There has been no shortage of top quality albums released throughout 2018 that could easily qualify as ‘Best Of The Year’ and here with another to add into that mix is Skeewiff‘s 12 track masterpiece ‘Put Your Hands Together’ which is out now on Pedigree Cuts. All the tracks bar one are with artists Skeewiff has collaborated with over recent years and the lineup is one that will leave you speechless after all the music has been sampled!
The first of the collaborators on Skeewiff’s new album is The Brand New Heavies and I’m sure I’m not the only one who has great memories attached to their music from the ’90s. Good news is they are still very much kickin’ it in the Funk scene, gigging and making new music like the 4 tracks made with Skeewiff. There are two truly psychedelic and spaced out jams to be found in ‘Conspiracy Theory’ and ‘Cosmic Space Jam’ that’ll really twist your melon man! They’ve also joined forces on the title track of the album, which is an extremely cool and sophisticated slice of brass-heavy Swing infused Funk and on the album opener ‘Starsky and June’ which, for me, is the standout track on the album! There aren’t many Funk joints as addictive as this one!
Next up on the collaboration front, Skewiff teams up with Baby Bam from the legendary Hip Hop trio Jungle Brothers. Again, there are 4 tracks to be found from this coming together of musical minds and as you might expect, a stone-cold cool selection of Funk laced Hip Hop is what you’re gonna get. ‘I Don’t Follow The Trend’ and ‘Set It Off’ are the heaviest hitters out of three Funk driven tracks. The third of those is the much smoother ‘Flyer Than Lotus’. ‘Real Talk’ is the last of the collabs with Baby Bam where he shares his experiences with ‘real talk’ over easy-going Reggae vibes.
Freak Power‘s Ashley Slater joins Skeewiff next via his Kitten And The Hip project for some booty shaking madness on ‘Too Busy Twerkin’. The craze may well be on the decline, but there’s more than enough in this punchy tune to make you shake what ya mama gave ya!
The last of the collaborations is with piano genius Dan Hewson on 2 completely different tracks that both have the same desired effect. ‘Cheeky Charlie’ is a larger than life vintage Swing extravaganza with the big band blazing its brass over infectious and uptempo 4/4 beats. ‘I Need You’ is very much an extravaganza in its own right but this time it’s all about Disco. This track is the final track on the album and just as it opened, it’s ending on a real high also with their extremely groovy and uplifting offering.
Amongst all of the collaborations, Skeewiff did manage to slip a track of his own in, that being ‘The Times They Are A Cha Cha Cha’. This ones for the Bboy’s and Bgirls out there who want to prepare for their next battle on the lino!
I think it’s fair to say that Skeewiff and friends have delivered an absolute blinder here!
Buy ‘Put Your Hands Together’ here: Juno // Bandcamp
Links for Skeewiff :
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