Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of soul, jazz, and rhythm and blues. It de-emphasizes melody and chord progressions and focuses on a strong rhythmic groove of a bassline played by an electric bassist and a drum part played by a percussionist, often at slower tempos than other popular music. Funk typically consists of a complex percussive groove with rhythm instruments playing interlocking grooves that create a "hypnotic" and "danceable" feel. Funk uses the same richly colored extended chords found in bebop jazz, such as minor chords with added sevenths and elevenths, or dominant seventh chords with altered ninths and thirteenths.
Jamiroquai are an English funk and acid jazz band from London. Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalist Jay Kay, and were prominent in the London-based funk and acid jazz movement of the 1990s. They built on their acid jazz sound in their early releases and later drew from rock, disco, electronic and Latin music genres. Lyrically, the group has addressed social and environmental justice. Kay has remained as the only original member through several line-up changes.
Living Colour is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1984. The band currently consists of guitarist Vernon Reid, lead vocalist Corey Glover, drummer Will Calhoun and bassist Doug Wimbish. Stylistically, their music is a creative fusion influenced by heavy metal, funk, jazz, hip hop, punk, and alternative rock. The band's lyrics range from the personal to the political, including social commentary on racism in the United States.
War is an American funk/rock/soul band from Long Beach, California, known for several hit songs . Formed in 1969, War is a musical crossover band that fuses elements of rock, funk, jazz, Latin, rhythm and blues, psychedelia, and reggae. According to music writer Colin Larkin, their "potent fusion of funk, R&B, rock and Latin styles produced a progressive soul sound", while Martin C. Strong calls them "one of the fiercest progressive soul combos of the '70s". Their album The World Is a Ghetto was Billboard's best-selling album of 1973. The band transcended racial and cultural barriers with a multi-ethnic line-up. War was subject to many line-up changes over the course of its existence, leaving member Leroy "Lonnie" Jordan as the only original member in the current line-up; four other members created a new group called the Lowrider Band.
Level 42 are an English jazz-funk band formed on the Isle of Wight in 1979. They had a number of UK and worldwide hits during the 1980s and 1990s.
Avishai Cohen is an Israeli jazz double bassist, composer, singer, and arranger.
Wild Cherry was an American funk rock band formed in Mingo Junction, Ohio, in 1970 that was best known for its song "Play That Funky Music".
The Dynamic Hepnotics were an Australian soul, blues and funk band which formed in 1979 and disbanded in 1986. Mainstay, lead vocalist and front man, "Continental" Robert Susz formed the group in Sydney. They had chart success on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart with a top 5 single, "Soul Kind of Feeling" in 1984. It was followed by "Gotta Be Wrong " which reached the top 20 in 1985. Their album, Take You Higher, reached the top 20 on the related Albums Chart in June. In 1986, "Soul Kind of Feeling" won the APRA Music Award for 'Most Performed Australasian Popular Work'.
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings were an American funk and soul band signed to Daptone Records. They were part of a revival movement of mid-1960s to mid-1970s style funk and soul music. They released their debut album Dap Dippin' in 2002, the first of seven studio albums. Their 2014 album Give the People What They Want was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album. Following Sharon Jones' death in 2016, the band released the posthumous album Soul of a Woman in 2017 and a compilation of cover songs in 2020.
William Holland is an English musician, DJ and record producer. He is based in New York City, after spending seven years in Colombia. Holland records under various pseudonyms, including Quantic, the Quantic Soul Orchestra, The Limp Twins, Flowering Inferno, and Ondatrópica. His music features elements of cumbia, salsa, bossa nova, soul, funk and jazz. Holland plays guitars, bass, double bass, piano, organ, saxophone, accordion and percussion. Much of his sound is original composition, rather than sampling of other artists' material. In addition to his original compositions, he has also produced remixes of over 30 songs.
