Griffin - Hot Fingers FLAC

Electro is undoubtedly one of the most misunderstood musical styles between the universes of Black Music and Electronic Music and at the same time one of the most influential styles of contemporary music. The confusion begins in the diffusion of its own name; for some it is Electro and, for others, Electro Funk, or Electro Rap. The term electro is, above all, an expression that covers a diversity of styles: Electro Funk, Electro Rap, Pure Electro, Electro Dance (Freestyle), among others that are its subcategories, its subgenera, its strands.

In my view, this 1984 (Reggie) Griffin record brings together features from the Electro Funk section. But what, after all, is Electro Funk? Electro Funk can be seen as the intersection of Funk with Electro, that is, a style that fuses elements of these two universes. In general, the Funk of the 1980s, in addition to following peculiar directives and dialoguing with the technological innovations of the period, ended up bringing, in the field of their musical aspirations, a new premise: the bands no longer had to spend their fortunes in the studio, because the sound was made through machines, at a time when the big bands were undone and the producer became the band-man, the alchemist, the main member of each group. The rite of passage from 1981 to 1982, by the way, served as a watershed in Black Music, because from this moment, the Funk became more electronic, mechanical, very different from the Classic Funk of the previous decade. The term "Electro Funk" reflected just such a change.

The style, moreover, mixes acoustic and electronic sounds in a horizon defined by experimentalism. Musically, it can be recognized by its bass lines sequenced by synthetic riffs, with sound effects created by synthesizers, emphasizing science fiction and futurism through their unusual timbres. The sonority of synthesizers - whose atmospheres are featured as protagonists - is a feature in common on both sides of Electro, whether in Electro Funk, Electro Rap and Pure Electro.Tracks in this record, for example, "Throw Down" and "Hot Fingers", are beautiful classics of Electro Funk, that can be placed in the same mat of other tracks that symbolize well this style. E-Funk examples: Radiance "Pick-N-Choose; Midnight Star "Electricity"; Kerry Campbell "Rapture", and others.

Electro Rap is characterized by uptempo beats, ranging from 115-130 bpm, programmed using the Roland TR 808/Linn Drum (drums), vocoders that, punctuated by inventive Raps, with short, well-metric verses, and melodies created by analog synthesizers of the 1980s - DX7 (Yamaha), Juno (Roland), Oberheim, Prophet 5, Matrix - form their musical DNA. E-Rap examples: Imperial Bros "We Come To Rock"; Mc Flex & The FBI Crew "Rockin' It"; Kid Frost "Terminator" and others.

If, on the one hand, Electro Rap is recognized as a fusion between Electronic and Hip-Hop music and, on the other hand, Electro Funk fuses elements of Funk and Electro, so-called "Pure Electro" is the representation of style in its pure form, usually found in instrumental tracks or, in some cases, with the presence of vocoders, but without any mixture with other musical styles. Electro and its various facets have been interconnected since the mid-1980s with the so-called urban dances, with the B-Boying, Popping & Locking styles simplified by the media and the mass media through the expression "Breakdance ".Why am I explaining this? Because, over the years, people only use the term "Electro Funk" to refer to all of these Electro strands, and this has generated controversy. This often occurs in discogs, on ebay, and is mentioned in articles about style, in Brazil and in the world.

In 1982, Afrika Bambaataa used the term "Electro Funk" to describe that musical moment of clear influences of Electronic Music made earlier by groups like Yellow Magic Orchestra, Kraftwerk among others, in crossroads with the universe of Funk, of Black Music. However, if we listen carefully to tracks like "Planet Rock", "Looking For The Perfect Beat", we will see that what predominates in these tracks is the crossing of Rap with Electronic Music; the Funk in this case is limited to the syncopated programming of electronic drums. But the "misuse" of terminology ran through the 80s to the present day, creating a great confusion between what Electro really is and what the term Electro Funk really means. So it's not strange that people confuse, even nowadays, Electro Funk and Electro Rap, for example. Whenever this confusion arises, do the following: listen to this great Reggie Griffin record and then listen to the recordings I quoted up as Electro Rap examples. You will quickly notice the difference,remembering since all these strands have the same essence.

Cheers,
Rodrigo.

Great album [in places]. Some awesome production and hot vocoder here. 'Shoot Your Shot' sounds similar to 'Mirda Rock'.
'No Humans Allowed' is [I think] an homage to 'Trans Europe Express'.