Funk Music: Rhythm & Groove

May 2nd, 2008 by PFBlog

Funk is a style that emerged in the 60’s and it has its stylistic origins in soul music.

Funk was born from the mixing of soul music with other music styles like R&B, Rock, Jazz and psychedelic music. It’s main reference is undoubtedly James Brown and his musicians Maceo Parker and Melvin Parker.

The funk genre is well recognized for its syncopated and dancing rhythms, groovy basslines and the common use of saxophones, clarinets etc..

Black north American musicians started calling funk to the music which had a slower, looser rhythm and was often accompanied with repeated singed phrases.

This music had a very groovy feeling to it, a dancing vibe to which musicians and audience were instantly attracted to.

In the end of the 60’s and throughout the 70’s there were literally thousands of funk musicians and bands, from the more obscure one (with a couple of 45’s released) to the heavyweight sounds which were rolling the discos, like Parliament and Kool and the Gang.

Whether a track had a more soul, jazzy or disco feeling, if the
drums and the heavy bass were groovy then it would be funk! Jam sessions were a great way to create singles and for the musicians and singers to improve their techniques and develop each of their own unique groovin’ and feeling of the genre.

Classic funk artists and bands include: Parliament and Funkadelic (both George Clinton’s bands) , Kool and the Gang, James Brown, Maceo Parker, The Meters, Archie Bell & The Drells, The Gap Band, Curtis Mayfield, Bootsy Collins, Sly and the Family Stone, The Commodores, Herbie Hancock and Dyke & The Blazers.

A sub-genre of funk called the Electro-funk, emerged in the beginning of the 80’s through artists like Afrika Bambaataa, the fathers of the genre. Also known as electro, this sub-genre featured the use of synthesizers and the electronic rhythm of the TR-808 drum machine.

The most common sub-genres and variations, fusions of funk are electro funk, jazz-funk, afrobeat, g-funk, go-go, funk rock and p-funk.

Funk is a genre highly appreciated by hip hop artists who often sample old funk tracks. The songs of James Brown, Parliament and Funkadelic are among the most frequently sampled of all time.

Herbie Hancock’s Head hunters’ legendary drummer Mike Clark is one of the most sampled drummers of all time.

He is very well known for his experience and knowledge of all funk rhythms and ability of improvisation at the highest level of grooviness!

You can find Mike Clark’s powerful grooves in Future Loops’ sample title “Funk Drums”. He gives you hundreds of magnificent tight funk loops that can help you build authentic funky tunes.

Mike Clark’s Funk Drums is a 5 start collection of the heaviest, sickest funk loops available on the market .

If you’re lookinf for high quality, authentically funk loops, this is the number one title!