LimeWire Music Blog

Brooklyn Funk Essentials is the perfect name for a band that is so representative of the melting pot that is New York’s most populous (and, I would humbly suggest, best) borough. Going strong since 1993, the acid-jazz ensemble boasts a long list of current and former contributors, including singers, instrumentalists and even poets from all over the world producing sounds derived from influences as wide-ranging as hip hop and traditional Turkish music. Founded by producer Arthur Baker, BFE even counts among its alums a pre-Cibo Matto Yuka Honda. Watcha Playin’, the band’s first album since 2000, finds the massive group up to its old, eclectic tricks. On the opening track, the long, meandering “Need,” a bossa nova beat buoys the soft, spoken-word purr of Carribbean-accented bass vocals. “The Day Before Adidi” successfully combines horn-happy jazz with old-school-flavored rap. A warm, upbeat R&B track, “The Park” is transformed for the dance floor on Matthias “Matty” Heilbronn’s bonus club mix; “S-Curved” receives the dub remix treatment, thanks to Nicole Moudaber. It’s this constantly surprising tapestry of genres that makes Watcha Playin’ as impossible to resist as it is to categorize.