DIAZPORA DIAZPORA
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Step Up

Make no mistake: Diazporas einzigartiger Sound passt in nur eine stilistische Schublade: FUNK. Aber die ist eine echte Schatzkiste, prall gefüllt mit 60er Jahre Soul und Funk um James Brown, Rhythm n Blues und Jazz bis hin zu Rock oder gar Big Beat. 14 eigene Titel werden ergänzt um zwei funky Coversongs: Sunshine Of Your Love (Cream) und Breathe (The Prodigy). All das knietief verankert im pulsierenden Raw Funk Movement. Unterstützt werden die Jungs von Freunden und Bekannten: Flo Mega singt über Gewalt & Sex; Ray Darwin, seines Zeichens Reggae und Ragga Artist, der schon 2010 Can We Do It beigesteuert hatte, stellt mit So Glad seine stilistische Vielfältigkeit einmal mehr unter Beweis; Lillian Boutté liefert den Gospel auf Wise Or Otherwise; Hamburger Newcomerin Miu ist Risin High. The Exploding Voids liefern Just A Phase, und Christian Koops singt neben den beiden Coversongs auch Back To Front. Souverän wie eh und je präsentiert sich Pee Wee Ellis, der schon mit James Brown’s Cliff White, Elder Statesman des Funk und Grammy Award Gewinner, meint: Don t take anything for granted on this new album. It s all decidedly funky in one way or another; the precise syncopation of the rhythm cats underpinning the stabbing attacks by the horn guys, coloured by the electric keyboard variations, changes in the mix and the different guest vocalists. (…) DIAZPORA range through other original compositions that are brisk & choppy, fast & furious, midtempo & moderate, mellow & moody, leading to the surprising climax of Cream s 1968 rock anthem, Sunshine Of Your Love. This is 21 st Century funk, DIAZPORA style. Many years and many miles from the inspirational source, redefining the international parameters of pulse power. Mind the step.

Album Review

Diaspora is the dispersion of people, whether by force or by choice, from their homeland to a new environment. Conversely, DIAZPORA is a band of German funkateers who have listened to music from another land and revamped it to their own disposition on their home turf. So how the funk did that happen?

Pulsing out of jazz roots, FUNK was first whammied into the mainstream by James Brown’s mighty mid-to-late 1960s band featuring, among others, Alfred ‘Pee Wee’ Ellis (alto sax, keyboards, writer, arranger), Maceo Parker (tenor sax), Jimmy ‘Chank’ Nolen (guitar), Bernard Odum (bass) and Clyde Stubblefield (drums). These followed by The JBs originally featuring the Collins brothers, Phelps ’Catfish’ (guitar) and William ’Bootsy’ (bass), The Meters from New Orleans, George Clinton’s P-Funk troupe from outer space and an explosion of other 1970s American funksters. Even Scotland got in on the act with the Average White Band.

40+ years later, Hamburg-based DIAZPORA keep that kick alive in the heartland of Europe, inspired by the US originators while adding their own idiosyncrasies to give a contemporary, different cultural flavour to the hotpot.

The original line-up of DIAZPORA got together in 2002, gradually building a loyal following over several years with three EPs and regular gigging around Germany. The band expanded to the present octet in 2009, boosting its profile with album releases in 2010 and 2012 and wider-ranging tours in more ambitious venues. STEP UP is the 2014 culmination of their journey so far. And what’ dya know, Pee Wee Ellis joins the gang on a couple of tracks. That’s almost a royal seal of approval.

Don’t take anything for granted on this new album. It’s all decidedly funky in one way or another; the precise syncopation of the rhythm cats underpinning the stabbing attacks by the horn guys, coloured by the electric keyboard variations, changes in the mix and the different guest vocalists. However, only three of the tracks - Step Up, Timbuktu and Take Off - totally reflect the archetypal funk of late 1960s - early 70s black America. Elsewhere DIAZPORA range through other original compositions that are brisk & choppy, fast & furious, midtempo & moderate, mellow & moody, leading to the surprising climax of Cream’s 1968 rock anthem, Sunshine Of Your Love.

This is 21st Century funk, DIAZPORA style. Many years and many miles from the inspirational source, redefining the international parameters of pulse power. Mind the step.
- Cliff White