Electro-Funk

Characterised by groovy eclecticism and a hunger for sonic innovation, electro-funk took roots in the British underground clubs of the early '80s, giving the established jazz-funk and soul scenes a massive run for their money and laying down foundations for the rise of techno and house. The hugely influential "Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force became a massive landmark in 1982, but before that came a bunch of tracks that pointed the way forwards: D Train's first single "You're the One for Me" anticipated the shape of things to come in '81, and the same year's "Don't Make Me Wait" by the New York Citi Peech Boys picked up a cult following. The true extent of electro-funk's impact becomes apparent in Next Steps.

Some '80s scenesters and experts will tell you that Detroit techno was the trigger for the British dance revolution that hit with storm force towards the end of the decade, but true electro-funkateers will quite correctly remind them that Cybotron's "Clear" (1983) — a crucial early techno cut — was held in high electro-funk regard long before the major beatmakers of Detroit made their presence felt. There's a connection here to that track's remixer Jose "Animal" Diaz, who also worked on various versions of "Hip Hop Bee Bop (Don't Stop)" by Man Parrish, the multi-talented producer/vocalist who had cut his teeth at New York's Studio 54. Old school hip-hop crews leave their mark on electro-funk's foundations, in Deep Cuts.

The connections between electro-funk and hip-hop are made explicit here the second we cue up "F-4000" by the Fearless Four, an old school crew from Harlem who would unite Euro and Stateside styles before breaking up in the mid-'80s. Alongside them here you'll find Brooklyn crew Newcleus, who led off debut album Jam On Revenge with the excellent "Computer Age (Push the Button)", as well as Midnight Star, big in 1983 with "Freak-A-Zoid" from their album No Parking on the Dance Floor, and Raul A. Rodriguez, aka C.O.D., who delivered his electro-funkin' take on Gil Scott-Heron's "The Bottle" the same year.

In the early '80s, the dancefloor was turned upside its head by new sonic technology — electro-funk was nothing short of a musical revolution, a manifestation of the computer age in clubland, the first bold cut 'n' paste experiments in the brave new galaxy of dance music. Here in the UK, as with Northern Soul, the scene was nurtured upwards of London (at Manchester's Legend, and Wigan Pier) before spreading south. Innovators like George Clinton ("Loopzilla") had a lust for experimentation that helped give electro-funk its bedrock, and early electro-funk cuts including "Feels Good", "Thanks to You", and the Walt Whitman-referencing "On a Journey (I Sing the Funk Electric)" have emerged as genre classics. These electro-funk Essentials take you from the underground club favourites to mainstream groundbreakers like Herbie Hancock's "Rockit", which won a GRAMMY®.