One of my favorite releases thus far in 2012 is Funky As Usual, a new LP from the Paris production duo The Funk League. The two French producers, both avid record collectors and music heads, put the LP together over three years, and brought in some of underground Hip Hop’s most storied emcees in Sadat X, Large Professor, Buff 1, and more. It was their love of Hip Hop culture, break beats, and rare grooves that brought the two together and also what won them respect of heads worldwide. Via email, I talked to DJ Suspect and Hugo about their new LP, Europe’s appreciation for Hip Hop culture, and finding the best record store.
We also present a brand new cut from The Funk League, an exclusive Patchworks remix of “On & On” featuring Sadat X. Get to know The Funk League and their new music in this new interview.
RubyHornet: How did you guys meet to form The Funk League? Was there a Funk draft?
DJ Suspect: We met in Paris 4-5 years ago, at the Soulbrothers Party Breaks party in Le Divan Du Monde. We quickly got along on a human and musical basis, and thus naturaly decided to work together.
Hugo: Yes, Suspect used to be one third of the “Soul Brothers Party” lineup, alongside DJ Cleon and world reknown afro digger Djamel Hammadi. A friend of mine used to go and dance there. It was something of a little meca for soul/funk connoisseurs and mostly the meeting point for a lot of top notch breakdancers. Music was just rare groove, latin breaks, and funk newness. Quickly introduced to those guys, we started chilling backstage and trading breaks and music references. I just realized Suspect was living in the same neighbourhood I was just settling in, the 20th district, two blocks away from mine. Then we started meeting and trying to make a few songs with our respective records. That was the genesis.
RubyHornet: Was this love for digging something you both came in with or was it developed together?
Hugo: I was heavily seeking for that MPB thing (Brazilian music) and still involved in house, late 60’s jazz, and of course organic Hip Hop, the music that I grew up with, a kind of daily soundtrack. Leo was mostly into some DJ friendly music, I mean, binary grooves, funk, latin and uptempo Hip Hop. Speed was his thing, definitely. We combined influences in our listening sessions, that is some great memories.
DJ Suspect: We always shared the same passion for diggin and vinyls, even before we met.
RubyHornet: What does digging mean to you? Especially in 2012, I’m sure there are kids reading this that don’t know what we’re talking about.
Hugo: Digging is giving yourself a chance to catch some unknown music, and discovering a new combination of chords or rythmic patterns is by far the best feeling for a music head. I’m not really into collecting records, just for collecting. I just want to get a hard copy of music I can play at a reasonable volume, with colored sonic textures. I believe vinyl allows that like no other formats.
DJ Suspect: For me it’s fundamental. In any country I’m travelling in, the first question I ask is where the best records shops are.
RubyHornet: What do you both like so much about funk music, and especially American funk and Hip Hop? It seems like this album is an homage to that.
DJ Suspect: What I like most is groove in general, and it’s obviously omnipresent in all the Funk and Soul I’m listening to. But we’re listening to many different genres.
Hugo: Funk is really [not just] a kind of music, it’s more a way to play that music. Jazz can have some funk in it, Hip Hop sometimes. Beatheads might focus on sounds they know, samples too. But if you listen closely to our works, most of the borrowed portions come from other musical styles: Jazz, Brasilian music, progressive rock, electronic. It’s the way we put it together, the way we make our rythmic combinations, bass/drums patterns, it gives a funk overall sensation.
RubyHornet: While you guys are from Paris, the album sounds very New York and has a lot of references to the Big Apple. Where might a listener find some of Paris’ influence?
Hugo: NYC gave birth to some of the best music in history. From CTI records to ATCQ. But sounds gots to be universal. It could be a Paris record, truly. Our city always had a strong legacy in terms of Hip Hop, I mean that kind of Hip Hop. Just listen to MC Solaar of Fabe’s first albums. It was in ’91 and ’94 respectively, and the beats, flows, mixing techniques were as groundbreaking as NY’s really. And then in the 2000’s, even nowadays, French musicians bring a lot of innovation to electronic music. So I consider it a truly Parisian album. When I go down in the subway, I can hear that sound, that one I want to express in my music. It doesn’t have to be NY, it’s just not mentioning it to me.
DJ Suspect: And there is at least a French rapper invited on the album.