Plenty of compilations will be released this year, some will be good, and some will be incredible, but as I sit here drunk on funk, I’m struggling to figure out how any will better Funk n’ Beats Volume Ten: Curated by Boca 45.
The hugely-popular Funk n’ Beats series is, of course, the brainchild of BombStrikes duo Mooqee and Beatvandals. Over the last ten years, they’ve selected elite players from the world of funk to pop along, curate a compilation for the series, and deliver a collection of tracks that they feel best represent today’s thriving funk scene. I was going to give a few names of those involved in the previous volumes, but because the list is so damn impressive, it goes a little something like this: Pimpsoul, Beatvandals, Featurecast, Fort Knox Five, The Allergies, Smoove, Marc Hype, X-Ray Ted and Jim Sharp. Not too shabby a list I’m sure you’ll agree and should you be wondering how they can keep the bar they’ve set so high, there’s no need to worry because Mooqee and Beatvandals have it all under control just like always.
Reaching something of a milestone with the tenth volume of Funk n’ Beats, the BombStrikes duo have this time handed over the controls to Bristolian beatsmith and turntable genius Scott Hendy, a.k.a Boca 45.
Scott Hendy immersed himself in all things Hip Hop and Funk from a young age and has been unleashing productions upon the world for the last 25 years on legendary labels such as Grand Central and Mass Appeal. His place as an aficionado is beyond doubt with his selection and turntable skills seeing him hold down residencies at Fabric, appearing globally and even being hand-picked by the mysterious artist Banksy to open his Dismaland project. With such credentials and decades of crate digging to draw upon, the album was always going to be something special.
– BombStrikes.
With plenty of praise raining down on Boca 45, you’d hope the tracklist on his compilation stands up to its box office billing and to be fair, it has exceeded all expectations here at the LSM HQ! Awash with highlights and damn fine funk at every turn, you’ll come across music from Paul Nice & Phill Most Chill, DJ Tron, DJ Moneyshot (The Allergies), The Gaff, X-Ray Ted, Djar One and Western Roots amongst many others. New music on the comp comes courtesy of hip-hop and beats royalty The Bronx Dogs and their wild funk showdown Mixed Blood, Krafty Kuts and Chali 2na team up on their party-enhancer Hands High and the main man himself drops his crisp and funked-out remix of Nat Tates’ feel-good anthem Freed From Desire. It might be worth pointing out that Boca 45’s remix is available on vinyl and should you want to cop a copy, you can do so by Clicking Here.
Although seemingly impossible to pick any sort favourite from the epic selection of sounds on offer, a trio of tunes did catch my attention on my first listen. The first of those is the superb opener Showtime by Katalyst, the second is Leisure Allstars’ brass-toting Get Your Hands In The Air and the third track is Aeon Seven’s insanely brilliant Seven Breaks. The latter of those is worth the entrance fee alone! It’s a personal favourite of mine and I’m only too happy to admit it.
Once you’ve gleefully waded through the massive amount of funk, you’ll get to Boca 45’s mix of the album and get to experience the skills at his disposal and if you’re yet to do that, you’re in for a real treat. I’m absolutely certain that when you get to the end of the mix, you’ll be wanting to listen to everything all over again as soon as you possibly can. As Warren G once said “Funk, on a whole new level”.
Links for Boca 45 :
Soundcloud / Facebook / Bandcamp / Twitter
