LUCIDMEDIA

Getting Nufunktonia with GMMF

Written by Catherine Kustanczy Thursday, 06 August 2009 16:02

When the opportunity came along to interview PHATT al from Toronto-based band God Made Me Funky, I was, I admit, quite excited.

PHATT al is the de-facto spokesman for the multi-member music machine; as well as being an energetic performer and a solid rapper. He’s struck me in past interviews I’d heard, as a genuinely thoughtful, intelligent person, not to mention a musical powerhouse. Having worked with Canadian alt-bands Len and Raggadeath in the 1990s, PHATT al is a man who embraces all forms of musical expression with equal vigour.

When we meet on a damp field in Woodbine Park mere hours before God Made Me Funky perform at the kick-off of the Beaches International Jazz Festival, I discover that al is indeed, everything I’d been lead to believe –curious, passionate, funny, and visionary. While the band’s sound takes definite cues from Parliament Funkadelic, PHATT al is anything but a spaced-out funkster a la George Clinton. He credits Herbie Hancock and the Headhunters for providing the name of the band, courtesy of Hancock’s own song, called, naturally, “God Made Me Funky.”

“We said, ‘That’s it’ –totally,” recalls al.

Like Parliament Funkadelic, the band is composed of numerous members, including Melissa O’Neill, a recent addition who some might recognize from her turn as the winner on Canadian Idol’s third season. Members number as high as fifteen, and all indications point to a range of talents and experience; last summer, young up-and-coming Canadian saxophonist Rob Christian toured with the band.

“For us it’s about the bigger the better,” he explains. “There are so many different people from different backgrounds, religions, and musical places in their lives –to all come together on stage and make a sound that works… it’s a village of funk. It’s Nufunktonia.”

And therein lies the other connection to Clinton and company. God Made Me Funky’s fourth and latest album, Welcome to Nufunktonia, takes the Mothership Connection of Parliament Funkadelic seriously, in that it places its sounds within a fictional context of good grooves and chill vibes. Welcome to Nufunktonia is filled with the sort of dance-able, fun material that will be familiar to longtime fans, while providing a solid base for new ones. It places the listener squarely within a world of GMMF’s devising and it’s one that embraces the unique personalities of each of its members while promoting a conscious, all-for-one, one-for-all ethos. PHATT al says that equality is what makes the band tick.

“You have to be able to put away,” he says, referring to ego, “and we take a note from (super music producer) Quincy Jones: leave your ego at the door. Hey, we are the world!”

Cue the charming grin. As well as being a talented rapper and lyricist, al is also a great pitchman for the band’s creative spirit- one that embraces a healthy dose of adult sensibility with equal dollops of all-out fun. Sure, their sounds are contemporary, he says, but that doesn’t mean they ignore the past. I tell al I hear a lot of Stevie Wonder and George Benson in the band’s work, along with the requisite George Clinton influence. He laughs, while at the same time expressing sincere gratitude. He says the reason the band doesn’t self-produce is so they can achieve a more coherent sound and vision that matches up their love of past sounds with present ones, while bringing in the raucous spirit of their live work.

A gaggle of producers were brought in to accomplish the task of replicating the live GMMF spirit, including Keith Harris (Black Eyes Peas), Slakah the Beatchild (Art of Fresh, “Sunglasses”- Divine Brown), What! Productions (Dragonette), and Beat Mergers Productions (King Latifah, Estelle, Akon, Kardinal Offishall, Jully Black). Welcome to Nufunktonia definitely captures the Juno-nominated band’s live raucousness while mixing in liberal portions of contemporary dance sounds. It’s a fun, fast listen –fast, that is, tempo-wise, though its nearly one-hour running time goes by like a flash –and it’s impossible not to want to get up and dance to its sixteen upbeat tracks.

The album is notable not just for its variety, however, but for its creative messing with old, established forms. “On The Line (Lay It)” is a re-working of the old Canadian metal song (and classic rock-radio staple) “Lay It On The Line” by Triumph. An interesting dance-meets-rock marriage, the tune keeps the catchy chorus intact, adding jumpy beats and clever raps, all layered on top of a squelching, metal-esque guitar. Rik Emmett, one of the founding members of Triumph, was brought in as a consultant to help with the tune’s reinvention and Juno Award-winning soul songstress Jully Black is also featured. The feel is raw, real, and full of fierce musical attitude.

Contrasting this is “Feeelit,” a deeply grooving track that will easily fit into any club on a heaving, heavy Saturday night. As well as the talents of a female rapper, the track includes a sample of “Can You Feel It” released in 1981 by none other than The Jacksons (formerly known as the Jackson Five). There’s a political dimension to the song contemporary listeners might be aware of too, what with the Jacksons’ original becoming something of an unofficial anthem during Barrack Obama’s Presidential campaign last fall. al makes mention of “a black President” on “Feeelit” and calls on listeners to “step up” with the potent reminder, “it’s really up to you.”

While al never used to see a specific reason to be socially conscious, his time touring, performing, and interacting with fans has given him a new perspective on bringing socially conscious lyrics into the work of God Made Me Funky. “When I’m writing rhythms, I’m not thinking, ‘This is about breast cancer research,’ but I’m very conscious about how I can use the platform of getting you to dance and think at same time.” He mentions how, as a teen, he’d be dancing –make that break-dancing –to artists like Queen Latifah and “and learning about African culture. You can do that –you can give people a message, and wrap it up in something sweet.”

That’s not to say God Made Me Funky have, or plan to, go all serious, all the time. The focus is very much on party music on Welcome to Nufunktonia, as the album’s final track, “NexBeat” makes clear. “Party every day, freak out the night…” begins its chorus, with an 80s-esque drum machine beat and keyboards, along with soft background vocals, set to a midtempo bop. It’s the sort of tune you could imagine West Coast rappers like Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg grooving along to.

Whether this connection is intentional or not, al’s aims, like the rest of the band’s, remain true to the spirit in which they began the band back in 1996.

“Over the course of last few years, we get onstage, and something happens,” he says with more than a hint of wonder, “we get transported along with people who come into our sphere. It’s a new state of mind we all attain together… (it’s) people together in a space having fun, and when you leave, you can use that memory to get you through the day. That’s Nufunktonia.”