yeah i wasn't arguing there isn't loads of horrible shit out there as that would be silly, or that deep house isn't as boring as any other generic dance music, god knows i've walked into a house shop and not been able to find a single record i like as my experience of house music is so different to the people who like the kinda music that doesn't take any chances, funky has a lineage in british house history, stuff like bleep recrds in sheffield and leeds etc if you ask me, id call them house records, they always did themselves.
The meaning of "funky house"
- Thread starter tryptych
- Start date
yeah i wasn't arguing there isn't loads of horrible shit out there as that would be silly, or that deep house isn't as boring as any other generic dance music, god knows i've walked into a house shop and not been able to find a single record i like as my experience of house music is so different to the people who like the kinda music that doesn't take any chances, funky has a lineage in british house history, stuff like bleep recrds in sheffield and leeds etc if you ask me, id call them house records, they always did themselves.
i don't think sonically hardcore is fair, it seems to me to be more about vibe i.e. an audience that doesn't want something so aggressive and tensely focused. thats not to me about sonics its surely more about social dynamics. the most common complaints of grime / fears for funky im seeing are of having too many mcs in a rave and everyone just focused on them, or aggressive men / boys dominating raves (although im obviously not going to try to claim that no-one into house prefers smoother sounds! its just a matter of emphasis)
also perhaps its impatience but i do think there must be some sense that grime has failed to create a sustainable independent infrastructure (obviously it goes without saying that police / media / broad expectations have played a major role in this). i think more and more there are signs of it getting there but it would be easy (if you didnt look hard enough) just to see lots of individuals or small crews reaching for majors rather than building an independent infrastructure comparable to what US or soulful house scenes seem to have
yeh but for me the point is about generalisations... framed like that it puts Kenny Dope or Osunlade next to Benny Benassi or whoever, and rejects their value on that basis. and to look at Defected's discography i cant believe anything but that these are people who have a consistent and dedicated vision for the music that they love, not led by commerce in the way some labels seem to be (sleazy videos, re-releases of whatever hits big on the independents etc). they obviously have an advanced and considerable business (which may be an another issue of course), but i do think its a different kettle of fish to the likes of Ministry
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UFO over easy
online mahjong
making me feel guilty and unsure about buying the bootlegs again now ben... 
slackk
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making me feel guilty and unsure about buying the bootlegs again now ben...
If it wasn't so hard to get hold of some of them on vinyl unless they're 2nd hand and overpriced, this would be a +1
making me feel guilty and unsure about buying the bootlegs again now ben...
lol but i think they're doing alright for themselves man. plus i am just speculating
blackdown to clarify in case it seems that way i don't mean to be having a go, just interested in discussion etc
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hint
party record with a siren
The vast majority of Dubstep is generic and dull. Sure, you can multiply the numbers by 4 for the week-on-week new House releases, but the balance is similar.
I think what people are discussing is this misguided idea that it's suddenly OK ("cool") to like modern House because something has changed in the music. When it comes to Funky, it's the DJs and audience that have changed the most, not the genre.
It's putting up signposts directing people to an existing area of natural beauty.
Elijah
Butterz
Nail on the head.
Grievous Angel
Beast of Burden
gyal tunes
Alfons
Way of the future
Really? Defected? Strictly Rhythm sure, but Defected doesn't look like its driven by passion first and foremost to me, just seem to pick up whatever they think will make a buck.
I think what people are discussing is this misguided idea that it's suddenly OK ("cool") to like modern House because something has changed in the music. When it comes to Funky, it's the DJs and audience that have changed the most, not the genre.
It's putting up signposts directing people to an existing area of natural beauty.
this sounds right to me. But were there really electronic music people who knew their stuff and didn't make distinctions between Theo Parrish and Fedde LeGrand until 08?
maybe you're right about Defected i dunno, it is speculation... just the consistency of their discography suggests to me that they're not just in it for cash, although they've obviously done well for themselves. but yeh maybe i was getting carried away! maybe they just understand branding and don't care about the music... most likely its somewhere in between i guess. either way im not really one for those kinds of approaches to music, im just interested in looking at something i've long had single-minded views on from a different perspective
Theo Parrish and Fedde LeGrand is one thing, but Theo Parrish occupies quite a different space in the scheme of things to the stuff being discussed i think, people like Kings of Tomorrow, Dennis Ferrer etc or indeed DJ Gregory
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I think trying to 2nd guess the bussiness motives etc. of people is a dead end street.
Unless someone knows people @ Defected/Hed Kandi HQ & knows for certain they spend there days snorting coke, listening to Tom Jones & only putting money into tunes they think will make em more money. I can only assume that like most people they feel that if you love what you do for a living you'll never work a day in your life. Being succesfull is nothing to be ashamed of.
I'm sure to anarchist breakcore militants Ammunition would appear to be a cold hearted, cynical money making machine.
The 4x4 snobs I've met 'round town still wouldn't make the distinction.
