Funky/London/UK House
jimitheexploder
Well-known member
Lil Sillva is coming up my way soon, I'm prob gonna make a move, have a boogie see what he's playing.
I've not heard much new from him for ages, in fact lots of the peeps that got me looking at the funky sound haven't released much at all in the last year or so. I wana see more Ill Blue, Lil Silva, D Malice, Apple, Hard House Banton, Sticky those are the peeps that got me excited. DVA has just started picking it up with releases, Roska has been fairly solid and Cooly G has been doing her thing but its been a bit sparse release wise apart from that and its a shame really.
Its only the dubstep guys who have been dropping stuff on the regular or vaugly vegular, I love a bit of Shortsuff, Brackles, Pearson Sound, Mosca, Greena, Hackman, Bashmore whoever at the moment as I get to have a few of their releases to play with myself and own. If Ill Blue, Lil Silva, D Malice, Apple, Hard House Banton, Sticky and whoever Marcus Nasty was playing released their stuff, I'd hype it as much as the rest if I was feeling it.
I can't speak for FACT like, and wouldn't want to while you're calling them out but thats what I see from up north. Funky from the acctual funky lot is a mission get hold of and a mission to get behind and thats the only thing holding me back from really getting behind it and trying to create more hype for it.
I dunno if its a geographical case at all... but Wiley's words in the faux skepta dub last year seem to be true right now even if they are right on the edge of shatering... "I've got your throat lumpy, you're stuck in London like funky"...
Does that make sense?
I've not heard much new from him for ages, in fact lots of the peeps that got me looking at the funky sound haven't released much at all in the last year or so. I wana see more Ill Blue, Lil Silva, D Malice, Apple, Hard House Banton, Sticky those are the peeps that got me excited. DVA has just started picking it up with releases, Roska has been fairly solid and Cooly G has been doing her thing but its been a bit sparse release wise apart from that and its a shame really.
Its only the dubstep guys who have been dropping stuff on the regular or vaugly vegular, I love a bit of Shortsuff, Brackles, Pearson Sound, Mosca, Greena, Hackman, Bashmore whoever at the moment as I get to have a few of their releases to play with myself and own. If Ill Blue, Lil Silva, D Malice, Apple, Hard House Banton, Sticky and whoever Marcus Nasty was playing released their stuff, I'd hype it as much as the rest if I was feeling it.
I can't speak for FACT like, and wouldn't want to while you're calling them out but thats what I see from up north. Funky from the acctual funky lot is a mission get hold of and a mission to get behind and thats the only thing holding me back from really getting behind it and trying to create more hype for it.
I dunno if its a geographical case at all... but Wiley's words in the faux skepta dub last year seem to be true right now even if they are right on the edge of shatering... "I've got your throat lumpy, you're stuck in London like funky"...
Does that make sense?
yeah i think core funky producers are getting a bit sidelined here. they need to promote themselves too though. and maybe take more risks by releasing vinyl (make no mistake, those with music on physical formats are still favoured) instead of staying exclusive to frankly crappy webstores like ukfunky.com.
jimitheexploder
Well-known member
thats it really.
Its not a comment on the music at all, its just some of it doesn't seem to reach anywhere but London. I'm a freak up here for even knowing their is still a grime scene let alone an emerging funky scene. I mean I can go months in Yorkshire without anyone mentioning London, let alone UKfunky.com and Marcus Nasty sets.
But somehow the dubstep guys have the network stretched a bit wider and it would be a bit tight to hold that against them rather than work with them.
I dunno...
Dubstep-related artists also have a readymade infrastructure of upmarket club nights, people who promote their releases, and a sympathetic audience comprised of a high proportion of comparatively high-spending vinyl-purchasers (comparatively! I'm not saying dubstep fans are wealthy or anything...). I mean when you say they've "stretched the network a bit wider", don't you mean they've tapped into the network that they were already familiar with and plugged into?
Whereas funky's market is mostly divided between DJs who want individualised dubplates/MP3s and listeners who wouldn't even own turntables.
