Blogarhythms

Being in a figurative funk over my recent respiratory deficiency gave me the bright idea to post about some actual Funk in today’s Blogarhythms entry.

The musical “stank” in question emanates from Brownout, an eight member troupe of musicians hailing from Austin, Texas who’ve been blessed with the good fortune of backing the legendary Prince and providing horn support for Indie rockers Spoon in addition to a whole host of other accolades. Under the guise of Grupo Fantasma (where they upgrade to an eleven-piece orchestra) they’ve enjoyed success and critical acclaim performing their own brand of pan-Latin fusion. And though they don’t stray too far from those Latin roots the music they make as Brownout is dirty, gritty, sweaty, down-home, gut-bucket Funk. It’s Latin-Funk for sure, but Funk all the same. The sort of Funk that you’d usually find me blogging about in a “Records at Random” column on a random Friday.

Their debut album Homenaje (Español for “homage”), recorded (according to the band) via “analog tape machines, home studios and laptops,” is in effect a celebration of the old-school Funk aesthetic and a veneration of the groundbreaking Funk, Latin-Funk, Latin-Rock, Psychedelic, Afrobeat and funky Fusion artists whose work inspires the members of Brownout to do what they do. To that end, Earth Wind & Fire, Chaka Khan, Ray Barretto & Babe Ruth’s breakbeat classic “The Mexican” are all name-checked in song-titles, and the band covers Manu Dibango’s “African Battle.” The tunes aren’t necessarily overt tributes to their namesakes though, and it’s two artists who aren’t payed any lip-service (’70s funky Latin-Rock outfit Malo and Jazz-Fusion keyboardist and composer Galt MacDermot) whose names pop into my head the most often when listening to the record’s mix of funky bass-grooves, drum-breaks, Latin percussion & melodies, psychedelic guitar soloing and Crisco-slick keys.

My favorite cuts on the album are the loping, downtempo joints like “They Don’t Know,” “Brown Wind and Fire,” and “You Already Are.” These are the languorously-paced tunes that rely on elastic basslines, neck-tweaking drum-breaks, heavily effected guitar parts, and subtly sizzling melodies that radiate sweat-inducing heat as if infused by the Texas sun itself. They remind me of crate classics like Stanley Clarke’s “Concerto for Jazz/Rock Orchestra,” the Isley Brothers‘ cover of Seals & Croft’s “Summer Breeze,” William Devaughn’s pimped-out hymn “Be Thankful for What You Got,” and “Rien Ne Va Plus” by Funk Factory, as well as the Jazz/Funk instrumental work of the Beastie Boys. On the whole, the music Brownout populates Homenaje with fits somewhere between the grizzly Funk fusion of Blogarhythms favorite Clutchy Hopkins and the throwback Funk/Soul aesthetic of Daptone Records, but with a reverence for the music of the Latin diaspora equal to that for dusted Funk, Soul, Jazz & Rock, and a flair for festival-ready jamming.

Brownout “Brown Wind and Fire”

If the slow stuff’s not your flavor tunes like the aforementioned “African Battle,” “Laredo 77,” “Latin Asscape,” “The Sexican,” “Chafa Khan” (which is appropriately Rufus-esque) and “Chema’s Contraband” come fast and furious, with a flurry of horns and percussion aimed squarely at making bodies move. In my current state of insufflatory insufficiency however the laid back stuff is more my speed.

- El Keter