SEAL OF APPROVAL (DC) – *THE BIG BANG* Fort Knox FIve, Nappy Riddem, See-I – U Street Music Hall, 7/4/10

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Washington, DC is clearly a city on the rise. However, long before Obama came to town and the New York press proclaimed the city as the newest hot spot on the East coast, we’ve been represented quite well on both a national and international musical front for quite some time. Yes, everyone (TGRI included) loves to rant and rave about the likes of Tabi Bonney, Wale and US Royalty, but, if you’re not mentioning the Fort Knox Five and their related cadre of bands in that discussion, you’re clearly doing it wrong. A band consisting of members of a smattering of top local acts including the internationally renowned Thievery Corporation, the funk combo is an intrinsic part of the musical fiber of Washington, DC, and quite possibly the best global export to represent the sonic dominance of the Capital city.

On the 4th of July, the Fort Knox Five, alongside dominant reggae rhymeslayer See-I and the funk groovers Nappy Riddem will likely play the most sonorous live performances U Street Music Hall has seen in its near four month existence. As well, there will likely be a DJ set from the band as well, and knowing the diversity and nature of their tastes, everything from Run-DMC to Munchi’s Moombahton edits are likely to be played.

This will be a swirling dervish of tremendous musical energy. If unaware of the pure musical depth and scope of Washington, DC, do take the time to see the explosions on the Mall, and the fireworks at U Hall.

SEAL OF APPROVAL: (DC) FUNKIN 4 HAITI BENEFIT – 1/24/10 – MODERN

“Funk not only moves, it can re-move, dig?” – Parliament – Funkadelic, “P Funk Wants to Get Funked Up”

We’re about to see just how far that statement extends, and just how successful it can be.

Three million people have been affected by the terribly dire situation following last weeks terrible earthquake in Haiti. Nationwide, there have been efforts made to help the ailing residents of the island nation. However, there may be no funkier effort, no more electrifying effort, no more bass heavy and dance floor friendly effort than the lineup presented at Washington, DC’s Modern nightclub in Georgetown this coming Sunday night.

A plethora of TGRIOnline.com and local favorites are aligning as one with the goal of raising thousands of dollars to benefit those devastated by this terrible natural disaster. The Fort Knox Five, Nadastrom, Will Eastman, Stylus Chris and Joe Nice, and all they’re asking for is a $10 donation at the door? For Haiti? Not a bad trade, and, yes, even if you do, as most in DC hate to admit, *swear* by being on a guestlist and not paying, this is a drop in the bucket and worth it on a talent, cause and event level.

This will be one of the most amazing and important events of the DC music year. Do support!

SHIT I’M DIGGING THIS WEEK

aka avant garde musical water cooler discussion…

1. Mad Decent’s Toy Selectah takes Vampire Weekend’s “Cousins” in a decidedly CUMBIA direction!

Vampire Weekend – Cousins (Toy Selectah Mex-More Remix)

Mexican mix master Toy Selectah is one of my underrated faves of the Mad Decent family. His cumbia/hip hop production style is an acquired taste for sure, but the two steppin’ rhythms of Mexico allow for really easy dancing and are actually quite accessible. Vampire Weekend, the squeaky clean Hahvuhd white guys with a distinct African polyrhythm, when taken to a cumbia level make you think of three things. Christopher Columbus making a mistake, Triangle trade, and the global nature of sound. This remix is phenomenal, and only makes me hope that like last year at SXSW, when the quirky and perpetually entertaining Paul Devro dropped his “Invasion of the Loop Zombies” mix that sounds like a faith healing old Mexican man dropped a mix while on mescaline in the desert, that we get some more Mexican based hotness from the label, hopefully from Toy Selectah.

