(July 21, 2022) The essence or essentials of funk can be heard in how the genre can take a variety of styles that range from gospel, blues, jazz, rock, soul and hip-hop, put them on the one and create a sound so magnetically infectious that it draws people to the dance floor.
The band Brooklyn Funk Essentials draws from all of the musical traditions, coming from that neighborhood that includes all the ones mentioned above while also throwing Caribbean and African sounds and spoken word into the mix. Their lyrics are often funny and always insightful, and the music is guaranteed to get hips moving.
The Brooklyn Funk Essentials have been making their unique brand of funk since dropping their debut album Cool, Steady & Easy in 1995. BFE returns with their new single, “Scream,” which they debuted this week to whet appetites for the release of their seventh album, Intuition, which is due to be released in November.
“Scream” is a song that unabashedly embraces freedom of expression, and in that way the tune is spiritually connected to Isaac Hayes’ “Do Your Thing,” a cut that is an anthem for the let it all hang out ethos of the 1970s.
“Scream” comes with a percolating bass line punctuated by funky and tight horns section that all serve as the setup for Alison Limerick’s expressive and power packed vocals. And like “Do Your Thing” captured the tenor of the ‘me generation,’ “Scream” expresses the zeitgeist of restless, post-Covid world where people are so over being told to mask, shelter in place and socially distance. Check out “Scream” here.
By Howard Dukes
