Release Date: 07 April 2014
Label: Heavenly Sweetness
Packaging Type: Digipak
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 3700409812798
Release Date: 07 April 2014
Label: Heavenly Sweetness
Packaging Type: Digipak
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 3700409812798
Description
Debut album by the French band DopeGems. These guys play real jazz-funk with a hip hop attitude. They only play covers of rare jazz-funk tracks from the late 70s and early 80s from OST's or highly collectable vinyl. Necksnappin' features arrangements of tracks by The Isley Brothers, Minority Band, Bennie Maupin and Bernard Herrmann (from the 'Taxi Driver' soundtrack) amongst others.
Slikk Tim, drummer, arranger and producer for DopeGems gives an insight into the band, their sound and ethos: "Besides playing a repertoire that is totally ignored nowadays, it forced us into finding tricks and workarounds to play the tunes, because of the limitation induced by the choice of strictly period correct instrumentation: I wanted to use something a small, gigging funk band group from that era would have had on stage. Eventually, we started developing a sound of our own and adding our modern, hip hop intensity.
I had a hard time assembling the perfect team, as I needed each instrumentalist; to master the whole array of jazz and r'n'b styles from that era; to be a great sight-reader (the sophisticated arrangements would be extremely time consuming to learn by heart); and to have the righteous, ballsy attitude and street-wise feel for the music."
Tracklisting
Cotonete
The Rongetz Foundation vs Blanka
Various Artists
Laurent Bardainne & Tigre d'Eau Douce
Various Artists
Mulatu Astatke
DopeGems
K.O.G
DopeGems