If anyone is feeling guilty about buying bootlegs, you can buy all them ones off traxsource (who are now selling wavs!) so if anyone asks you cut them yourself
Unless someone knows people @ Defected/Hed Kandi HQ & knows for certain they spend there days snorting coke, listening to Tom Jones & only putting money into tunes they think will make em more money. I can only assume that like most people they feel that if you love what you do for a living you'll never work a day in your life. Being succesfull is nothing to be ashamed of.
I'm sure to anarchist breakcore militants Ammunition would appear to be a cold hearted, cynical money making machine.
Alfons said:
The 4x4 snobs I've met 'round town still wouldn't make the distinction.
If anyone is feeling guilty about buying bootlegs, you can buy all them ones off traxsource (who are now selling wavs!) so if anyone asks you cut them yourself
Referencing Theo Parrish kinds distorts the issue I think - he's further away from the mainstream of house than funky (even Lil' Silva) is.
There's a lot of quality US house that funky pretty openly draws from - not just early MAW but late MAW ("Work" from 2001 is a big adopted funky track), Dennis Ferrer and Quentin Harris and Kerri Chandler and DJ Gregory etc. etc.
Also you know you can hate on Fedde De Grand and the like but he's done some great records - "Let Me Think About It" is one of the best commercial house tracks of the last few years.
There's a lot of quality US house that funky pretty openly draws from - not just early MAW but late MAW ("Work" from 2001 is a big adopted funky track), Dennis Ferrer and Quentin Harris and Kerri Chandler and DJ Gregory etc. etc.
Also you know you can hate on Fedde De Grand and the like but he's done some great records - "Let Me Think About It" is one of the best commercial house tracks of the last few years.
Alfons
Way of the future
True, maybe my point is more about how big defected really is and how they pick up tracks from smaller labels and make hits (i.e. act more like the big major labels than a passionate indie).
Yeah, maybe it was a poor choice of examples, but my general point was that to me it seems weird that people that are into electronic music are not aware that house represents very wide spectrum (perhaps this is more relevant concerning the average dissensian than the recent street level funky convert).
im going to find myself arguing something i really don't believe in here but for the purposes of fair debate i feel the point needs to be raised...
a commonly raised complaint of injustice or frustration in relation to underground / independent artists or scenes is that all they do (or can do) is bring out 500 on a small label without great distribution, and they get nowhere from it. there is a constant call for more independent organisation, more infrastructure and support etc... it seems to me that Defected basically represent an achievement of this - yeh they sign released material, and make hits. but in doing so they give underground, genuine artists revenue and platform, while retaining a dedication to a specific type and vibe of music.
but this is all kind of by the by, and indeed i for one am strong on the romantic ideals of 500 white labels or general disorganisation, and the detachment of music from making cash or a living. but then i don't want to make music my living, and don't feel like i have to. and the regularity with which i see people despairing or frustrated with the lack or organisation or business thinking in the underground in my mind sits ill at ease with the rejection of something like Defected
but the real point here i think is that it seems that within certain circles there is a widespread reconsideration of the value of a lot of music that previously has been rejected out of hand
i honestly think that people did and still do (myself included i am sure) break it into inappropriately large segments and then embrace or dismiss a lot of music on that basis.
a commonly raised complaint of injustice or frustration in relation to underground / independent artists or scenes is that all they do (or can do) is bring out 500 on a small label without great distribution, and they get nowhere from it. there is a constant call for more independent organisation, more infrastructure and support etc... it seems to me that Defected basically represent an achievement of this - yeh they sign released material, and make hits. but in doing so they give underground, genuine artists revenue and platform, while retaining a dedication to a specific type and vibe of music.
but this is all kind of by the by, and indeed i for one am strong on the romantic ideals of 500 white labels or general disorganisation, and the detachment of music from making cash or a living. but then i don't want to make music my living, and don't feel like i have to. and the regularity with which i see people despairing or frustrated with the lack or organisation or business thinking in the underground in my mind sits ill at ease with the rejection of something like Defected
but the real point here i think is that it seems that within certain circles there is a widespread reconsideration of the value of a lot of music that previously has been rejected out of hand
i honestly think that people did and still do (myself included i am sure) break it into inappropriately large segments and then embrace or dismiss a lot of music on that basis.
Alfons
Way of the future
I'd agree with you, Im not against Defected or the way they do business (hopefully opening up cashflow to the underground artists they break and treat them better than the majors do). I was just making the point that defected doesn't strike me as a label with underground motivations and passions, but like someone mentioned upthread, their real motives are hard to distinguish from the outside and frankly it doesn't even matter
with regards to the offhand dismissal of house, that suprises me, Ive only been getting really into house and techno in the last 3-4 years, but I seem to remember not thinking it was all drivel before that and having the idea that it was a broad spectrum with good and bad parts. In a way I saw it much like hip hop. Maybe I just thought that my view was more generally shared. I probably have my fair share of uninformed bias and prejudice against different genres as well
Client Eastwood
Well-known member
Sonically (not rhythmically) this is what ive thought about Grime since I first heard it. The bleeps, the big bass and snares. I haven't heard a lot of funky but there was one mix, a recent Spiro one maybe that I thought yeah this is similar to early british house. I wonder how many of these guys listen to that or are aware of it. Wasn't there a tune which sampled LFO ?