2. Kitty Daisy and Lewis go rockabilly!

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Prior to dropping this column six months ago, they were definitely going to be featured. Kitty Daisy and Lewis are a UK rockabilly trio that consistently turn music on its ear with their adherence to classic rock and roll standards and more than backing up the obvious kitch of the act with clear dominance and knowledge of their instruments. Siblings, the trio are signed to Britain’s Sunday Best Recordings, and over the summer toured in support of Coldplay while they were in the US. I’m not quite sure as of yet if they will be featured at SXSW this year or are considering national touring again, but do go out of your way to check their clips, and do follow this band. Also, they cover “Up the Country,” which until about a year ago, I only thought Canned Heat could cover with any skill. Well, this completely proves that theory wrong.

Unsure of your affection for rockabilly? Well, you likely know who bass madman Drop the Lime is of NYC’s infamous Trouble & Bass collective, and, well, if you ever looked at homie, you’d know that, well, with his ducktailed hair, pegleg pants, gold tooth and rolled up sleeves that well, if he ever dropped a rockabilly mix, it might be kinda fly.

3. Fort Knox Five and Kraak and Smaak remix each other?

The Fort Knox Five/Kraak and Smaak show at 9:30 Club a few months ago was easily one of the more musically expansive evenings of the DC year. Fort Knox Five exist as a collective to destroy all notions of what dance music is at present, and to incorporate as many disparate notions into that definition as humanly possible. Kraak and Smaak are a Dutch duo who drop soulful mixes of just about everything, loving retro hip hop break beats and deep rhythms that evoke disco and classic soul. After their tour together, they joined forces to remix each other’s tracks in a pleasant show of musical solidarity that is par for the course for both acts. Kraak and Smaak take “What Make Ya Dance,” from FK5’s new disc The Gold Standard 2, and take it in a decidedly 90s house direction, a dance floor inviter for sure. FK5 take Kraak and Smaak’s “Ain’t Gonna Take It,” and go in with the funk breaks as per usual, DJ Mat the Alien providing some scratches to make this another pop locking jam from the group.

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4. DJ Pierre drops new Bmore club heat!

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OK. With all due respect, as long as Ultra Nate, Lisa Moody, Thommy Davis, KW Griff, Scottie B, DJ Class, Jonny Blaze, DJ Booman and Rod Lee are all living and breathing, being “Baltimore’s Best DJ to Spin in a Club” as voted by the Baltimore City Paper is an award that isn’t going to mean diddly poo if not won by any of those people. Honest, but completely true. But DJ Pierre won at 18. And he is the future, if there is one, for Baltimore club music. So, downloading his 15 minute mini mix, getting familiar and showing support for the young man is important. He’s still improving, and is leagues away from where he likely wants to be, but his dedication and improvement is more than apparent. I have no problem with dancing to “Dance My Pain Away,” “Swift’s Revenge” and “Pick Em Up” for the next 50 years, but, if this thing is going to evolve, there’s a short list of people this depends upon.

ALBUM REVIEW: Fort Knox Five "The New Gold Standard 2"

Let’s call all the classic funkateers left on this planet the children of Funkenstein. Descended from all of his brides, with the Godfather being James Brown. Somewhere in the third or fourth generation of that otherwordly cosmic slop lie Washington, DC’s Fort Knox Five, and the artists on Fort Knox Recordings who have joined forces for the Fort Knox Five’s new compilation release, The New Gold Standard 2. On the heels of the Fort Knox Five’s 2006 The New Gold Standard compilation release that portented the giant success of 2008’s Radio Free DC album, an album correctly called “one of the year’s most exciting, most eclectic funk albums” by USA Today. The Fort Knox Five, and the entirety of the Fort Knox Recordings family succeed in not so much redefining the concept of funk, but instead wading knee deep into it, and spreading its heavy, dance heavy gospel as far and wide as humanly possible.

The Fort Knox Five contribute four new tracks, collaboration “Shift” with yes, Afrika Bambaataa and Mustafa Akbar the most historically notable, as the quartet creates a funky electro backing track straight out of the Soulsonic Force playbook. While not advancing Bambaataa into new territory, it certainly shows the talents and abilities of the Fort Knox Five again in having the historical knowledge of and respect for an artist to place them perfectly within their most beneficial and successful element. As well, new tracks like “Bhangra Panch” and “The Sax Pusher” continue to define the Fort Knox Five as bridging the various histories of funk, creating and exploring the funkiest of breaks, and on “Bhangra Panch,” using a sitar entirely too well in the realm of hip hop, laying down wild dub breaks with the assistance of Beta G on one of the albums true success stories.

