I must have mentioned before that
Father Funk has got to be one of the hardest working producers in this scene. Part
of a number of varying side-projects, programmer of the fantastic Church of
Love club night in Bristol, always playing live shows, and constantly putting
out new bootlegs and remixes for our entertainment – he’s always a welcome
addition to any show I’ve been to. I’ve previously reviewed both his Tuxedo Junction
and Deezguyz projects, but this is the first time I’ll have written anything on
his own solo work: in this case, his second full-length album – out now on 19k –
Funkstep.
The album opens with ‘Fever’, a
short number which sets the tone with an initially slow-paced funky jam. This
quickly builds into a kind of double-time effect, regularly switching back and
forth which gives an interesting temporal feel to the whole thing. Every funk
signifier is included here, and there’s a nice dirty bassline too, which is
what this album is all about. ‘Monkey Funk’ then follows, a collaboration with
the label owner, Dirt Monkey. This starts off with a fairly chilled guitar
line, upon which the producers have plenty of space to build. This is a great
additive method of composition, which really showcases every resultant element
as one’s own. Father Funk’s unique bass sound is again demonstrated to full
effect, and the song is great – it would work just as well either on or off the
dancefloor. ‘Funky Shit’, with its drum-based introduction starts off sounding
very swingy, and the piece has a fine combination of both jazz and funk
elements to it – as well as a bit of a hip hop vibe too; there’s a strong
showcase of influences. The emergent synth-based bassline doesn’t have the most
fluid entry, but is very tight once it’s properly developed. There are a few
slightly unnecessary samples throughout this one, but overall, another great
song.
Following this is ‘Funkstep’, the
title track, and second single after ‘Monkey Funk’. The intro uses such a
simplistic hook, upon which the excitement can just build and build, and the
slap bass that emerges is incredibly effective, demonstrating a worthy contrast
against the more synthetic elements. And again, there’s a lot of additional
samples throughout, but they work a lot better in this case than in the
previous. ‘House Arrest’ is a seriously uptempo number, with some very slightly
darker elements to it in parts, but never loses that funk hype that Father Funk
does so well. Easily the best track so far, it’s ridiculously danceable, and
the mood of excitement continues to build throughout the whole thing. I’d have
loved for it to have gone on a little longer, but what we’re left with is a
brilliant short dance beast. And then we have ‘Booyakah!’, which demonstrates
quite a contrast, with a much more laidback feel, and a nice variation coming
from the reggae offbeat. There’s nothing too particularly standout about this
piece – either for good or bad reasons – but there are some pretty interesting
developments towards the end. Following this, ‘Slap’ begins a little
atmospherically, with a bit of an ’80s synthwave vibe – subtly reminiscent of his
previous single ‘Lockdown Lover’ – and there’s a curious question of where this
is going to go. What quickly emerges is a variation on a drum ’n’ bass
breakbeat – certainly not expected, although not entirely surprising. The more
the song goes on, the better it works, and by the end it’s not a bad track at
all.
We then have ‘Get Weird’,
probably the best track after ‘House Arrest’. The “weird” descriptor is definitely
apt, as the piece immediately kicks off with some pretty “weird” timbres – I haven’t
heard much that sounds like this before. It’s absolutely brilliant once it properly
kicks in – working with these uptempo, high-energy tunes is what Father Funk does
best. In this one track, he’s managed to distil all the feeling and energy of
his famous mixes into a three-minute song. ‘Noodle Soup’ is another DnB number,
a bit more predictable this time, as it carries this feeling from the off.
There’s even a bit off a jump-up influence to this one, although I’m not sure
if he would agree himself. Indeed, he does go through a variety of different
sounds throughout; unfortunately however, there is a noticeable lack of funk.
Not to worry though, because that signature funky guitar style welcomes us back
upon the start of ‘Boink’. Comparatively downtempo, this one is notably
explorative – never being too obvious about which timbre is going to kick in
where. Over its duration, the track takes you in all sorts of different
directions. A nice close.
Funkstep has been much
anticipated, and it’s pretty safe to say that it lives up to the hype.
Throughout its ten tracks, it demonstrates exactly why Father Funk has made
such a name for himself throughout this scene – through his superb usage of
funk music whilst also taking electronic influence from much further afield. Funkstep
is a great title too, as it sums up the sound excellently; and this album is a
brilliant showcase for the artist that is Father Funk. In the case of both Tuxedo
Junction and Deezguyz, I gave my wholehearted approval, and now for his own
solo work, I shall do the same. A fine piece of work – worthy of all the praise
it will undoubtedly receive.
