Music Is the Weapon and their eleven members are back with a new jazzy funk-party full of energic afro beats and fantastic horns on the new album “Moving Foundations and Outer Space”. There’s a great groove on the album and they sound better than ever. The sound is more distinct and with a more pronounced seventies atmosphere. The energic funk is in focus but they show a variation I really like, with for example the many-faceted  ”Vredens Duvor” and the spacy “Space Is Yellow”.  Most of it is instrumental except from a few tracks, among them my favourite one, the grand “Do You, Be You” where Dinah Yonas has added lyrics and her pleasant soul voice.

Music Is the Weapon’s site - on Facebook – on Spotify –  on Bandcamp

We Will Never Stop

Funked Up is a young, interesting band from Abbekås in Skåne. Like the name suggests, their main dish is funk, which they have presented on the 4-track EP release “Chapel Hill”. Well played, energic funk with vibes from the seventies and an indie feeling.

Listen more on their Facebook page, on Spotify or on Wimp. Here’s the title track on the EP:

Chapel Hill

Music from funk and funk inspired artists is something that I receive more and more of. That they are of such high quality is also fascinating and fun. One of those is the band Dinner For Dinosaurs, hailing from Malmö, who released a three-track EP, “Jurassic Funk”, a little while ago. I hear Jamiroquai, some disco and funk pop from the seventies. Add to this great vocals from Rasmus Viberg who has a tone that reminds of  Jason Kay in Jamiroquai.

The band name was invented when the singer Rasmus was playing around with a “band generator” and wrote “Dinner”. The result was “Dinner For…” in various combinations and since they had joked about dinosaurs betwwen themselves, he made the association, which resulted in a name they all thought was a fun and suitable name.

You can listen to more songs and follow the band on Facebook. The EP is also available on Spotify.

About This Girl

Riff Knives is back with a new EP, “Ape Flip”. And their own mix of  funk, rock and hip hop continues to impress me. It feels like an obvious step forward; like a wine that’s maturing into something exquisite.

To point out something specific that has happened, I feel that the harder gangsta-vibes has been replaced with more rock- and funk warmth, which I think is positive; it feels closer and more “us” than “you”.

They have a special ability of coming up with efficient hooks in guitar riffs, bridges and chorus melodies and to make it all work together with a really nice drive. From that perspective “Put Me On the Ride” is a pleasure to listen to; the song has everything and they even find space for blues harmonicas and a funky guitar solo. “I Miss You (Honestly?)”, which you can listen to here below is another brilliant example.

You can listen to their music on Spotify, Deezer or Grooveshark. You can also find them on their site.

I Miss You (Honestly?)

Riff Knives play music in a genre that’s normally not exactly my thing, but nevertheless I was caught by their music. It’s a mix of hip hop, funk and rock with a lot of attitude and cool hooks. They get their inspiration foremost from N*E*R*D but also also from bands like Looptroop, Jurassic 5 and Infinite Mass.

They have released their debut EP, “Rattle For Fame”, which you can listen to on Spotify or on their Myspace page. Here are a couple of tracks:

Rattle For Fame
Porn Scar

If I were to explain groove to someone, I think that the afro-beat band Music Is the Weapon would be a great example. The 12-membered band creates a music with a liveliness I can listen to for a long time. It’s party, fighting spirit and a lot of joy.  With funk, jazz and caribbean influences this makes a great mix.

They started out as a tribute band to Fela Kuti, but is now playing their own music, inspired by Kuti. This led to the release of their debut album “Music Is the Weapon” in may. I you’d like to listen more you should visit their Myspace page or their Facebook page.

Here you can listen to a bonus track, featuring the poet Lasse Fabel (in swedish):

Copyriot (feat Lasse Fabel)