you are hear....

funkpig music to download

sneaky previews of tracks from our new cd
radio ham

all tracks mp3 128kBit/s 44,100Hz stereo

Somewhere between ‘live at hangar 18’ and our next cd we had a few friends round. They joined us on stage and other times we stole the odd afternoon with them at the studio. Stuff got played and stuff got invented. Aunty Paul brought his midi guitar over and ideas poured out, Fin had lyrics and melodies that slotted right in.

Before we knew it we had hours of material to sift through to decide what to keep and what to throw away. Too much wheat and not enough chaff. We wanted to keep the same live vibe as the first album so most of the material here is as spontaneous as ever, along with the odd mistake and technical errors.

Although other projects have kept us busy in musical and non-musical ways, this is a taster of a few of our collaborations, and each track has a story of it’s own….

Bliss (hartley/minal/wetton/wilson)
Mr Swerve – Decks, Fin – Vocals, Aunty Paul – Guitar
Born from a jam with Mr Swerve and a bunch of brass sample on the kit, Fin had a set of lyrics and a melody that slotted right in and Aunty’s funky guitar put the finishing touches

Circles (hartley/minal/wetton/wilson)
Fin – Vocals, Aunty Paul – Midi Guitar (flute, pads, trumpet solo and hammond)
The original version of this track came from V–Guitar session 1. So much fun was had that the entire session was put on the website for a while under the name of Pink Snapper (as a ‘hats off’ to Red Snapper) but as it was a mere 16 minutes long we thought we should try to record a shorter version of it. Once again Fin already had lyrics and a melody and the two fitted together like it was meant to be.

Don’t Stop (hartley/minal/j.gurykovics/s.gurykovics)
I’m a Boy (hartley/minal/j.gurykovics/s.gurykovics)
Jo Gurykovics – vocals, The Sandor – stunt guitar
Whilst they were resident in Birmingham en route to Canada, a chance meeting with Jo and Sandor (aka Phroyter) resulted in us having the privilege of playing on their ’Crazy Pills’ album and working as their live rhythm section in return for reciprocal live duties at Pig gigs. These two tracks were the first couple of things we ever played together and soon became live favourites

Talk to Me (ige)
Laura Ige – Vocals, Charles – Intro Guitar, Steve Owen – Organ, Aunty Paul – Midi Guitar Horns
We have had the pleasure of working with Laura on a number of projects over the last few years. This is one of her own songs and was originally recorded as a bossanova. After she gave us permission to remix it, we couldn’t resist Pigging it up a little. Aunty Paul added the horns (on the fly and in one take!)

Little Steps (hartley/minal/ wetton/ wilson)
Fin – Vocals, words, Aunty Paul – Midi Guitar Hammond and pads, Mr Swerve – Scratch Samples
Edited from V-guitar session 2, all music spontaneously composed. Fin added vocals a little while later. Swerve scratches were lifted from an entirely other session.

12 Pygmees (hartley/minal/wetton)
Aunty Paul – Midi Guitar Accordian and strange pads, Carrie Tomlinson – Robotiques Français
Slighltly edited from V-guitar session 1, the accordian just sounded so French. Vocal ideas inspired by an old ‘Four on the Floor’ sketch.

Triggernometry (hartley/minal)
One day we just switched the recorder on and waved our arms and fingers about and it came out like this.

Missy Kool (hartley/minal/wetton/wilson)
Mr Swerve – Decks, Fin – Vocals, Aunty Paul – Guitar
We fancied doing something just straight and funky. No loops and samples. Once we’d jammed it a couple of times on gigs, it started to sound a bit like this.

Mike Spam (hartley/minal/wetton)
Aunty Paul – Midi Guitar Doo-wops
This still makes us laugh.

Produced by Porgy

All tracks © funkpig 2004-2005 except Talk To Me © Laura Ige 2003
Recorded and engineered by Porgy, Primate and Mr Pu
Mixed and mastered by Porgy and Primate

Our infinite gratitude goes to

All the musicians and friends who took the time to share their time and talents with us in the studio and onstage
Mr Primate for engineering above and beyond the call of duty
Mr Pu for tecking and humping
Everyone who helped us carry cases and cabs in and out of various gigs
BHJ for amplitude
Drumkat, Warwick and Roland for the tools
MIDI for the interconnectivity
And Paula and Donna for letting us out to play

and not forgetting......

tracks from the cd : funkpig live @ hangar18

carbon-based funk

improvised music played in realtime using live bass and drums

with triggered samples and loops

funky beats, phat sounds and a jazz attitude

sometimes this gets recorded. sometimes tweaked. often neither.

these are snapshots

all tracks mp3 128kBit/s 44,100Hz stereo

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