The
eighth studio album by the Swedish funk band Beat Funktion was released
on September 15. This sextet stunned global audiences in 2014 when three
of their albums, 'Voodooland', 'Mandy's Secret' and 'Olympus' peaked at
No. 1 on the US and Canadian jazz charts. This naturally raised the question of how Sweden and funk could ever have anything to do with each other. Today the band has established itself as one of Scandinavia's most fiery and prolific funk groups, with a wonderful Scandinavian retro sound with a lot of jazz and psychedelia in it.
The band members are top jazz players Karl Olandersson on trumpet, Olle Thunström on tenor saxophone, Johan Öijen on guitar, Daniel Lantz on keys, Pal Johnson on bass and Jon Eriksson on drums. Add guest musicians such as percussionist Ola Bothzén and singer Sara Englund for extra spice.
In true 70s fashion, 'Skywards', with 11 songs, is a rich and varied concept album with a science fiction atmosphere, aimed at dance-hungry partygoers as well as artsy, beard-scratching connoisseurs...
'Carambola' immediately sets the tone with swinging instrumental funk, which invites you to dance. Then we leave with the spaceship 'In Orbit', followed by the funky 'Jonesing'. 'The Lost Resort' sounds calmer, after which we go at it again with 'Front Runner'.
The tempo slows down a bit on 'Minor Mistakes', followed by 'Diary of a Pipe Dreamer'. 'Powerhouse' goes all out and is a lot of fun to dance to. And on 'Narcissus' a leaden voice emerges, while the singer remains in the background. 'Yesternight' is an outsider, rather smooth jazz, after which the title track ends steamy and funky.
A real party for funkateers, and that from the far North! A nice funky discovery!
Tracks:
Carambola
In Orbit
Jonesing
The Lost Resort
Front Runner
Minor Mistakes
Diary of a Pipe Dreamer
Powerhouse
Narcissus
Yesternight
Skywards