| Highlights | I Want Cha Back, All Night, Last Night |
| For fans of | Daft Punk, Kaytranada, Moe Shop |
Funk as a genre is much like rock ‘n’ roll in the way that they’re both way past their prime and have left a considerable amount of questioning as to what’s next for the genre after such an iconic run. When it comes to funk, Yung Bae is, in my opinion, the best representation of the answer to those in doubt of the future of funk. By sampling disco and funk classics and giving them a modern house/techno flip, what Yung Bae is doing for funk is nothing short of the same as a mechanic finding a classic car in need of repair and completely fixing it up to the point where it runs better than the day it rolled out the dealership. By paying homage to cornerstone artists and tuning their tracks to give them that bit more “oomph”, Yung Bae uses his technical abilities to elevate the elements of classic funk that we remember most. After hearing I Want Cha Back I had to go back and see if Con Funk Shun’s original bassline was as heavy and driving as Yung Bae’s version was (for anyone interested, while Yung Bae’s version is slightly more powerful, Con Funk Shun’s is still killer in its own way).
Makoto Matsushita – First Light
| Released | 21 April 1982 |
| Highlights | Resort For Blue, One Hot Love, Love Was Really Gone, September Rain |
| For fans of | Stevie Wonder, Macabre Plaza, Nujabes, Sade |
Now for a trip overseas as next up we travel Japan for Makoto Matsushita’s First Light. Looking back at Japan’s short-lived but iconic run of city pop, while there may be better singles out there, few artists have managed to capture the essence of happiness and joyful wonder that one experiences when listening to city pop and encapsulate it into a whole album like Makato Matsushita. Tracks like September Rain, I Know and Sunset are heartfelt swing ballads that effortlessly give off the vibe of mystery and nostalgia that go alongside listening to 80s music. Just from listening to it you can’t help but wish that you were in Japan in the 80s and 90s driving through the mountains and fields in your own little Miata. Despite these incredibly well-crafted slow tracks, they have nothing over the groovy feelgood aura that radiates from tracks like First Light, This Is All I Have For You and Love Was Really Gone. I can remember the first time I ever listened to Love Was Really Gone. What disguised itself as an everyday city pop song revealed what I personally consider to this day to be the greatest ending to any song ever. I vividly remember my mind coming to an absolute halt and suddenly becoming fixated on the landscape out of my bedroom window as my crappy laptop speakers played a melody so mesmerising that I felt as if I was about to ascend up to music heaven. It felt like I’d had a musical epiphany and all I could say after the song had finished was one word: wow.
For those who haven’t experienced listening to Love Was Really Gone, go listen to it then watch this clip about the impact of the ending. You’ll see how it is no exaggeration at all. There’s a reason why Love Was Really gone came in third place for my most listened to songs last year. I’ll let you find out why.
Infectious Grooves – Mas Borracho
| Released | 29 August 2000 |
| Highlights | Good For Nothing, Lock It in The Pocket, Please Excuse This Funk Up, Su Casa Es Mi Casa |
| For fans of | Sublime, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Suicidal Tendencies |
Last but not least, this next one is for my funk fans who want something a bit heavier. With members hailing from great bands such as Suicidal Tendencies, Faith No More, Janes Addiction and even Metallica, no one could be 100% certain what type of sound Infectious Grooves would spew out when all members got to work on a full-length project. All that was known is that with a star-studded lineup like that, it was guaranteed to be exciting. Mas Borracho takes your classic genres such as hard rock, punk and even metal and mashes them all with some hardcore funk to make some incredible funk rock. In tracks like Good For Nothing, Lock It In The Pocket and Please Excuse This Funk Up, the copious amounts wah pedal guitars leave you completely in a trance while the slap bass cuts through the mix like a sharp knife to deliver a groove like no other. Yet if even that won’t do it for you, fear not as tracks like Just a Lil Bit, Fill You Up and Su Casa Es Mi Casa hark back to the members punk and metal days to give you that hardcore feel if needed.
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