Funk

(The Red Hot Chili Pe, James Brown, Galactic)

ne:o – direkt (live)

Ne:o is a German band that mixes a whole lot of genres to create an essentially artistic piece of work. The group recently released a live performance compilation to cap off their German tour last 2009. It wasn't meant to be the last group performance but until today it remains to be seen whether the guys will be getting back together or not. The album is available at Aaahh Records as well as on Internet Archive. Ne:o played songs from previous albums, âne:omuzicâ, âmusikkritikâ and the critically acclaimed, âillojâ. Listening to this band is like taking a wonderful, psychedelic music trip where you encounter layers and layers of sound as well as instruments that beautifully harmonize or mingle with each other. Take a listen.

Eskaei: Bits Is All There Is

Eskaei is actually the one-man crew of Stefanos Kourtis. This talented artist has been making his own mix of eclectic electronic hip hop; skilfully creating a lush soundscape filled and inspired by hip hop music. Stefanos is also the brainchild for netlabel, Memory Format. He started it around 2006. He has also released several songs as well as compilations using different monikers in various netlabels. As Eskaei, he focuses more on his love for "electronically generated sounds;" creating a wonderful hodgepodge of elements that are both pleasant, complex yet easy to relax to.

Max Tannone: Ghostfunk

Dubbed as a "producer who can do no wrong," New York native, Max Tonnone releases his latest project, Ghostfunk. For those who aren't familiar with the DJ/producer, he's known for his eloquent and interesting mash ups. His first foray was a combination of Jay-Z's raps with the music of alternative icons, Radiohead; producing "Jaydiohead." The project even caught the attention of the rap king himself. Since then the producer has worked with the likes of the Beastie Boys and has released countless mash-ups featuring his cool skills. This time around, he's set his eyes on another prominent rapper, Ghostface Killah from the Wu-Tang Clan; mixing his skillful rhymes with awesome old-school African funk, high life and psychedelic rock to create this wonderful gem.

Gleb Bones: The Fine Art of Wasting Time

Sometimes, all you need is good old rock and roll. Gleb Bones' The Fine Art of Wasting Time is an interesting mix of funk, hardrock, indie and garage rock in one loud yet likable record. These Frenchman actually describe their sound as "glam rock" on their Myspace page and certainly, some songs do remind you of the good old hair, sequins, and tights days. However, there's no denying that most of the tracks are certainly worth lovin'. If you're looking for some nostalgic rock and roll, then this is one of the best records on Jamendo to check out. Best part, it's available as a free download. Take a listen!

Rei Teytum: Viajeros

A wonderful fusion of rock, funk, folk, jazz, brass with some great sounding guitar, percussion, violin, viola, keyboards, trumpet, sax, bagpipes!?, and yes, even harmonica. It seems that Rei Teytum have it all, except of course for an English version of their bio anywhere on the Internet. So it is times like this that I wish I spoke more languages to bring you important information about the artists. But since that will simply not happen lets focus on their fantastic album, "Viajeros""Travelers", and the tiny bits of band history I was able to get (courtesy of my friend Google Translate).

BNegão & Seletores de Freqüência

BNegão & Seletores de Freqüência come from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with a mix of Hip-Hop, Regge, Dub, Jazz, Samba, Soul, Rock, Dance, Metal, Baile Funk and as a description on the artists’ myspace page reads their music is often characterized as explosive. In fact ‘explosive’ is just what I though when I first listened to their album Enxugando Gelo (‘Drying Ice’).

Clones Of The Queen: The Gate EP

Clones of the Queen is a Hawaii based band that creates some sultry, techno, trip hop, rock sound. The trio is made up of frontwoman, Ara Laylo, guitarist Paul Bajcar and electronics by Matt McVickar. The Gate is their first EP and comes with 7 endearingly haunting tracks that's definitely worth your while. The album is filled with the band's signature brooding feel with a touch of spacey sounding indie rock. Laylo's voice is cold yet soothing when mixed with the synth soundscapes that often surround it. Ever since their beginning years, jamming together in a bank vault situation atop a coffee shop; the band has come quite a long way. Although they're still at the beginning stages, you can tell that this band has a bright future ahead. Take a listen.

Juanitos: Soul Africa

Juanitos first showed up on our blog all the way back in June 2009. And now with more of great albums under its belt (including over 400 concerts and hundreds of thousands of downloads – if not more) I thought it might be a right time for a little re-introduction; especially that after our crazy winter I’m sure we are all in need of some ‘summer night party’ sounds.