Brooklyn Funk Essentials
Brooklyn Funk Essentials have been presenting their unique brand of eclectic funk to elated audiences around the world since the early nineties. Originally conceived as a studio jam-project by producers Arthur Baker and Lati Kronlund, the all-star group of musicians, singers, DJs and poets hailing from different parts of the globe, soon became regulars in New York club-land, famously mixing styles like soul, jazz, latin and dub - all rolled into one ferocious funk fest.
The debut album ‘Cool & Steady & Easy’ (Dorado Records) was named “Album Of The Year 1995” by Billboard Magazine in the alternative R&B category and the follow-up ‘In The BuzzBag’, recorded in Istanbul in 1998, earned the band its first Grammy nomination.
BFE have toured internationally in the company of legends like James Brown, Parliament-Funkadelic, Kool & The Gang, The Roots, The Meters, Erykah Badu and New Power Generation. Meanwhile, their music has been featured in film and television productions such as The Sopranos, Starsky & Hutch, The Blacklist, Manifest as well as several commercials.
Since 2016, the British house queen Alison Limerick has been the band’s lead vocalist alongside long time member, Jamaican-born Desmond Foster, who also plays guitar. Hux Nettermalm is on drums with Kronlund on bass and Kristoffer Wallman behind the keyboards. The horn section is lead by young Swedish trombone talent Ebba Åsman.
Brooklyn Funk Essentials have released six studio albums, with the seventh entitled ‘Intuition’ due for release in the late summer of 2022. With an ever-growing international audience, BFE continue to spread their positive danceable vibes to funk fans across the globe. Dancing shoes obligatory!
Stay Good - the new album by Brooklyn Funk Essentials
Frankie Knuckles and Alison Limerick
Stay Good - A tribute to frankie
‘Stay Good’ is Brooklyn Funk Essentials’ sixth studio album - but it’s the first with Alison Limerick as their lead singer. BFE founder and bass player, Lati Kronlund, was the writer and producer of Limerick’s seminal house anthem ‘Where Love Lives’, so the connection was already there since way back. It was also that single that first brought Kronlund together with Arthur Baker, who was the other original Funk Essential, as well as with Frankie Knuckles, who’s remix of the track is legendary.
Frankie’s spirit is highly present on the album - The band has done a remake of the song ‘Whadda U Want (From Me)’ - originally a single from Knuckles’ 1995 ‘Welcome To The Real World’ album featuring Adeva and co-written by Kronlund. Brooklyn Funk Essentials give the song a funky boogie disco make-over and have tweaked the lyrics to reflect the seemingly never-ending plight for universal human rights. They are calling it ‘Watcha Want From Me’ and it is a duet between Limerick and BFE’s guitarist/singer Desmond Foster.
Alison & Desmond
The duet-arrangement with Limerick and Foster is prevalent throughout the album, such as with the titles ‘No Strings’ and ‘Ain’t Nothing’ which were released as singles in December of 2018 and May 2019 consecutively, both of them picking up record breaking spins on streaming services and support from DJs globally. Blues & Soul’s Emrys Baird wrote of ‘No Strings’ - “…this dope slice of disco boogie brilliance… Fresh sounding with great ensemble playing these guys are back with a bang! It oozes effortless style.”
Alison Limerick & Desmond Foster (photo by Richard Ahlström)
Wood & Steel
The album recordings were done “live-in-the-studio” with the band set-up in a circle to maximise contact and interplay. The band chose to work at Atlantis Studios in Stockholm, famous for its huge selection of vintage recording gear and great vibe. “We were hoping to get some of that smell of wood, steel, skins and glowing tubes on the record”, says Kronlund, who produced the album along with Iwan Van Hetten, the band’s long-time keyboard and trumpet player.
Hux DeLuxe (drums), photographer Richard Ahlström, Lati Kronlund (bass) and Desmond Foster (guitar) at Atlantis Studios in Stockholm in March 2018.
Desmond Foster, Anna Brooks and Lati Kronlund at Atlantis Studios.
The album opens with the title track, ‘Stay Good’ which someone described as a love affair between Sly Stone and Soul ll Soul. “For us as a band, it’s about continuing to challenge our musical venture and make great songs. But on a global level, it’s also about staying on the side of compassion and equal justice for all in an increasingly troublesome world”, explains Kronlund.
Musically, the album follows BFE’s tradition of mixing several musical styles into one with funk, soul and jazz being the basis. On the steamy slo jam ‘Breeze On Me’ we float into midnight soul balad territory - a first, both for the band and Limerick. Co-written by Leena Conquest and Kronlund, the song also features the mellow vibraphone moods of Roy Ayers. The song’s laid back minimalism is countered by the full on funky dub jazz jam of ‘Y Todavìa La Quiero’ - a cover of the Joe Henderson classic featuring solos by VanHetten and the bands sax player Anna Brooks. Her whirling tenor inflections also carry the melody of ‘Miss Mess’, where drummer Hux Flux take us on an adventure in syncopated rhythms echoing kraut-rock and spacey eastern themes.
Stay Good album cover - Black Plastic Magick / Dorado Records 2019.
The album closes with BFE’s rendition of ‘Where Love Lives’ - a version inspired both by the Knuckles & Morales remix, Kronlund’s original and the band jamming, it was described by Mindy McCall as “a stunning slab of funky psychedelia” (No Depression, June 16, 2018).
‘Stay Good’ drops internationally on Dorado Records on September 20 on all digital platforms, with special editions on CD and vinyl that will feature extended versions of many of the songs. Buy it here in our webshop.
The ‘Stay Good’ album will be supported by a tour starting on September 26 in Istanbul, Turkey. See info on all tour dates here on our tour page.
