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Popular contemporary funk for The Dog and Duck.


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10 hours ago, steantval said:

Take a look at some AWB recordings.

Brilliant band but all their best known stuff (IMHO) was recorded before 1980. Have played a bunch of their stuff live with one of the original band members, and tunes like “Pick Up The Pieces” or “Cut The Cake” or “Work To Do” will still get an audience dancing. Hard to pull off without a horn section though. 

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How about Elton John’s version of ‘Are you ready for love’? Although a minor hit in 1979,

the ( inferior to my ears ) remixed version of the song went to number 1 in 2003, and is

really well known. Maybe a tad repetitive but a great tune with a fine bassline. Like

some other suggestions , not hard funk but groovy AF. 

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24 minutes ago, casapete said:

How about Elton John’s version of ‘Are you ready for love’? Although a minor hit in 1979,

the ( inferior to my ears ) remixed version of the song went to number 1 in 2003, and is

really well known. Maybe a tad repetitive but a great tune with a fine bassline. Like

some other suggestions , not hard funk but groovy AF. 

 

 

A great tune and TSOP thing going on, but it would need to be simplified and trimmed back to play live for a five piece.

There is a lot going on Orchestral wise with the string pads and runs, Brass swells, Flutes and Harp glissandos etc...It would certainly keep a Keyboard pretty occupied! :D

Mind you, it might work well in a raw arrangement, although the Orchestral backing helps detract from the repetitive nature of the song

 

 

 

 

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Popular, contemporary, funk - pick two.

You're unlikely to find any real funk, but something moderately funky is a possibility - pop acts have been drawing from the early 80's post-disco/boogie well for years now. This year's "song of the summer" is one example:

 

Edited by MartinB
speling & gramerr
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2 hours ago, lowdown said:

Mind you, it might work well in a raw arrangement, although the Orchestral backing helps detract from the repetitive nature of the song

Absolutely! I did play it once with a 4 piece band though (all better players than me!) and it worked fine

- didn't do the full 8+ minute version though!

 

 

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3 hours ago, MartinB said:

You're unlikely to find any real funk

Unfortunately, real funk isn't very popular!

But this is real funk, and only a year old... Good luck with the rap, though I'm, sure arrangement could lose or alter it. 

 

 

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58 minutes ago, casapete said:

Absolutely! I did play it once with a 4 piece band though (all better players than me!) and it worked fine

- didn't do the full 8+ minute version though!

 

 

 

 

 

Without derailing the OP thread, that sounds like a different mix than the shorter version I posted. Is that the original version you were talking about up thread?

:D

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2 hours ago, lowdown said:

 

 

 

Without derailing the OP thread, that sounds like a different mix than the shorter version I posted. Is that the original version you were talking about up thread?

:D

It is - original version from ‘The Thom Bell Sessions’, recorded in 1977 and released ( I think ) maybe 79.

Probably my favourite EJ track, even though it’s not one of his own. The (Detroit)Spinners on vocals

with Elton, and I believe it may have been the wonderful Bob Babbit on bass too. Sublime. 
The later remix killed it a bit for me, just lost something but that’s maybe because I knew the 

original version. I was working in record retailing at the time it was released and the manager in our

shop had already schooled me well in soul / funk / r&b music. I remember getting the 12” version of this

and being blown away by it after playing it at full volume on the shop’s hi fi. Happy days. 

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38 minutes ago, casapete said:

It is - original version from ‘The Thom Bell Sessions’, recorded in 1977 and released ( I think ) maybe 79.

Probably my favourite EJ track, even though it’s not one of his own. The (Detroit)Spinners on vocals

with Elton, and I believe it may have been the wonderful Bob Babbit on bass too. Sublime. 
The later remix killed it a bit for me, just lost something but that’s maybe because I knew the 

original version. I was working in record retailing at the time it was released and the manager in our

shop had already schooled me well in soul / funk / r&b music. I remember getting the 12” version of this

and being blown away by it after playing it at full volume on the shop’s hi fi. Happy days. 

 

Haha, yes, of course...I had heard the TB sessions quite a while back. But that was only after the 2003 remix release.

 

You have probably seen the video below from the 'Tom Bell listening sessions' then? If not, here you go.

