Tunes Consumed: the Poutine Silver Platter

As far as genres go, I’d hypothesize that funk is among the leading styles of music that is near impossible to dislike. Between the fat fat bass-lines, the groove heavy drum-beats & the sheer libido-drenched characteristic energy of the music, funk is cornerstone in Western music history. But, while it is well-documented that regions like New Orleans, Miami or, hell, even Texas had thriving funk scenes, it is easy to forget that the 70’s took place outside of America too.

Case in point: I say Poland, you say funk.

Not a natural reaction is it? Well, as it so happens, the Poles in the 70’s had their share of booty-shaking bass, horns & rhythm too. And to drive this point home, the Soul Service DJ Team set to work, digging up & remastering all sorts of rare original recordings to produce, for the first time ever, a true CD’s worth of pure Polish Funk. An impressive endeavor, for sure.

The American influence on Poland’s funk is definitely apparent - from Henryk Debich’s reinterpretation of the Shaft theme to the Piotr Figiel Ensemble’s Agent 008, many of the tracks are variations on a familiar theme for anyone remotely knowledgeable about the genre. However, that isn’t to say that everything on the album is, at all, stereotypical.

Just check out “Introduction” by the Novi Singers, a track which bounces between a typical driving horn rhythm & some awesome scat style jazz mumblin’ vocals. The juxtaposition is clean & impressive. Or the double-timed vocals on Bemibek’s “What’cha Doin’ Mister”, which could easily be a Go! Team out-take. Or the hand drums driven “You Want Too Much” by the ABCs, which breaks down into a horn stanza awesomely reminiscent of Arthur Brown’s “Fire”. Or the psychedelic guitar work on Breakout’s “Listen to the Rhythm”. It is fun shit, all around.

So, check out some of the samples & let us know what you think - does Poland got what it takes? I, for one, can definitely find some room in my collection for another serving.

even the pope grooves on this:
The ABCs - You Want Too Much.
Novi Singers - Introduction.
Breakout - Listen to the Rhythm.
Bemibek - What’cha Doin’ Mister?

Polish Funk is now available directly from Polskie Nagrania, which, unfortunately, is mostly in Polish. Fortunately, you can also order a copy through the Boombox Distribution Network in English.