Shut up! This is Son Raw’s playground.
Funk is like porn: you know it when you see/hear it. But while too many acts spend hours upon end noodling with filters and plug ins to make their newest cassette tape sound like background music from a late 80s infomercial, far too few musicians are actually innovating and pushing the funk forward. Dam Funk aside, there’s more clones and careerists than Captain Funk-a-hos. Which is why Grime outlier Swindle’s music is so refreshing – it’s funky but future, never sacrificing forward drive for a good groove or vice versa. Last seen on Butterz, 2012 looks to be the year where he breaks out beyond the London underground with a series of releases just as accessible to fans of P-Funk as Eski-Funk.
“Highly anticipated” doesn’t begin to describe Ignition’s release. The harder side of Rinse FM’s lineup has been teasing us with this anthem for a couple of months now and the track’s official release comes after a dearth of big club tunes on the Grime circuit. Point blank, this is the joint that makes the party live. Technically speaking, it isn’t a particularly revolutionary piece of music – wobbling bass, funky synths, good rapping and R&B vocals have been done before but the argument that great records are more than the sum of their parts has never been truer. From the euphoric opening to the synth solo on the back end, Ignition does a lot with very little, avoiding clutter in favor of space and histrionics in favor of funk. You may THINK you’re tired of that bass line, but it sounds remarkably fresh once you strip it down to the basics and pair it with drums that swing rather than bash. Can we get Busta Rhymes on a remix?
Unlimited, a collaboration with Dubstep maverick Silkie makes so much sense you can’t help but hope for more from the duo. A slowly unfolding ride across the musical solar system, it’s the newest and most improved version of the spaced out exploratory psychedelia first conceptualized by George Clinton and last updated by the Brainfeeders. I’d call it Rick James on acid but frankly that qualifier probably won’t help.
Buy:
MP3: Swindle – Ignition
Ignition Feat. Footsie & Nadia Suliman by swindleuk
Swindle & Silkie – Unlimited by swindleuk