I think it's reasonable but unrealistic (if that makes sense) to ask funky to set up its own equivalents to Night Slugs or Hessle Audio or Punch Drunk or etc.
More accurately-in-feel, labels like Locked On or Public Demand, which were both sustainable and successful 10 years ago, don't really make sense now.
This is why I think media has to step into the gap: Scotty D released the Liberty/The Sound 12 inch this year to a roar of indifference, because there's no-one to bring the release's attention to the kind of audience that might support funky on vinyl (or in any meaningful economic sense for that matter).
[q]I've not heard much new from him for ages, in fact lots of the peeps that got me looking at the funky sound haven't released much at all in the last year or so. I wana see more Ill Blue, Lil Silva, D Malice, Apple, Hard House Banton, Sticky those are the peeps that got me excited. DVA has just started picking it up with releases, Roska has been fairly solid and Cooly G has been doing her thing but its been a bit sparse release wise apart from that and its a shame really.[/q]
Can I note that whether or not these artists have released stuff on vinyl they've all (with the exception of Apple) been pretty prolific this year?
Sticky has actually released four separate riddims, D-Malice at least 4 or so big tracks. Lil Silva has had maybe about 10 different dubs in the past 12 months. Ill Blu have put out more life-changing productions in the last year than anyone in the world bar perhaps The-Dream and his production team. Hard House Banton seems to have about a zillion different tunes.
What's missing is a means by which this can be communicated to people who might be in a position to purchase releases and make actually releasing it all worthwhile ('cos yeah, of the above only the majority of Sticky and Ill Blu's releases are easily available). Good artist profiles in high circulation net mags, widely disseminated single-producer DJ mixes, and hype - this is what they need.
Whereas funky's market is mostly divided between DJs who want individualised dubplates/MP3s and listeners who wouldn't even own turntables.
I think it's reasonable but unrealistic (if that makes sense) to ask funky to set up its own equivalents to Night Slugs or Hessle Audio or Punch Drunk or etc.
More accurately-in-feel, labels like Locked On or Public Demand, which were both sustainable and successful 10 years ago, don't really make sense now.
This is why I think media has to step into the gap: Scotty D released the Liberty/The Sound 12 inch this year to a roar of indifference, because there's no-one to bring the release's attention to the kind of audience that might support funky on vinyl (or in any meaningful economic sense for that matter).
[q]I've not heard much new from him for ages, in fact lots of the peeps that got me looking at the funky sound haven't released much at all in the last year or so. I wana see more Ill Blue, Lil Silva, D Malice, Apple, Hard House Banton, Sticky those are the peeps that got me excited. DVA has just started picking it up with releases, Roska has been fairly solid and Cooly G has been doing her thing but its been a bit sparse release wise apart from that and its a shame really.[/q]
Can I note that whether or not these artists have released stuff on vinyl they've all (with the exception of Apple) been pretty prolific this year?
Sticky has actually released four separate riddims, D-Malice at least 4 or so big tracks. Lil Silva has had maybe about 10 different dubs in the past 12 months. Ill Blu have put out more life-changing productions in the last year than anyone in the world bar perhaps The-Dream and his production team. Hard House Banton seems to have about a zillion different tunes.
What's missing is a means by which this can be communicated to people who might be in a position to purchase releases and make actually releasing it all worthwhile ('cos yeah, of the above only the majority of Sticky and Ill Blu's releases are easily available). Good artist profiles in high circulation net mags, widely disseminated single-producer DJ mixes, and hype - this is what they need.
NB. "upmarket club nights" is the wrong term - I mean high-profile club nights usually attached to labels and a significant internet presence, with strong visual aesthetics, and frequented by people with good purchasing power when it comes to vinyl.
Obviously in terms of outfits a place like Night Slugs is likely actually to be downmarket when compared to say Sun City.
Obviously in terms of outfits a place like Night Slugs is likely actually to be downmarket when compared to say Sun City.
Corpsey
bandz ahoy
You should be writing a column about funky already, mate, as far as I'm concerned. Plainly bristling with knowledge, passion and insight and you write brilliantly.
