Flying new start for Dutch funksters who had to change band name
The Funkstamatics are ready for Lift Off - are you?
Imagine playing almost a hundred gigs in 7 years, releasing several albums and vinyl singles. But then, just as BBC funk guru Craig Charles supports your tracks Koekwaus and the Spotify counter runs towards 40.000 plays, you receive an email from the US. As it turns out, an American company holds a trademark to 'your' band name: Euro Cinema. Even for a band that's renowned for the pleasure they exude on stage, that's anything but pleasant. After some emails back and forth and a few curses, the band chooses a new name, after their own second album: The Funkstamatics.
Next, they get to the studio to funk all the bad vibes away. And establish their credentials once more as the hardest rockin’ jazzed-up funk band in the Netherlands. As always, they plunder their elaborate vinyl collections for inspiration. From Meters-style raw Hammond grooves and James Brown breaks to spacey jazz-funk in a Herbie Hancock vein, lazy New Orleans rhythms, filthy funk rock guitars and even a hit of boogie/disco … it's all there on the album Lift Off. So what if the guitar play needs physical therapy on his arm after recording the hyperactive title track? Nothing can stop The Funkstamatics now - they're ready for Lift Off.
Raw sound
Besides the original quartet of Tim den Heijer (guitar), Niels Piay (drums), Dennis Orsel (bass) and Rob Schepens (Hammond & vintage keys), sax player Efraïm Trujillo (Ploctones, New Cool Collective) plays an important part on the album. Singer Sanne Monster (ex-Laura Vane & The Vipertones) also returns and on three tracks trumpet player Dirk Beets (Candy Dulfer) completes a JB’s style horn section. Three tracks were produced by Dutch funk mastermind Phil Martin (Laura Vane & The Vipertones, Soul Snatchers). The band produced the remainder of the album using vintage analogue gear in the Electric Monkey Studios in Amsterdam, favourite among the likes of Lefties Soul Connection for its raw and warm sound.
"One of the coolest funk combos we've heard in years" - Dusty Groove America"One heavy collection of Hammond led grooves" - Craig Charles, BBC Funk & Soul Show
"***** One of the heaviest slices of Hammond funk you’ll ever hear" -Monkeyboxing.com |
