Breakwater | |
---|---|
Origin | Philadelphia, United States |
Genres | Funk, soul, R&B, funk rock |
Years active | 1971–1980, 2010–present |
Labels | Arista |
Members | Gene Robinson James Gee Jones Lincoln 'Zay' Gilmore Steve Green Vince Garnell Greg Scott John 'Dutch' Braddock Kae Williams Jr. |
Breakwater is an American funk band from Philadelphia. The band released two albums: Breakwater in 1978, and Splashdown in 1980. The latter features the song "Release the Beast", which was sampled on "Robot Rock" by electronic duo Daft Punk.
The band, originally from Philadelphia was formed in 1971. The original members of Breakwater consisted of Gene Robinson, James Gee Jones, Lincoln 'Zay' Gilmore, Steve Green, Vince 'Garnel' Dutton, Greg Scott, John 'Dutch' Braddock, and Kae Williams, Jr. They were signed to the Arista label in 1978. [1] Their second album Splashdown, which was released in 1980 has been referred to by Tom Bowker of the Broward Palm Beach New Times as a funk masterpiece. [2]
In September, 1979, their single "You Know I Love You", written by Greg Scott, and produced by Rick Chertoff was a Billboard top single pick. [3]
For the week ending July 5, 1980, their album Splashdown at its 8th week in the Billboard charts had moved up from 35 to 34. [4] At its 13th week, it was sitting at 57, the position it was the previous week. [5]
"Release the Beast" is the third song off of their second album Splashdown. The song has been sampled by the French-house group Daft Punk on their song Robot Rock. [6] The song was also used by Reese's during their 2023 Halloween advertising campaigns. [7] The song was also sampled on the intro for rapper Murs' album Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition
The sound of Breakwater's music is normally that of slow jams, but they have been known to incorporate rock music and funk styles into their songs, much like their song titled "You". "Release the Beast" is best known by non-funk music fans, and the band's sound can be closer compared to that of Con Funk Shun or Earth, Wind & Fire.[ citation needed ]
On October 16, 2014, the eleven-piece band with four man horn section played Warmdaddy's on S Columbus Blvd in Philadelphia. [8] It was announced that the band and fellow seventies act Pockets, an R&B funk band from Baltimore, would appear at London's Brooklyn Bowl on January 7, 2017. [9]
Title | Release info | Year | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
"Work It Out" / "Feel Your Way" | Arista AS 0404 | 1979 | |
"No Limit" / "Feel Your Way" | Arista AS 0424 | 1979 | |
"You Know I Love You" / "Unnecessary Business" | Arista AS 0457 | 1979 | |
"Splashdown Time" / "Let Love In" | Arista AS 0518 | 1980 | |
"Say You Love Me Girl" / "Time" | Arista AS 0542 | 1980 | |
"Release the Beast" / "Time" | Arista AS 0565 | 1980 | [10] |
Title | Release info | Year | F | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Breakwater | Arista AB 4208 | 1978 | LP | |
Splashdown | Arista AB 4264 | 1980 | LP | |
Breakwater | Get On Down GET-51269 | 2010 | CD | [11] |
Splashdown | Get On Down GET-51268 | 2010 | CD | [12] |
Breakwater / Splashdown | Expansion EXP2CD 49 | 2016 | CD | Compilation [13] |
Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They achieved early popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement, combining elements of house music with funk, disco, techno, rock and synth-pop. They are regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music.
Homework is the debut studio album by the French electronic music duo Daft Punk, released on 20 January 1997 by Virgin Records and Soma Quality Recordings. It was released in the US on 25 March 1997.
Discovery is the second studio album by the French electronic music duo Daft Punk, released on 12 March 2001 by Virgin Records. It marked a shift from the Chicago house of their first album, Homework (1997), to a house style more heavily inspired by disco, post-disco, garage house, and R&B. Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk described Discovery as an exploration of song structures, musical forms and childhood nostalgia, compared to the "raw" electronic music of Homework.
"Technologic" is a song by French duo Daft Punk from their third studio album, Human After All (2005). It was released as the second single on 14 June 2005. The music video for "Technologic" was directed by Daft Punk.
Human After All is the third studio album by French electronic music duo Daft Punk, first released on 14 March 2005 through Virgin Records. Unlike their previous studio album Discovery (2001), whose sound was inspired by disco and garage house and produced over the period of two years, Human After All was more minimalistic and improvisational with a mixture of heavier guitars and electronics, and was produced in six weeks.
Thomas Bangalter is a French musician, record producer, singer, songwriter, DJ and composer. He is best known as one half of the former French house music duo Daft Punk, alongside Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. He has recorded and released music as a member of the trio Stardust, the duo Together, as well as a solo artist. Bangalter's work has influenced a wide range of artists in various genres.
Roulé was a French record label founded in 1995 by former Daft Punk member Thomas Bangalter. Roulé had a side label entitled Scratché which released only one record, produced by the Buffalo Bunch. Roulé was liquidated in 2018.
"Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" is a song by French duo Daft Punk, released on 13 October 2001 as the fourth single from their second studio album Discovery. A live version of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" was released as a single from the album Alive 2007 on 15 October 2007. This version won a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording in 2009. In October 2011, NME placed it at number 132 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".
Guillaume Emmanuel "Guy-Manuel" de Homem-Christo is a French musician, record producer, singer, songwriter, DJ and composer. He is known as one half of the former French house music duo Daft Punk, along with Thomas Bangalter. He has produced several works from his now defunct record label Crydamoure with label co-owner Éric Chedeville.
"Robot Rock" is the lead single from Daft Punk's third studio album Human After All. The single was released initially on 11 April 2005 with a music video, directed by and featuring the duo, preceding the single's release. While the single reached a moderately high chart position, many critics found the song overly repetitive when compared to songs from their other studio albums at the time. It features a sample of "Release the Beast" performed by Breakwater.
"Aerodynamic" is an instrumental track by French duo Daft Punk, featuring a prominent guitar solo. The track was released on 28 March 2001 as the second single from the Discovery album. "Aerodynamic" hit the U.S. dance charts through club play as the B-side to "Digital Love".
"Around the World" is a song by French electronic music duo Daft Punk. It was written by the duo and released in April 1997 by Virgin as the second single from their debut studio album, Homework (1997). The song became a major club hit globally and reached number one on the dance charts in Canada, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It also peaked at number one in Iceland and Italy. The song's lyrics solely consist of the words "around the world", repeated on loop for a total of 144 times in the album version. The music video was directed by Michel Gondry and choreographed by Blanca Li. In October 2011, NME placed it at number 21 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".
Musique Vol. 1 1993–2005 is an anthology by Daft Punk released in Japan on 29 March 2006, in the United Kingdom on 3 April 2006, and in the United States on 4 April 2006. A special edition includes a bonus DVD with 12 music videos—two of which are new, "The Prime Time of Your Life" and "Robot Rock ". Due to time constraints on the audio CD, some of the tracks are shorter edits. The song "Digital Love" appears only in the digital release and Japan edition. The DVD edition was rated 15 by the BBFC, due to the content of "The Prime Time of Your Life" video.
Edwin L. Birdsong was an American keyboardist and organist, known in the 1970s and 1980s for his experimental funk/disco music. Birdsong did not achieve much chart success, but developed a strong fan base. Birdsong has also been sampled by other artists many times, most famously by Daft Punk who sampled "Cola Bottle Baby" in "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger", and Gang Starr who sampled his single "Rapper Dapper Snapper" for their song "Skills".
"Face to Face" is a single by French electronic music duo Daft Punk, featuring vocals and co-production by American house music producer Todd Edwards. It was released on their second studio album Discovery (2001) and as a promotional single in 2003. As part of Discovery, the song appears in the film Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem, and the section of the film in which the song appears serves as its music video. The track uses Edwards' distinctive "cut-up" production style, incorporating over 20 uncredited samples from various soft rock and folk music songs. Daft Punk first successfully convinced Edwards to collaborate with them after the release of Homework (1997), meeting for two studio sessions to record and build the track. The song achieved commercial success, reaching the number one spot on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in 2004. Two remixes by Cosmo Vitelli and Demon were made and included in Daft Punk's 2003 remix album Daft Club. Most of the samples remained unknown, being a subject of a search that continued until 2023, when fans used AI tools to uncover the remaining unknown samples.
Vaughan Mason & Crew was an American funk and post-disco based group led by Vaughan Mason. They are best known for their single "Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll", which reached number 5 on the US Billboard Hot Soul Singles and number 38 on the Disco Top 100 charts in 1980, riding the crest of the roller disco wave that was popular at the time. In 1981, Vaughan Mason released the single "Jammin' Big Guitar", which charted at number 65. "Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll" has since been used in various samples by De La Soul, Mr. Magic, Jimmy Spicer, and Daft Punk.
The Real Thing is a British soul group formed in the 1970s. The band charted internationally with their song "You to Me Are Everything", which reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. They also had successes with a string of British hits such as "Can't Get By Without You" and "Can You Feel the Force?". They returned to mainstream success in 1986 with the Decade Remix of "You to Me Are Everything". By number of sales, they were the most successful black rock/soul act in England during the 1970s. The journalist, author and founder of Mojo magazine Paul Du Noyer credits them alongside Deaf School with restoring "Liverpool's musical reputation in the 1970s" with their success.
Pleasure is an American band from Portland, Oregon, United States. Blending soul, funk and jazz with a street edge, they became a cult group on the underground black music scene of the late 1970s. Their song "Glide", from the album Future Now, went to #55 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #10 on the Best Selling Soul Singles chart in 1979; it was their biggest hit. The band broke up in 1982.
Clarence Henry Reid was an American musician, songwriter and producer also known by the stage name and alternate persona Blowfly. He released over 25 parody albums as Blowfly and another three albums as Clarence Reid.
Splashdown is a studio album by Philadelphia funk soul band, Breakwater.