Kung Fu Funk Mix - A Grandmasterclass In The Secret Styles Of Funk, Soul & Disco (2021 Edit)
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- Опубліковано 7 вер 2024
- A 2 hour kung fu funk odyssey, sourced from vinyl, and interspersed with iconic old school samples. The mix includes some of the best genre soundtracks, library music and radio spots, alongside a raft of exploitative 45s with martially artistic themes.
Ranging from lo-fi US underground killers to Bollywood disco, it's a trans-global pilgrimage for blackbelts in breaks.
Attractions include: repetitive orientalist beats, dodgy dubbing and the sound of countless vegetables being sacrificed to produce crunchy combat SFX.
Dedicated to Sammo Hung, Chang Cheh, the eyes of Angela Mao Ying, and Depth Charge (the originator!!!).
Kung fu funk's irresistible chops vanquished pop contenders from around the world in 1974. Enter the Dragon was released in 1973 and, a year later, Carl Douglas's 'Kung Fu Fighting' scaled pop charts around the globe, capitalising on the genre's popularity and the cult forming around its star, Bruce Lee.
With Carl triumphant at No 1 and cinemas packed with disciples during the 'chop socky' boom, numerous musicians composed ass-kicking odes with identical titles, such as Curtis Mayfield's 'Kung Fu', and the Lords of Percussion's similarly named 'The Kung Fu'. Cliches from the movies were celebrated in song - bloody vendettas, outrageous styles, brotherhood and sifus with bushy eyebrows. Combat moves were taken out of the dojo and parodied on the dancefloor. Entire albums were constructed around the kung fu concept, with the prize example probably being The Sumos LP - predictably titled 'Kung Fu', and created by the same crack Belgian musicians behind infamous Belgian funkateers, El Chicles.
Being cinematically inspired, 'fu funk celebrates the early icons of the genre - those 'fast as lightning' cats such as Bruce, Angela Mao, Jimmy Wang Yu and Gordon Liu. However there is a significant difference in style between the soundtrack music of the period (also featured here) and the independent releases which aimed to capitalise on the martial arts boom. Whilst both draw heavily on the jazz, soul and funk stylings of the early seventies, the pop records invariably feature the infamous 'oriental riff', whereas the soundtracks are a little more coy. The 'oriental riff' is essentially a sonic stereotype - a cue intended to denote the presence of something from eastern realms. According to Wikipedia it dates back to 1847 - and is still going strong. I think this mix contains at least 20 variations on this particular motif (ironic, for a genre often criticised for being relentlessly formulaic). Whilst soundtrack composers more often utilised alternative styles (or, in the case of Hong Kong producers, conveniently 'borrowed' scores from other movies), Carl Douglas and co drew heavily on this stock musical phrasing to emphasise the perceived 'exoticism' of their subjects.
I think 'exoticism' and, to be more precise, 'exotica' is an apt phrase here. Martin Denny and his peers tried to evoke far-off Polynesian isles in their 50s exotica work, and in the seventies, funk artists were also trying to find ways of using sound to create miniature travelogues through the means of sound. Except instead of jungles or island ritual, they intended to evoke the dexterous, deadly machismo of kung fu, and its filmic habitat: seamy back alleys, kung fu schools and ornate temples. There was also a clear pop precedent for this; in the fifties, scores of asian themed rock and roll novelties were released (see the three 'Chop Suey Rock' compilations), which I'm guessing may have partly been aimed at the numerous G.I.s stationed out east in the aftermath of WW2, and similarly leaned on the oriental riff.
The sixties evidence an even more compelling prototype for kung fu funk, when R & B and rock performers began to enthuse about karate combat. Jerry O's 'Karate Boogaloo' tickled the outer reaches of the US top 100, and even as early as 1963, cuts like The Bedwells 'Karate' - complete with aggressive vocalising and board-breaking SFX - were comparing fighting moves to dance steps. So 'dancing the kung fu' was, when it came of age, not entirely new.
A prominent reason for funk's successful melding with martial arts was the films' popularity with black audiences (see also: kung fu inspired reggae, which would make another great mix in itself). By design, the figure of Williams in Enter The Dragon gave black audiences a martial arts protagonist to root with from the get-go. This embryonic hero became fully realised in Jim Kelly's later starring roles such as Blackbelt Jones, Ron Van Clief's The Black Dragon, and the inimitable Rudy Ray Moore's brand of comic kung fu. In the heated political climate of the seventies, in which consciousness of racial tensions was heightened, the movies' themes of empowerment and self defence against oppressors were soulful and resonant, as is the music. Just like Curtis Mayfield sung it: 'Keep your head high, Kung Fu / I will 'til I die, yeah, Kung Fu'.
Me and my friend really loved to watch the movies and we remember all of sudden just starting to bob our heads and start to get down in between fight scenes!!!
Want to say thank you.....since the vol 1& 2 and the video footage dissappeared years ago ....will always come back to this! just cannot beat the vibe ✌😇 Thank you Much ❤ Love
This is funky as hell, but what movie is the audio around 19:00 from? the one where the guy taunts an older combatant by saying he looks ill and he shit himself? that's hilarious. Great track, super smooth and funky.
Thanks! The audio is from the dodgy English dub of 'Legend of a Fighter'! If you watch it, you'll see that the arrogant idiot picked the wrong guy to errrr... Fok with.
Hey there! I absolutely love this mix. I first listened to it a couple years ago? Then it disappeared and now I see there is a 2021 edit. It does seem slightly different but mostly familiar. What is the difference? Cheers
PS A kung fu inspired reggae mix would be absolutely epic!
Hi Andres, thanks for the kind words. Unfortunately the original mix had loads of holes shot through it due to copyright claims....so some of the more obvious tracks like 'Enter the Dragon' and a few of the more obscure bits (Bappi Lahiri's 'Karate') couldn't be included. So a big chunk of it is currently offline :( I didn't want to repost the mix with about 30 mins of it effectively on mute, so decided to go with a new edit so most of it could be enjoyed again.
@@undercoverwoo Hey, thanks for the response! That Hindi track segment is the one I missed the most actually since my wife is from India :) Well, here's hoping you might be swayed to do a kung-fu inspired reggae mix someday as that is a favorite genre of mine 🤞🙏🤞 anyways, thanks again man, this mix is pure legend
Thanks Andres. May do a reggae one eventually, though buying all the records would be expensive! The old mix is still on UA-cam, but you just can't see it due to the copyright issues at the moment. Maybe they will eventually fall away and eventually it might become live again!
@@undercoverwoo Well, yeah I suppose if you don't have the tracks you can't make the mix :( but it's still an exciting idea :)