Funky Friday Round-Up

This week we have an exclusive Basement Freaks interview and surprise giveaway, a new release from the Booty Pirates crew, with an exclusive free track, a super-sneaky preview of the new Rephrase album and a trio of free MP3s from London's Jezebel Sextet.


Rephrase - Taking On An Army

It seems like a long time has passed since the mighty remix album 'Swaps' from Rephrase, and even longer since his album 'Little Victories' swung, bumped and grooved its way into our lives in 2007.

But now the Aussie producer is back with a vengeance.

'Taking On An Army' has nine tracks dripping with beautiful vocal performances, stunning instrumentation and seriously funky feeling.

Genre-hopping from soul to dancehall to disco to hip-hop to drum n bass with ease, Rephrase collaborates with a host of vocal and instrumental talent including Mitchell Anderson, Paula Baxter, Vandal, Shabaka and James Morrison.

The title track, 'Taking On An Army', is a catchy soulful number which combines underground credibility with fresh pop sensibilities - no mean feat.

But this album isn't a departure from his previous output, or a bid for crossover appeal, more a logical progression of the eclectic sound he has established through his work up to this point.

Fans of 'Chase Your Tail', Rephrase's previous collaboration with MC Vandal, will not be disappointed by the bass-heavy, jiggy funk of 'Without A Second To Lose' or the chunky uptempo driving jive of 'Kick The Flow' - both of which see the pair revisiting their fruitful collaboration.

Vandal also appears on the first single from the album, 'Best Of Both Worlds' - for me the best track on a consistently outstanding album.

Here at NuFunk.net we're truly excited about this release, which drops on May 17th and will be available from iTunes, Rhapsody, Amazon, Napster, Nokia, Zune, Myspace Music, Lime Wire Store , Lala and just about anywhere else that sells tunes.

And to make sure you're just as excited as we are, we're posting the album preview below:

"Taking On An Army " Album Sampler by Rephrase

 

 
Various Artists - Booty Pirates Vol. 1

This collection from new label Booty Pirates takes mash-ups and bootlegs to new and funky heights.

Featuring tracks from Zenit Incompatible, tOtALcULt, Philly Blunt, Matthew Britt, Busta, Phunk Sinatra and Funcle, these tracks fuse old and new to make suprising, dancefloor-friendly bangers.

Stand-out tracks include 'I Want Linguistics' by Zenit Incompatible, which sees Chris Joss meet Jurassic 5 uptown for a dance-off and 'Jump That Way' by Busta, which is getting hyped by everyone from Slynk to Fuzzbox Inc.

Take a listen on the player below and if you like what you hear, go buy it.

Booty Pirates Volume 1 by Booty Pirates Rec

To celebrate his debut release, and the first release on Booty Pirates, tOtALcULt has given us a free track to promote the album. Click here to grab yourself an exclusive copy of his funky hip-hop banger 'BusMef'.

STOP PRESS: Pulp Fusion has added another free bootleg to promote this release, exclusive to NuFunk.net - grab his ultra-funkular take on the Red Hot Chilli Peppers here.


Jezebel Sextet - Free Tracks

As ever, we're finishing on a freebie - this week from the London-based Jezebel Sextet. Sounding like they come straight out of a dark and smokey nightclub in the 1960s, these guys deliver raw, fiercely groovy funk.

And they're giving away three MP3s to anyone who signs up to their mailing list. Head over to their homepage and get involved.

Keep your promos coming to the usual address blog@nufunk.net