King Britt
Mushrooms
In 1995, King had an intense experience that led to the explosion of the Scuba concept. "Tripping on mushrooms, my mind was opened to a very new approach to music, one in tune to textures and spirituality" reflects Britt. "It was a great feeling, and has never worn off to this day." Scuba, Britt’s moniker for his house production was born. Scuba tracks are always dreamy and emotional, from remixes to production, there is always some sort of vocal mantra and very distinctive sounds from certain machines: the Scuba machines. Remixing and producing some of the world’s most sought after house music, Scuba’s distinctive style has since caught the acclaim of international tastemaker Gilles Peterson (both his "Incredible Sounds" and "Worldwide" compilations included Scuba tracks). In January of 2002, San Francisco independent Om Records signed the talents of Scuba to a three-album deal.Links
When the Funk Hits the Fan
Lights. Cameras. Action. Sit back, relax, grab your honey and get ready to move your waistline to the bassline of When The Funk Hits The Fan, a dazzling E- motion picture soundtrack written, produced and directed by Philadelphia's world renowned DJ/producer, King Britt.
Achieved with the help of a talented group of Philly-based kindred musicians and poets comprising the SYLK 130 collective, When The Funk Hits The Fan takes place in 1977, a pivotal year in music when funk and soul were burning up the charts, disco was all the rage and a then-little-known genre called hip-hop was in its infancy.
"Music brings up all kinds of emotions when you listen to it," says King Britt. "With the combination of music and the dialogue before the tracks on the album, if you close your eyes, you can see a film unfolding. I was inspired a lot by De La Soul's first album, 3 Feet High And Rising, and the way they had their lyrics always explaining what's going on. It gives your imagination something to feed on, so I used that technique as an influence."
For King -- who has spent the better part of this decade honing his production skills in house, funk and hip-hop as a DJ at top clubs and raves all over the world (including a two and a half year stint DJing for Digable Planets and a longtime residency at Philly's Silk City Lounge) -- When The Funk Hits The Fan is the culmination of years of hard work and a lifetime of soaking up a mindboggling array of musical styles.
King Britt was raised in a household where his father was infatuated with James Brown and his mother was enthralled with the smooth jazz stylings of Duke Ellington. Growing up on the tough streets of Southwest Philadelphia, which is referred to on his hard-hitting "City (5-6 Theme)," King personally saw the local rap scene evolve, later offering the world the likes of pioneers such as Jazzy Jeff. So while King and his friends studied Grandmaster Flash's tapes from New York on the street while receiving musical lessons by osmosis at home, his musical journey was only just beginning. In the blink of an eye, he soon found himself enthralled with the likes of '70s rock gods like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. After that, it was onto electronic pioneers a la Depeche Mode, Roxy Music and Kraftwerk, later discovering Front 242's industrial sonic and later the moody textures of the Smiths. More music, more ideas - concepts just kept building and taking shape in King Britt's fertile musical mind.
"I'm influenced by everything - all types of music - and that comes out on the album," King says. "I was heavily into computers and learning languages like Fortran and Basic. I had a TSR-80, then a Commodore 64 and then got an Apple. I wasn't focused for a long time, although music has always been in my life." An avid record buyer since he was 7 and an amateur DJ until college, working as a clerk at the local Tower Records on South Street while attending college soon led King into producing his own tracks. Later on, he met up with future Ovum Recordings partner, Josh Wink, through a mutual friend and the duo started toying around with their own song ideas in their modest bedroom studios.
E-Culture's seminal "Tribal Confusion" released in 1993 via New York indie Strictly Rhythm was the fruit of their labor and squarely put the duo on the worldwide map. Through lots of blood, sweat and tears, both jocks became mainstays on the global dancefloor, jetting from gig to gig with little more than a crate of fresh vinyl, a pair of headphones and a change of clothes. As partner Josh took house and techno by storm with a string of European crossover hits, King dug in Stateside and established himself as a skilled remixer. Through interpreting cuts for Tori Amos, Donna Lewis, Solsonics and Mary Wilson, his Women of Color project for Virgin Underground was an artistic breakthrough which led him to produce tracks for club diva Robin S.'s forthcoming album. Thanks to his innate sense of rhythm and an ability to regularly inject a fresh flavor to every the mix, it was all just a precursor of even greater things to come.
