Funk rock

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Funk rock
Stylistic origins
Cultural origins
Typical instruments
Mainstream popularity Moderate
Subgenres
Funkcore - Funk metal - Punk-Funk

Funk rock (also typed as funk-rock) is a music genre that fuses funk and rock elements.[1] Its earliest incarnation was heard in the late '60s through the mid-'70's by musicians such as Jimi Hendrix, Gary Wright, David Bowie, as well as Mother's Finest, Faith No More (formed in 1982), and The Doors with Soul Kitchen, released on their self-titled debut album.

Contents

[edit] Characteristics

Funk rock is a fusion of funk and rock. Many instruments may be incorporated into the music, but the overall sound is defined by a definitive bass or drum beat and electric guitars. The bass and drum rhythms are influenced by funk music but with more intensity, while the guitar can be funk-or-rock-influenced, usually with distortion.

[edit] Genre history

Jimi Hendrix was the first well-known recording artist to combine the rhythms and riffs of early funk to his rock sound. Perhaps the earliest example is his song "Little Miss Lover" (1967). His live album Band of Gypsys features funky riffs and rhythms throughout (especially the song "Power of Soul") and his unfinished album also included a couple of funk-rock songs such as "Freedom", "Izabella", "Straight Ahead", and "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)", which many consider to have the funkiest opening riff of its era.

Other pioneers of funk-rock evolved in the 1970s in the music of the British rock-band Trapeze, The Rolling Stones ( Miss You & Hot Stuff ), Led Zeppelin (The Crunge) & singer David Bowie with his hit song "Fame". The Mark III & IV lineups of Deep Purple (with Glenn Hughes of Trapeze, David Coverdale of Whitesnake and Tommy Bolin of The James Gang) featured mature elements of funk in such songs as "Sail Away (Tomorrow)" and "Coronarias Redig", enough of which was believed to prompt the exit of guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. American artists Frank Zappa and Gary Wright (My Love is Alive, good example of early Synth-funk as well), along with bands like Graham Central Station, Rufus, Mother's Finest, Funkadelic & the Isley Brothers (The Heat Is On & 3 + 3 albums ) all experimented with the blending of Funk & Rock rhythms.

The Big Boys, Xavion(An Afro-American group whose Asylum/Mirage LP in '84 pre-dated Living Colour) & Rick James along with New Wave mainstays Blondie & the Talking Heads created their own sound mix of Punk Funk in the early 1980s. One famous funk rock song of the period was Another One Bites the Dust by British Rock icons Queen.

The genre's representatives from the late 1980s to present day include The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane's Addiction, Fishbone, Primus, Living Colour, Spin Doctors, as well as Prince & spinoffs The Time & one hit wonders Mazarati, who all have created, expanded and defined the Funk Rock style.

In the early 1990s, several bands combined funky rhythms with Heavy Metal guitar sounds, resulting in "Funk metal", where the emphasis is in using much Heavier distorted guitar sounds in the mix. Funk Rock employs more of a lighter (crunch) distorted Guitar sound, and the musical emphasis tends to be more Beat driven with prominent Bass lines, more rhythmic in the R&B sense.

Lenny Kravitz is one of the most prominent musicians today in the fusion of rock riffs and funk rhythms, as can be listened on tracks such as Tunnel Vision, Battlefield of Love, Always on the Run, Love Love Love, American Woman, Will You Marry Me, SuperSoulFighter, Live, and so on.

[edit] Subgenres

[edit] Funkcore

Funkcore is a fusion of punk and funk created in the 1980s. Hard, loud and fast guitars are featured, but unlike in most rock music, it does not overpower the bass, which is heavy and driving. Drums are often funk-influenced, but with intense punk-styled pounding. Synthesizers or horn sections sometimes make an appearance, although they are not integral. Examples of funkcore bands are Jungle Fever, Adequate Seven, and Big Boys.

[edit] Punk-funk

Punk-funk (or funk-punk) is a mix of punk or post-punk songs with funk elements, very similar to dance-punk. Some times, the punk influence is replaced by an alternative rock influence. The first appearance of this subgenre was in 1979, when Gang Of Four released their debut album, Entertainment!. In the 1980s, bands such as Talking Heads, Blondie, Rick James, and The Clash made punk-funk become more famous. The style was revitalized by "The New New York Underground Scene", such as The Rapture, Radio 4, Liars, !!!, Out Hud and LCD Soundsystem starting to mix their usual punk-funk with house, dub and hip-hop.

[edit] Funk metal

Funk metal (sometimes typeset differently such as funk-metal) is a fusion genre of music which emerged in the 1980s.[2] It typically incorporates elements of funk and heavy metal. It features hard-driving heavy metal guitar riffs, the pounding bass rhythms characteristic of funk, and sometimes hip hop-style rhymes into an alternative rock approach to songwriting. Faith No More, Living Colour, Rage Against the Machine, and 24-7 Spyz are such bands, as is Infectious Grooves or Suicidal Tendencies (Robert Trujillo's bass work)

[edit] Bands

For main article, see Category:Funk rock.


[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Vincent, Rickey (2004). "Hip-Hop and Black Noise:Raising Hell". That's the Joint!: The Hip-hop Studies Reader: 489-490.  ISBN 0415969190
  2. ^ Scaruffi, Piero (2003). A History of Rock Music, 1951-2000, 475. ISBN 0595295657. 
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Funk music