Funkcore

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Funkcore
Stylistic origins:	Funk Hardcore punk
Cultural origins:	Mid-to-late 1980s, United States
Typical instruments:	Bass guitar - Electric guitar - Drums - Horn section - Vocals
Mainstream popularity:	Limited, mostly by way of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Suicidal Tendencies and Mr. Bungle
Other topics
Funk metal - Fusion music - Go-go

Funkcore is a music genre or movement derived from a fusion of hardcore punk and funk. Most often, hard, loud, fast guitars are featured, but unlike in most rock music, it does not overpower the bass, which is heavy and driving. Drums are often funk-influenced, but with intense metal-styled pounding. Synthesizers or horn sections sometimes make an appearance, although they are not integral.

[edit] Origins

Since the early days of punk rock, some bands had taken a funk and soul influence. Punk legends The Clash, famed for their musical experimentation, briefly adopted a funky sound for some tracks on their album Sandinista!. Later, groundbreaking post-punk group Gang of Four took a punk sound and attitude and coupled it with funky bass licks and groove-driven tunes. However, the first punk band to create a true funk fusion was the seminal Austin, Texas band, The Big Boys, who could be seen as the first truly funkcore band. The Big Boys, which lasted from 1978 to 1984, became known for explosive and funky live shows. They slowed down punk tempos to allow for syncopated rhythms and played with non-punk bands such as the Washington, D.C., go-go act Trouble Funk as well as seminal punk bands such as Minor Threat and Black Flag. The Big Boys can be seen as a direct precursor to funky rock acts such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Fishbone. The Red Hot Chili Peppers would eventually epitomise funkcore, and they have inspired many modern funkcore bands.

Though they experimented with numerous genres (often in the course of a single song), the avant garde experimental band, Mr. Bungle, also created funkcore tracks very early on in their musical career. Infectious Grooves, a side project of Mike Muir's Suicidal Tendencies, combined the hardcore punk of Suicidal Tendencies with heavy funk music. Eventually, Suicidal Tendencies would also incorporate funk into their main catalogue.

The genre may be in its infancy, but a number of bands have embraced this style. (Liberty Spike have dubbed themselves "the definitive funkcore band" in jest). The label funkcore can be somewhat ambiguous, with some funk metal, rapcore and nu metal bands using the term.^[1] Again, many bands fit the loose definitions of funkcore, but also include elements of electronica, most often because of influence by industrial rock artists.

[edit] Funkcore bands

Many bands claim to be inspired largely by Faith No More's and Red Hot Chili Peppers's funk-metal sound. In the nineties, popular bands such as Rage Against the Machine and Primus comprised the funk-metal scene, another major influence for many bands. Some funkcore bands, often those influenced heavily by punk rock or Rage Against the Machine, are highly political like their inspiration, such as Australia's Liberty Spike or the UK's James Brown's Corpse. The most popular bands in America tend to be more commercial. Xashinto Fwong, The Quartermass Experiment, Jungle Fever, The Snowtown Barrels and The New Imprint are good examples of American funkcore. Incubus were heavily influenced by funkcore, with the band stating that their original influences include Red Hot Chili Peppers, Primus, and Mr. Bungle.

[edit] Footnotes & citations

^ Korn have been labelled emo-funk-core by OnlineSeats.com. Accessed October 27, 2006.

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