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Music
The musical geniuses that are
the Chili Peppers
Learn about their influences, their gear,
analysis
of the albums, their contemporaries, and more. |
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Funk
Funk
is a distinct, groove and beat heavy genre formed out of a
mix of jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, and psychedelia. Funk
has more emphasis on rhythm than on melody, and its center
piece is the dominance of the bass. Sharper rhythmic guitars
(usually only comprising of no more than two to three
riffs), rhythmic vocals (sometimes done in the middle of
speaking and singing), a strong horn section, and prominent
percussion are also characteristics of funk. Funk would be
the greatest aspect of the Red Hot Chili Peppers sound in
terms of tightness and rhythm.
Funk, in its advanced form, had its formation laid with the
work of James Brown and his backing band in the latter half
of the 1960s. Brown changed his compositions from
straightout soul and included the musical tightness of jazz,
creating a more pronounced beat and rhythm. Funk’s
development was followed by Sly and The Family Stone, which
despite leaning towards psychedelic soul and rock, bassist
Larry Graham would develop a more groove heavy and fluid
bass lines with his incorporation of the slap and pop
technique, especially in songs such as “Everyday People” and
“Thank You For Letting Me Be Myself Again”.
The sound was further solidified with George Clinton in the
1970s with his band Funkadelic. Clinton, guitarist Eddie
Hazel, and bassist Bootsy Collins created a more forceful
and powerful funk, taking influences from blues and hard
rock, and fusing them to create a complex sound which
resulted in long compositions (including Hazel’s 10 minute
solo on “Maggot Brain”). Hazel, along with Jimi Hendrix,
laid the foundations of rhythmic guitar with a mix of blues,
funk, and psychedelia which would be picked up later on by
the likes of Kendall Jones of Fishbone and Hillel Slovak and
John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Collins’
driving and rhythmic bass lines became a critical blueprint
of funk which would transverse to other genres of music,
including soul and metal.
As funk entered the 1980s, more electronics replaced some
instruments, particularly the horn section. However, some
artists and bands – Prince, Defunkt, The Minutemen,
Fishbone, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Primus, Jane’s
Addiction, 24-7 Spyz – in the decade would continue
Clinton’s vision of the mix of funk and hard rock and would
be credited as the progenitors of funk rock and funk metal.
Funk would go on and give way to contemporary R&B and hip
hop, as the latter genre would often regularly sample
classic funk songs. Funk as a whole is not completely gone –
Fishbone and the Red Hot Chili Peppers still incorporate
funk in their work as there continue to be some funk acts. |
Sly and The
Family Stone |
George Clinton |
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