Was nice to hear appleblim drop 'The Music' by HH Banton last night at applepips. That tune is just absolutely spot on.
Was nice to hear appleblim drop 'The Music' by HH Banton last night at applepips. That tune is just absolutely spot on.
jimitheexploder
Well-known member
Nice one for responding Tim
I'm with you with most of that, I just wana see it come out of the clubs in London a bit more and make an impact as a lot of it is shit hot.
Because if that doesn't happen, the funky heads are gonna be moaning even more in the future, saying that nothing is coming out, no raves are happening outside of london, nowt...
It could be grime... again... which is still trying to recover and break through the rest of the country after a purple patch.
Plus I'm selfish and wana see these peeps reach my arear more often hahah
I'm with you with most of that, I just wana see it come out of the clubs in London a bit more and make an impact as a lot of it is shit hot.
Because if that doesn't happen, the funky heads are gonna be moaning even more in the future, saying that nothing is coming out, no raves are happening outside of london, nowt...
It could be grime... again... which is still trying to recover and break through the rest of the country after a purple patch.
Plus I'm selfish and wana see these peeps reach my arear more often hahah
jimitheexploder
Well-known member
Nice one for responding Tim
I'm with you with most of that, I just wana see it come out of the clubs in London a bit more and make an impact as a lot of it is shit hot.
Because if that doesn't happen, the funky heads are gonna be moaning even more in the future, saying that nothing is coming out, no raves are happening outside of london, nowt...
It could be grime... again... which is still trying to recover and break through the rest of the country after a purple patch.
Plus I'm selfish and wana see these peeps reach my arear more often hahah
I'm with you with most of that, I just wana see it come out of the clubs in London a bit more and make an impact as a lot of it is shit hot.
Because if that doesn't happen, the funky heads are gonna be moaning even more in the future, saying that nothing is coming out, no raves are happening outside of london, nowt...
It could be grime... again... which is still trying to recover and break through the rest of the country after a purple patch.
Plus I'm selfish and wana see these peeps reach my arear more often hahah
luka
Well-known member
Luka you are starting to sound consistantly bitter and negative, I'm bored of it. I've been to Sidewinder, Twice & Nice, Jammer's basement, Roll Deep's base in Baring House etc, so have lots of other people on Dissensus. if you've got nothing positive to say about the projects people are building, pipe down.
railing at all these percieved orthodoxies only suggests you're in favour of some kind of cultural aparteid - places like Rinse are healthy right now for the collaboration between the different camps: Trim on Oneman's set does as much for Trim's musical path as it does Oneman's, just as being on Mu has rejuvinated Terror Danjah's career. you can't diss Fact for covering hyperdub when hyperdub are siging Terror Danjah, DVA and Cooly G records and doubling their audience. Fact mag is a target because they have become successful, but if you're angry at the number of road acts in it, perhaps you could start with The Times Arts, Q, The Guide, OMM (RIP) Time Out etc, because in relative terms they're bigger culprits.
Dubstep got nothing but air for five-six years from this "infrastructure of upmarket club nights," so it didnt just happily come into creation and fit in. funky has just as much chance as dubstep to slot into the global club circuit (if it wants to), as it suffers from none of the expansion issues that grime did. so there is hope!
this is an endemic problem for all road acts/movements, that they often dont know how to find the means to reach the (white, middle-class dominate) media nor do they often initially see the value in trying. it happens every cycle of the nuum now. so who acts as a bridge? these days it's usually the exact people Luka is railing at on your behalf, bloggers, dissensians, people starting nights like FWD and Night Slugs. to me i have no issue with that, as long as (say) Roska gets as much exposure out of playing Night Slugs as Mosca...
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"booo hoo hoo, dubstep fans are ruining my life." wake up. half the "dubstep" fans on the Dissensus funky thread are listening to the same Karizma records Circle are. this is the same cultural dialog you seek to promote by suggesting they hang out in Stratford Yates: recognise that.