Electrofunk

October 24, 2004 10:11 AM

I want to learn more about electrofunk music. What CDs should I listen to?
posted by Nelson to Media & Arts (11 answers total)

Electrofunk, as opposed to what, unplugged funk? Look into Curtis Mayfield, Sly & the Family Stone, The Meters.
posted by squirrel at 10:56 AM on October 24, 2004

zapp & roger, cameo, george clinton?
posted by the cuban at 11:13 AM on October 24, 2004

Response by poster: Let be more specific. I keep running into this very heavy electro style of funk/hiphop. Heavily synth but simple tracks, along with some funk. You can hear the influence in contemporary hip-hop, particularly Dre's stuff, but the electrofunk is a bit different. It's electro. It's funk. I gather it's mostly from the mid 80s.

The best resource I found on the web is here, but it's not a great guide for "buy this stuff". Everyone points to Planet Rock as the definitive track, but the rest of that album sucks. There's a bit in the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City soundtrack, and a bunch in the Detroit Grand Pubahs. I'm vaguely aware this is a whole genre of music that I don't know anything about, but I can't find more of it.
posted by Nelson at 11:59 AM on October 24, 2004

Would Nile Rodgers qualify?
posted by dhoyt at 12:25 PM on October 24, 2004

Do you really just mean "electro"? Mentioning "Planet Rock" suggests that you do. I know it's funky, but I don't know anyone who calls it "electrofunk" (even though, like the author of the Jahsonic piece, I am from the UK.) The UK-based Streetsounds label produced a whole bunch of definitive compilations during the 80s, which I believe are pretty sought after these days.Probably my favourite track from that period was "Al-Naafiysh (The Soul)" by Hashim. Check his discography page - that should give you plenty of pointers on compilations. I would say that Dre is more influenced by early 80s P-funk, which was itself electro influenced. If you like Planet Rock, check out George Clinton's Loopzilla - it will blow your mind.
posted by pascal at 12:30 PM on October 24, 2004

You could try DJ Assault's label, Mo'Wax, Ninjatune, Electro Empire and the profiles/reviews
on Epitonic for online tracks/resources.

For artists, I'd suggest DJ Cam, Funki Porcini, the Herbalizer, Tosca, Ob0, Big Bud Daddylonglegs, Photek, and Ticklah.

W ("redheadedstepchild", "stepheadedredchild") has a sound leaning more toward house,
but is worth checking out.
posted by Smart Dalek at 12:43 PM on October 24, 2004

Forgot a comma. Bid Bud and Daddylonglegs are seperate artists.
posted by Smart Dalek at 12:45 PM on October 24, 2004

Well, for 80s stuff I would recommend:

Liquid Liquid
ESG
and other bands that can be found on this comp and other Soul Jazz releases.

For minimal funk I would recommend Thomas Brinkmann/Soul Center, Jan Jelinek, Mouse On Mars, Fabric Live mixes.
posted by anathema at 4:27 PM on October 24, 2004 [1 favorite]

Smart Dalek: you seem to be confusing this with "electronica". Those are some great artists, but none of them anything more than an indirect connection to electro (either via hip-hop or techno.)
posted by pascal at 7:14 PM on October 24, 2004

Mother's Finest..."Another Mother Further" is my favorite.
posted by oh posey at 6:37 AM on October 25, 2004

You might try Particle.
posted by euphorb at 7:51 PM on October 25, 2004