Deep funk
Deep funk , also known as rare funk or raw funk , is a special variety of funk . These are rare funk recordings that were usually recorded between 1966 and 1972 and released on small labels at 45 rpm . Occasionally such singles were also published before or after this period. Some of these labels, which were based in Chicago, Detroit, New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, often only produced small runs of singles for promotion. Sometimes they even made it to the regional charts and the black R&B charts, but remained largely unknown. Similar to Northern Soul , deep funk lovers collect such funk recordings. Northern Soul is a British music movement that formed in the late 1960s. While Northern soul fans have been collecting rare soul records since the 1960s, collectors and DJs only began to discover rare funk records in the 1980s.
The term was coined by the DJ Keb Darge who organized the Legendary Deep Funk Nights in the Madame Jojo’s nightclub in Soho , London . Well-known representatives of deep funk are for example James Brown , The Meters , Eddie Bo , Spanky Wilson , Dyke And The Blazers and Alvin Cash .
The deep funk sound is a kind of rough rhythm and blues that is played with breaks , brass sections and often with a Hammond organ . In part, the music differs significantly from the typical disco funk of the 1970s, in that the sound is much rougher and more unpolished. The term deep in this context means that with this type of funk, the Afro-American roots of black rhythm and blues of the 1950s and 60s can be clearly heard. Some pieces musically overlap with styles such as boogaloo or jazz .
More recently, bands like Sugarman Three , The New Mastersounds, Lefties Soul Connection, Speedometer, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, The Mighty Mocambos, Connie Price & The Keystones, The Poets Of Rhythm, Quantic or blow up! Deep funk music. The Dap-Kings also took part in the recording of Amy Winehouse's album Back to Black .
Collectors scene in Germany
The collector scene is essential for the spread of this music. In Germany there is a small collector's scene that regularly organizes events where deep funk records are played. The singles, which are often very rare, are traded on online marketplaces for three or even four-digit amounts, similar to many Northern Soul singles due to the low number of items.