Release : The Bamboos - Step It Up
Artist : The Bamboos
Album : Step It Up
Genre : Funk
Source : CDDA
Label : P-Vine Japan/Tru Thoughs
URL : http://www.thebamboos.com
Date : 2006-01-30
Quality : VBRkbps 44100 kHz Joint Stereo
Tracks : 11
Time : 45:41 min
Size : 69 MB
1 Step It Up (feat Alice Russell) 3:38
2 Tighten It Up (album version) 3:55
3 In The Bamboo Grove 7:58
4 Golden Rough 3:41
5 Black Foot 3:45
6 Transcend Me (feat Alice Russell) 4:43
7 Tobago Strut 4:25
8 Another Day In The Life Of Mr Jones 3:15
9 Crooked Cop 3:43
10 Eel Oil 3:05
11 Voodoo Doll (album version) 3:33
Step It Up by The Bamboos is the latest full-length from Tru Thoughts Records
(to be released simultaneously in the US / Canada on Ubiquity Records), the
UK-based label home to Quantic, Nostalgia 77 and 2005 Label of the Year Winner
at the Gilles Peterson Worldwide Awards. Step It Up features two new songs with
Quantic vocalist Alice Russell, including a driving cover of Afronaught's broken
beat classic ôTranscend Meö (Bugz in the Attic).
About The Bamboos' Step It Up:
Heavyweight funk act The Bamboos hail from Australia. Their first 7ö single was
limited to a pressing of only 300 copies but the tracks ôEel Oilö b/w
ôBlackfootö quickly made waves around the world. Based on this first piece of
limited-edition wax, funk-connoisseurs and producers Kenny Dope and Keb Darge
signed The Bamboos for a single on their Kay Dee record label. ôTighten Upö b/w
ôVoodoo Dollö cemented their reputation amongst the global funk community and
saw the band make new friends with fans of heavy dance floor beats.
ôI sense in our music, and music from bands like Breakestra and The Quantic Soul
Orchestra, that a subtle shift that has taken place. A few years ago all the new
funk bands were dubbed ôretroö. But I think as time has progressed and we have
all been performing live that new elements have become standard for live 'new'
Funk bands to get across to a contemporary audience,ö says band leader and
producer Lance Ferguson. ôThings like really extended drum breaks, segueing
whole sets of music together (DJ-style), employing MC's, etc. It's raw Funk
played with an aesthetic to get over with the Hip Hop crowd. I think this
'style' makes what we do actually fresh and in some ways a progression of the
Funk style.ö
UK based Tru Thoughts signed the act for an album and Ubiquity picked-up the
record for North America. This will be the fourth record to be released under
the Tru Thoughts / Ubiquity arrangement following The Quantic Soul Orchestra,
Nostalgia 77, and Quantic album releases. The Bamboos' Step It Up album collects
the first single, as well as new versions of the Kay Dee-released tracks. Also
featured are exclusive tracks featuring Tru Thoughts vocalist Alice Russell
including a cover version of the UK Broken Beat anthem ôTranscend Meö
(originally by Afronaught). The Bamboos' sound is most heavily influenced by The
Meters, James Brown, Eddie Bo, Grant Green, Melvin Sparks, Jimmy Smith, Reuben
Wilson, Boogaloo Joe Jones, Idris Muhummad and other funk originators from the
late 1960s through the early 1970s.
Led by Guitarist Lance Ferguson, other members include Ben Grayson (Hammond
Organ), Danny Farrugia (Drums), Yuri Pavlinov (Bass), Anton Delecca (Sax /
Flute) and Ross Irwin (Trumpet). The band performed as backing musicians for the
Quantic Soul Orchestra and Alice Russell in Australia, and have played many solo
shows there, too. ôThe Bamboos are most often booked to play on nights that are
more Hip Hop-oriented. I think drawing this link between Funk and Hip Hop is
important, and it has been a good way for us to get the music out to a broader
audience,ö says Ferguson. ôI would love to bring The Bamboos over to the USA -
the birthplace of the Funk! Depending on the success of the upcoming album we
will definitely try to make it happen.ö
Ferguson formed his Bamboo Shack label in Melbourne back in 2001. The label has
become Australia's premier source for deep funk and is home to The Bamboos and
Cookin' On 3 Burners, and plans to document the Australasian deep funk scene
with a string of slamming 45's. ôThere are definitely some great pieces from
both Australia and New Zealand. Albums like Starlight, Alan Lee, Ted Vining, Col
Nolan, The Daly Wilson Big band stuff...The list goes on. The prices are going
way up for these things now, but you can still occasionally do well for some
Australasian records in the second-hand stores,ö says Ferguson.
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