That brings us back to When The Funk Hits The Fan, a milestone in King Britt's career which he's been diligently working on with his trusted musical chaperone, John Wicks. "While I was on tour with Digable Planets, I was thinking that it would make a great movie," recalls King. " I didn't have the money to do a movie, but I've always been a big fan of soundtracks. So I thought that it would be cool to make a fake movie. In the '40s before television, people listened to the radio and shows like 'The Shadow' and people would visualize. They used their imaginations, and that was cool. While on the road, I started recording in different cities and when I came back, I hooked up with [Women Of Color partner] John Wicks, and we started plugging away."
Achieved through using a contingent of wonderful hometown Philly talent, such as James Poiser (Winans, the Roots), drummer Darryl Burgees (Grover Washington), legendary bassist Jamaladeen Tacuma, poet Ursula Rucker, Alison Crockett (vocals), Tony Green (a.k.a. rapper Capital A), and T&A (vocals), the songs, which are neatly woven together by biographical vignettes from King's adventures, bathe themselves in lilting tempos, sultry instrumentation and hook- laden rhythms propelled through tight horn blasts and atmospheric backdrops.
"I know all of these guys who worked on the album from being out in the scene," King says. "Philly is a fantastic place for music, so this is a chance and an opportunity for me to put on my friends who are out there doing great tracks and to show their musicianship."
But what brings a toothy grin to King Britt's face is his ability to juxtapose uptempo, toe-tapping jazzfests like "Gettin' Into It" and "The Reason" right alongside a piercing spoken-word endeavor like "E.R.A." Toss in the street-savvy rap adventure "Taggin' & Braggin'" and neatly wrap it up with a rock solid cover of In Deep's classic club music nugget, "Last Night A DJ Saved My Life," and you're instantly in dance music heaven.
Now that he's succeeded in making an album that exemplifies the bedrock of his audible artwork, King Britt is busy working on the next two episodes of this masterful trilogy. His second endeavor will draw influence from the electronic pioneers which helped him get where he is today; the third installment will take place in the year 2000.
Of course, like and all of the best Hollywood trilogies, When The Funk Hits The Fan is only the first step in King Britt's musical journey.
CDs
- King Britt - When the Funk Hits the Fan (1998) [Amazon US]
That brings us back to When The Funk Hits The Fan, a milestone in King Britt's career which he's been diligently working on with his trusted musical chaperone, John Wicks. "While I was on tour with Digable Planets, I was thinking that it would make a great movie," recalls King. " I didn't have the money to do a movie, but I've always been a big fan of soundtracks. So I thought that it would be cool to make a fake movie. In the '40s before television, people listened to the radio and shows like 'The Shadow' and people would visualize. They used their imaginations, and that was cool. While on the road, I started recording in different cities and when I came back, I hooked up with [Women Of Color partner] John Wicks, and we started plugging away."
Achieved through using a contingent of wonderful hometown Philly talent, such as James Poiser (Winans, the Roots), drummer Darryl Burgees (Grover Washington), legendary bassist Jamaladeen Tacuma, poet Ursula Rucker, Alison Crockett (vocals), Tony Green (a.k.a. rapper Capital A), and T&A (vocals), the songs, which are neatly woven together by biographical vignettes from King's adventures, bathe themselves in lilting tempos, sultry instrumentation and hook- laden rhythms propelled through tight horn blasts and atmospheric backdrops. - King Britt presents Inspirations V.1 [Amazon US]
- Supa Sista - Ursula Rucker [Amazon US]
Ursula Rucker's debut album Supa Sista strikes an intricate balance between new jazz, hip-hop and Philly soul - all infused with poetic vision. 'Supa Sista' is a departure from Ursula's previous work as she pushes lyrical poetry to places it's never been by fusing multiple genres. Throughout Supa Sista, she flexes her skills as a songwriter, lyricist and vocalist