UK funky
| UK funky | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Mid-2000s, London, England |
| Typical instruments | |
UK funky (sometimes known as UKF or funky[1]) is a genre of electronic dance music from the United Kingdom that is heavily influenced by deep house, Afrobeat, soca, electro house, broken beat and UK garage. It often gets confused with funky house in America, which is mainly disco and funk oriented.[1]
Typically, UK funky blends beats, bass loops and synths with African and Latin percussion in the dem bow rhythm and contemporary R&B-style vocals.
Characteristics
UK funky uses tempos of around 130bpm and often has a prominent "4 to the floor" kick drum. The drum patterns commonly also include percussion playing African inspired rhythms. Instrumentation varies widely, but drum machines and synthesizers are common. There are similarities to garage in rhythmic, musical and vocal styles. UK funky is highly influenced by the tribal, deep, soulful and bassline house subgenres. Similar genres include Afrobeat, broken beat, electro and garage.
History
US house producers such as Masters At Work, Karizma, Quentin Harris and Dennis Ferrer could be said to have a strong influence over the development of UK funky. Karizma's song "Twyst This" and Ferrer's remix of Fish Go Deep's "The Cure and the Cause" were important records in the development of the genre and Ferrer's "Hey Hey" was a massive hit in the scene.
Hits from the scene include the Crazy Cousinz songs "Do You Mind", "Bongo Jam" and "The Funky Anthem", and Fuzzy Logik featuring Egypt's "In The Morning". Popular songs have also produced dance crazes, such as "Heads Shoulders Knees and Toes", "The Tribal Man Skank" and "The Migraine Skank". Other major artists include Apple, Marcus Nasty, Tribal Magz, Donae'o, KIG,Roska, Champion, Ill Blu, Lil' Silva and Funkystepz.
Popular singer Katy B duetted with Ms. Dynamite on a track called "Lights On". It reached number four in the UK Singles Chart and was the first UK funky track to chart in the UK.
Other artists known to have produced singles in the UK funky genre are Clean Bandit with "Extraordinary", Redlight with "Lost in Your Love" and in 2016, "One Dance" by Drake. "One Dance" samples "Do You Mind" by Kyla with a dancehall and afrobeat inspired beat, and it later reached number one in several countries especially the US.
References
- Notes
- 1 2 McDonnell, John (2008-08-18), "Broken beat meets tribal house? Now that's what I call... funky?", The Guardian, guardian.co.uk, retrieved 2009-12-24
- Bibliography
- Clark, Martin. 'The Month In: Grime / Dubstep', Pitchfork, August, 2006.
- Clark, Martin. 'Wot Do U Call It: Funky?', Blackdown, December, 2007.
- Prancehall 'What happened to grime? It turned into funky house', NME, February, 2008.
- McDonnell, John 'Can grime call house a home?', Guardian, February, 2008.
- Finney, Tim 'Peering Through The Front Door Of Funky House', Idolator, May, 2008.
- Wilson, Makeda 'The rise of Funky' Beatportal/D101 Magazine, July 2008.
- McDonnell, John 'Broken beat meets tribal house? Now that's what I call... funky?', Guardian, August, 2008.
- Clark, Martin. 'Spyro v Marcus NASTY v Mak 10 v Maximum = wot do you call it?', Blackdown, September, 2008.
- Wilson, Makeda - 'Nah That's Funky, It's leaking.... It Stinks!!' - D101 Magazine, October 2008. Article Available on request from D101MAGAZINE
- Wilson, Makeda - 'Keep It Funky!!' - D101 Magazine, February 2009. Article Available on request from D101MAGAZINE
External links
- bassmusic.me is an online magazine shedding light on various forms of bass driven music such as: Dubstep, UK Funky, Garage, Drum & Bass, House, Juke, Techno and more.
- FunkyHouseVideos.co.uk - Videos of uk funky, electro and soulful house music.
- funky.grimescene.co.uk - Supporting UK Talent, UK Funky, Soulful house and Old Skool Garage.