If you watch over on YouTube instead of viewing from Basschat, the rest of the videos are there on the right-hand side column.

 

 

 

Edited by lowdown
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Contemporary funk is very big business and has been since its renaissance around 2000 or so. It very occasionally breaks through to the mainstream, although there's no shortage of specialist record labels putting out fantastic new stuff seemingly every week.

 

Labels like Big Crown, Colemine, Spasibo, Timmion, Funk Night, ATA, etc, not forgetting Daptone Records whose house band played on a lot of the "Back To Black" album by Amy Winehouse, all regularly release great new funk records, but because a lot of it is vinyl only and doesn't make it to streaming platforms it means you have to do the work of seeking it out for yourself. Which most punters wouldn't be ar$ed doing. 
 

Whether any of their output would be popular down the Dog & Duck is hard to know, but if punters there didn't break a sweat listening to covers of Jungle Fire, The Whitefield Brothers, Poets Of Rhythm, The Budos Band, The Soul Surfers, Cold Diamond & Mink, or whoever, then they'd be hard to please with anything I'd reckon.

 

But best of luck to the OP and I hope there's a decent set list they can put together otherwise 👍

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On 21/06/2024 at 09:51, fretmeister said:

Uptown Funk is great fun to play. Make sure you do it on a 5 string. None of that higher octave nonsense. It needs to be guttural.

Runaway Baby is another that works really well. 

Funk that "everybody will know" is not an easy task. Everybody likes to dance to it, but hardly any of the punters know the song names or the artists.

 

Love Runaway Baby (but is it really a funk number?) - it's a super fun bass riff! But hardly any of the punters we play it to seem to be familiar with it!

Uptown Funk on the other hand, absolutely!

Edited by Al Krow
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57 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

 

Love Runaway Baby (but is it really a funk number?) - it's a super fun bass riff! But hardly any of the punters we play it to seem to be familiar with it!

Uptown Funk on the other hand, absolutely!

 

Ha! We already play Runaway baby.

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7 hours ago, Leonard Smalls said:

Unfortunately, real funk isn't very popular!

 

 

The lack of real funk in the world is what's wrong with people in general. Too many blahs. Lovely bit of Bootsy there.

Anyway viz the OP the following may be pre 2000 but they're well known so should fit the bill, plus the fact they don't feature brass...

Word Up

One nation under a groove 

Nutbush city limits

It's a love thing

Last night a DJ saved my life

Ain't gonna bump no more 

Oops upside your head

There it is

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12 hours ago, Leonard Smalls said:

Unfortunately, real funk isn't very popular!

But this is real funk, and only a year old... Good luck with the rap, though I'm, sure arrangement could lose or alter it. 

 

 

 

 

Love me some Bootsy. This was 2 years ago

 

 

 

 

 

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For a whole raft of reasons, I left the band yesterday. There are some great funk suggestions here that might help other people who are looking for ideas. I'm going to have a pause for thought.

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i cant feel my face

brother strut version

 

floor filling gold 🙂

 

 

And when you have them on the floor do this.....

 

 

based on a classic, but a modern version by chaka khan,

could work as great groove, depending on how tight you are and how "dancy" your audience is

 

 

Edited by funkgod
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2 hours ago, funkgod said:

i cant feel my face

brother strut version

 

floor filling gold 🙂

 

 

And when you have them on the floor do this.....

 

 

based on a classic, but a modern version by chaka khan,

could work as great groove, depending on how tight you are and how "dancy" your audience is

 

 

Brother strut - Oh yes! I suggested Shake your money to the band, and everybody liked it. I suppose the problem is that few people down at the Rose and Crown will know it, so there will be that initail confusion as you start playing.

 

 

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yea there is that with shake ya money. if you was going to do an unknown one by them then " love and only" would be a safer bet, as its catcheyer than a trawlers net 🙂

 

but at least 90% of people in the pub will defo know the first two above.

 

 

Edited by funkgod
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On 23/06/2024 at 06:51, solo4652 said:

For a whole raft of reasons, I left the band yesterday. There are some great funk suggestions here that might help other people who are looking for ideas. I'm going to have a pause for thought.

 

Awww, sorry to hear that! What happened? No going back?

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