Electro-Funk Saturday

Tyrone Brunson "Fresh" 1984 (Believe In A Dream Records)-MP3

I have four framed records hanging above my turntables. One of the records is the original Boogaloo Joe Jones "Sweetback". Herbie Hancock "Crossings" and Grant Green's "Main Attraction" have also made "the wall". My favorite album based solely on the looks of the album cover has got to be my copy of the 1984 electro-funk LP "fresh" by Tyrone Brunson. Tyrone, wearing a flaming red suit and matching hat, is rocking out with his bass on the sidewalk in front of an apartment building. He is even wearing a mesh black glove with the fingers cut off. He has everybody in the neighborhood dancing and you can tell by the grin on his face. I also am convinced that the kid next to him is Theo Huxtable's long lost cousin.

Tyrone's first single, "The Smurf" is one of the funkiest songs of all time. It is up there with The Whitefield's Brothers' "50 yards of soul" as one of the songs that makes my neck sore the next day. His deep bombing of the bass and totally 80's funky electro synth grooves can liven up any party. I didn't use "The Smurf" because I figured a lot people have already heard it. It is hard not to find copies of the single in the budget bins at the record store. Two years later he released "Fresh", and the funk remained the same.



If you really need your voltron fix, this mix I made earlier in the year will get you popping. Every track on the mix was released from 1982-1985. Vocoder heavy skate-town jams and also instrumental tracks which are some of the early roots of techno. Cybotron is an alias of detroit techno legend Juan Atkins. Orchardlounge.com is where to find this one and more.


Ben Silver- Linoleum Streets MP3

01. Paul Hardcastle- Forest Fire (1985)
02. Newcleus- Cyborg Dance (1985)
03. Tom Browne- Rockin' Radio (1983)
04. Man Parrish- Hip Hop Be Bop (1982)
05. Cybotron- Clear (1983)
06. Paul Hardcastle- Rainforest (1985)
07. Man Parrish- Boogie Down Bronx (1984)
08. Project Future- Ray Gun-Omics (1983)
09. Paul Hardcastle- Central Park (1985)
10. Hashim- Al Naafiysh (1983)
11. Jonzun Crew- Space Is The Place (1983)
12. Freestyle- Party Has Begun (1984)
13. Paul Hardcastle- Sound Chaser (1985)
14. Ice T- Reckless (1984)