I’m looking to add some funk to my library. I started spinning at a small club and i know the regulars like funkier stuff. I’m mostly a hip hop and electro dj. I played there sunday night and i got away with playing alot of chromeo/duck sauce/a-trak mixed with some hip hop and a bit of reggae, but once they give me a busy saturday night or something i don’t think my music collection will cut it.
What’s some good electro/funk or old school funk remixes that will fit well on a busy dance floor?
I’m also looking for some fast reggae, got any suggestions on that?
If you’re looking for recent stuff with that classic funk sound look no further than Fort Knox Five:
There are some CDs called “New Testament of Funk” with a lot of new stuff in this vein; they are hit or miss for the actual genre (there’s a lot of lounge, cha-cha, and other stuff on there that isn’t technically “funk”) but consistently excellent selections, and they will point you to some great artists. Malente, Time Warp, Naomi are some names that come to mind that I discovered through these compilations. And if you can find Major Force The Original Art Form compilation anywhere, get it. It’s pretty dated now - 1990s - but that shit is FUUUUUNNKY.
If you’re actually looking for that classic funk sound, there are a lot of great compilations out there, but the best way to get into this stuff is to go to the source and discover. Start with the obvious – James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone, Isaac Hayes, George Clinton, Kool and the Gang, Prince, etc and then start venturing into more obscure stuff from the time period. Or pick up some breaks records that collect songs sampled by hip hop artists; some of these are great. (Coldcut and DJ Shadow put out some good ones with really obscure stuff). Another great source of crazy old funk is blaxploitation sountracks – I pretty much wore out the grooves on my copy of Black Ceasar back in the day, lol.
I’m sure you can find all this stuff on the internetz these days but I recommend digging through piles of old vinyl if that’s a possibility … Even if you cant buy much of it, you can go through it, play it in the store if it’s allowed, and take notes. Based on this web page here The Vinyl Tourist Visits Montréal you have a few options near you so take advantage of them while they’re still around
Wow. you guys totally delivered. Thanks! I’m gonna be checking this shit out for hours! the youtube videos were amazing and i already knew Stickybudz too. love it. gotta check some more out. i’ll be back with feedback on the artists i checked out
To learn a genre, start at the beginning and then work from there. To the list above, I would add Parliament Funkadelic, Rufus & Chaka Khan, the Isley Brothers, Ohio Players, Labelle, and Confunkshun.
Oh, and checkout Bootsy Collins. He invented and defined the funk bass sound. He was the bassist for James Brown in the 60’s and Parliament Funkadelic in the 70’s. He formed Bootsy’s Rubber Band, and they backed Deee-lite on one of their world tours.