Skunkhour were an Australian funk rock band that were formed in Sydney in 1991. They released four studio albums, Skunkhour, Feed, Chin Chin and The Go before disbanding in November 2001. Feed peaked at No. 21 on the ARIA Albums Chart while Chin Chin reached No. 34. Four of the group's songs, "Up to Our Necks in It" (1995), "Weightlessness" (1997), "Home" (1999), and "Kick in the Door" (2000) were listed in the annual Triple J Hottest 100. The group has reformed periodically since 2009 for occasional concerts and festival appearances.
Spacek is a British electronic music band. Its members are Steve Spacek, Ed Spacek, and Morgan Spacek. The group released its debut album, Curvatia in 2001, followed by 2003's Vintage Hi-Tech. Although primarily performing electronic music, the group also fuses elements of R&B, hip hop, trip hop, broken beat and soul into its anomalistic soundbed. Steve Spacek is brother to UK drum and bass artist dBridge.
The Greatest Little Soul Band in the Land is J.J. Jackson's third album. The album was released in 1969 on the Congress label, which had been relaunched that year by MCA as a subsidiary of Uni Records. The single released from the album was "Fat, Black and Together", which was co-written by Jackson and Al Stewart. One reviewer described the single as" a truly heavyweight funk jam that is the highlight of this gritty, soulful LP".
Miklós József "Jackie" Orszáczky was a Hungarian-Australian musician, arranger, vocalist and record producer. His musical styles included jazz, blues, R&B, funk and progressive rock; he mainly played bass guitar – from the early 1990s he used a modified piccolo bass – but also various other instruments. In 2006 Orszaczky was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit by the Hungarian government. Also that year Orszaczky was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma and died on 3 February 2008, aged 59.
Russell James Dunlop was an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and record producer-engineer. From the late 1970s he collaborated with Bruce Brown in a production company for albums and singles by Australian performers including Mental As Anything, The Reels and Machinations. As a musician he was a member of various groups such as Aesop's Fables (1968–70), Levi Smith's Clefs (1971), Southern Contemporary Rock Assembly (SCRA) (1971–72) and Ayers Rock (1976).
Boogie is a rhythm and blues genre of electronic dance music with close ties to the post-disco style, that first emerged in the United States during the late 1970s to mid-1980s. The sound of boogie is defined by bridging acoustic and electronic musical instruments with emphasis on vocals and miscellaneous effects. It later evolved into electro and house music.
Nick Pride and the Pimptones are a funk/jazz/soul band based in Newcastle upon Tyne. The Pimptones were formed in 2007 by guitarist, composer and arranger Nick Pride. Their record label Record Kicks describes them as "a deep funk / jazz-dance outfit playing original music in the style of The Meters, JTQ and Charlie Hunter. The group is equally at home in a noisy nightclub or intimate jazz setting, and is most likely to bring the roof of either down with their heavy dancefloor grooves, big breaks and sophisticated jazz numbers"
Leo de Castro was a New Zealand funk and soul singer-guitarist. From 1969 to 1995 he worked in Australia in a variety of bands before returning to Auckland. He contributed to Rocco (1976), as a member of Johnny Rocco Band; Voodoo Soul – Live at The Basement, by Leo de Castro and Friends; a live album, Long White Clouds (2007), which had been recorded in January 1988 using two separate backing bands, The Dancehall Racketeers and Roger Janes Band.
Blue Ruin were an Australian blues rock band, which started as Scrap Museum in 1984. Their third studio album, I'm Gonna Smile, was nominated for Best Independent Release at the ARIA Music Awards of 1991. The group had released three other studio albums, Such Sweet Thunder, Flame and Tattoo Tears (1993), before disbanding in 1995. Mainstay members were Ian "Quincy" McLean on lead vocals and Mulaim Vela on lead guitar.
The Pussywillows were a group that featured Elinor Blake, Lisa Dembling and Lisa Jenio. Their recordings have appeared on the Kill the Moonlight soundtrack, and the Rutles Highway Revisited album.
