ultrafunkmag » rock

DJ Patience – “Funk and Soul Vinyl Mix”

Rune Johnsrud — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 20:31:42 +0000

DJ Patience from Liverpool sent us this excellent vinyl funk mix featuring such greats as Eddie Bo, Honey Cone, Bo Diddley, James Gang, Lee Dorsey etc., and here it is for your listening pleasure:

Ole Børud – “Keep Movin” (2011)

Rune Johnsrud — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 00:00:18 +0000

Ole Børud, a young soulful gentleman from Norway who started as a singer at the age of five, has just released his second solo album. His first record (“Shakin’ The Ground“) placed him in funk territory, and while some of the tracks on this one brings him closer to mainstream pop and rock, the sheer amount of talent and skillful musicianship displayed throughout still makes it a solid step up from his first effort.

Jarle Bernhoft – “Solidarity Breaks”

Rune Johnsrud — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 04:44:17 +0000

Norway’s foremost soul performer, Jarle Berhoft, is about to release his second solo album titled “Solidarity Breaks” during the coming months coinciding with a European tour to promote it. On this one he has gone from using a full band to playing, singing and producing most of the tracks himself with a few select collaborators. The result is a much more varied and tighter sounding record than his first one, but it’s still nowhere close to hearing him live which I highly recommend if you have the chance!

Jamiroquai – “Rock Dust Light Star”

Rune Johnsrud — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 13:24:52 +0000

So far, the two tracks that have been revealed from the new Jamiroquai album (out November 1.), “White Knuckle Ride” (video) and “Blue Skies” (video) show no signs of them returning to their funk, soul and acid jazz roots that many of their fans (including me) had hoped they would do since their departure or escape? from Sony/Columbia. With over 10 tracks still to be heard, there might be room for more adventurous material, the two songs mentioned above being typical radio-friendly single fodder.

Funky Halvor – “Wake Up”

Rune Johnsrud — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:03:45 +0000

The weekend is definitely over, so I guess it’s time to wake up! (no playlist is available for this mix):

Download link: Funky Halvor – Wake Up (137MB mp3).

Jarle Bernhoft – Live concert video

Rune Johnsrud — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:45:49 +0000

Here is a one hour long live concert of Jarle Bernhoft performing his solo debut album “Ceramik City Chronicles” backed by a very competent band of musicians at a venue in Oslo called Blå, enjoy! (Sorry about the wrong video aspect ratio, but this is how the original source is encoded).

Breakestra – “Dusk Till Dawn” (2009)

Rune Johnsrud — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:20:18 +0000

Four years in the making, this is the second all-original Breakestra album after their long awaited debut “Hit The Floor” was released back in 2005, well, debut may not be the correct term here since they have been performing and releasing live mix albums and 7″/12″ vinyl since the late nineties. Anyway, they continue here in the same vein as their previous outing, and that can only be a good thing, because this is a solid dose of down and dirty funk, soul and jazz that would have made James himself proud!

They also add a bit of new flavour to the mix this time in the form of some heavier soul-rock inspired tunes and some mellow instrumental jazz, spacing out the hard hitting funk and soul nuggets just right, while always keeping the musical, vocal and rap performances tight.

Many bands and artists these days try to emulate the studio recording sound of the late 60′s and 70′s, and while some of them are successful, oftentimes it sounds a bit out of place or somewhat artificial compared to the real deal, but Breakestra manages to make it their own sound, and it fits them like a fine pair of racing gloves.

Just as “Hit The Floor” has more or less been a permanent fixture in my record bag for the past four years, it might just get a new friend, cause this one is a solid floor filler guaranteed to please the avid funk aficionado as well as the sweaty dance crowd down at the club.

Homepage: Breakestra

Purchase & audio samples: Amazon.com (CD) | Juno.co.uk (LP)