Usually one of the more innovative and exciting artists in the realm of breakbeat, Meat Katie has been touting the phrase “tech-funk” around for some time now with regards to his DJing/production style and his rather dashing label Lot49. What the hell’s all that about then eh? We had a little sniff around and talked to rising star 30Hz and stalwart of the scene Dylan Rhymes, as they prepare to team up with their Lot49 labelmate Alex Metric to smash A Different World’s 1st Birthday to pieces at Hidden in London this Saturday.
Tech-funk is generally accepted to be more of a “sound” or “attitude” than a genre as such. It’s the term Meat Katie coined to describe his sets and productions that fused 4/4 beats with elements of breakbeat – and conversely breakbeat with elements of 4/4 house and electro. The beats are always seriously thumping, the energy levels high, and the textures in the music generally very electronic, twisted, and sub-woofer troubling. And of course there are those driving percussive elements – usually associated with techno – combined with a rump-shaking groove underpinning the whole thang. “I think there was a time where the cutting edge of breakbeat became a more house influenced sound” begins 30Hz on the roots of the tech-funk sound, “at a time where there wasn't a huge amount of really heavy clubby house and a lot of people from other scenes were checking out and buying breaks records. When house moved more in the electrohouse direction it did what a lot of big breaks records were doing better in a sense, and that housey breaks sound became a bit obsolete.” Many DJs traditionally considered breaks DJs have moved away from their usual sound to incorporate increasing amounts of electro and tech-funk stylings – and likewise the music policies at key breaks night (such as Chew The Fat!) have diversified greatly. “This hasn’t been a conscious thing at our camp as we have always played out and released a wide variety of music” Dylan clarifies. “I guess the "Breaks DJs" are just moving on as there's no point in playing just breaks if there aren’t enough good breaks tunes out there to support.”
The electro phenomenon of the last few years that has permeated so many different genres and scenes has played a part in the emergence of the tech-funk sound – with the big, brash, larger-than-life sounds of electrohouse fitting in perfectly with the whole ethos. These two are somewhat sceptical of its contribution though. “I think it’s become a bandwagon and for the most part already is a bit of a cliché. It just ended up with loads of breaks DJs running around as if house had never existed before” says 30Hz. Dylan reinforces the viewpoint. “I think the word "electro" conjures up a very different idea in people's heads these days. It has helped the scene but a lot of productions coming through of late have become quite stale and predictable.”
DJs and producers are usually very cautious when it comes to classifying their sound, often shying away from labels and pigeonholes – but these guys seem pretty happy with their current tag. “It’s a perfect description” enthuses Dylan. “We have always used this term for what we do here at Lot 49 as that is the simplest way to describe it.” “I like the tech-funk ethos, though I think I'm probably a bit more on the bassline and sub-oriented side of things than DJs like Meat Katie or Elite Force” says 30Hz. i>“Baobinga and me have been toying around with the tag "acid crunk," which while meaningless conveys a bit more of the rudeness.” If all this sounds rather intriguing, you’d best keep your eye out for what these guys have coming up: 30Hz’s highly promising debut album ‘Electric Sheep’ comes out in November along with the single ‘Daddio’, and he’s finishing his album with Baobinga as The Body Snatchers, plus techno gear from his emptyset project, while Dylan’s new album is in the works and should drop in May 2008. In the meantime, you can catch these two dirty tech-funkers down at A Different World’s 1st Birthday at Hidden in London this Saturday – where they are joined by labelmate Alex Metric (who’s also just released an EP on Adam Freeland’s Marine Parade and remixed the new Hard-Fi track), Formless, and a whole host of other DJs, live acts, acoustic performers and cabaret acts. What happens when the Lot49 crew get together? “We always have a good night. Having done gigs all over the globe with everyone it’s sure to be a cracking night” says Dylan, while 30Hz gives a more insightful forecast. “Someone usually embarrasses themself, and the pimp hand is usually in full swing” Tech-funk? Pimp hand? I can’t keep up with all this crazy vocab...
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