Funk even melds well with indie pop on this record. Not that this is an unknown phenomenon, but the contributions of Speedy Consuela on this record are wonderful. “Number One Fan” ventures boldly into downtempo trip hop quite well, leaving the listener excited and definitely wanting more, in many ways the goal of such a compilation. The bass on this track is particularly excellent, as well as the horns in accentuating the vocals that provide a wonderful visual landscape of the mood evoked.

However, the biggest success from this compilation would have to be reggae funk local stalwarts and new Fort Knox Records signees See-I, and their contribution, “Homegrown.” Their enormous tribute to DC with face melting guitars, an insistent bassline and growling lyrics sounds like nothing else that has come out of the area in quite some time, and is a bonafide winner.

If looking for exciting avenues of funk exploration, there may be no better avenue for you than the work of Fort Knox Recordings. On one record, the funk travels internationally, all with tremendous success. From cumbia, to bhangra, reggae, psychedelia, hip hop, soul and electro, all bases are covered, and covered exceptionally well. The compilation, though audaciously titled, meets, exceeds and expands far past all expectations.

FOUR OUT OF FIVE STARS

KRAAK AND SMAAK/FORT KNOX FIVE @ 9:30 Club 10/13/09

The Fort Knox Five, DC’s internationally acclaimed underground funk heroes came home for a night on their tour with Dutch funk DJ collective Kraak and Smaak last Tuesday, a late night door opening event which underwhelmed from an attendance standpoint, but overwhelmed from a standpoint of two audaciously funky DJ sets that wowed and pleased the audience present.

A major issue of the event which caused some confusion, was the layout of the evening. The Fort Knox Five have successfully played and come quite close to filling the bottom of 9:30 Club before. Kraak and Smaak, while friends of The Fort Knox Five, and giants on their own accord, seemed to have a lower profile in this city than the local superstar openers, and many individuals who cam late expecting The Fort Knox Five, instead got the soulful vibes of Kraak and Smaak, which, while completely okay from a musical standpoint, was an unusual hiccup to the evening.

The Fort Knox Five are certainly a golden combination, having roots in a plethora of local DC acts ranging from See-I to Raskal to Thievery Corporation, making their unification one that combines so many musical influences that make themselves apparent in their DJ sets which as a bonus include phenomenal live instrumentation. A highlight of the night was Thievery Corporation’s Rob Myers on the sitar, an unusual look for EDM, but one that took a solid mix to the realm of the mystical, with every chord struck on the sitar creating a magical essence that permeated the venue. The set included everything from Gramophonedzie’s Peggy Lee sampling “Why Don’t You,” to the Beatles’ “Within You Without You,” and some tracks from some of their own exemplary work on 2008’s Radio Free DC release. The group, who historically opened for Gwen Stefani in 2005, certainly aimed to, and pleased the faithful in attendance.

Kraak and Smaak were the surprise of the evening to this reviewer. Only aware of them because of the gigantic funk swinger with delicious breakbeats, “Squeeze Me,” the Dutch duo’s voluminous catalogue of sultry dance funk remixes and own productions that run the gamut from early hip hop recallers to overheated bossa nova, were put on display on the evening in question. While nothing inspired the manic breaking, popping and locking expected from a cut like “Squeeze Me,” Kraak and Smaak absolutely know their way around a groove. For instance, by merely looping the guitar and adding a breakbeat on the chorus, and going downtempo and Arabic on the Soggy Bottom Boys’ “Man of Constant Sorrow” from 2000’s popular film O Brother Where Art Thou, they create a remix that is so moving, dark, invigorating and deep that it resonates even a week later a noteworthy and emotional.

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While from an attendance standpoint certainly was not an expectation meeting full success, the expectation of absolute funk and soul mastery and exquisite exploration was met. This, for the nature of advancing music forward, was the best and only success necessary.