Article by Ash, Photos by Dom Powell
Since Funk’s inception in the mid-60s, it’s been reborn countless times particularly in hip-hop and, most recently, electronic music. Although it certainly possesses distinct composition elements, funk’s cross-genre transcendence also stems largely from its showmanship, quirkiness and the underlying attitude which it catalyzed. In some genres, this sort of evolution, or appropriation, is looked down upon, but funk is quite the opposite. George Clinton’s Parliament/Funkadelic, for example, was constantly changing adding young members to keep its sound fresh. Even now, Clinton, widely considered one of funk’s founding fathers, continues supporting and working with a diverse set of artists who keep funk alive and well.
In the realm of electronic music, few artists have done a better job of carrying on the funk tradition than the sax-wielding GRiZ, whose “future funk” combines the enormity of electronic bass music with big-band funk of the 60s and 70s. The Detroit producer is in the midst of his most ambitious year yet releasing a stellar album with Say it Loud and launching All Good Records to give like-minded artists an opportunity to expand on the movement. We were lucky to catch GRiZ along with label mates The Floozies at their jam-packed show at Mezzanine in San Francisco over the weekend and it was a perfect reflection of an exciting moment in their respective careers. Continue reading
