Comprised of Eli Goldstein (a.k.a. Bamboozle and a.k.a Elyte) and Charles Levine (a.k.a. Lonely C and a.k.a. Cnyce), the Boston, MA-based production and DJ duo Soul Clap have over the course of a number of singles, EPs, mixtapes and their 2012 debut full-length EFUNK developed a reputation and received praise for crafting a house music sound that is simultaneously futuristic while paying homage to its origins — funk. And as a result the Boston-based duo have toured with DJ duo Wolf + Lamb, remixed the work of Laid Back, Metronomy, Little Dragon, Robert Owens, and DJ Harvey, and have made appearances at Electric Forest Festival, Rhythm and Vines Festival, Detroit Electronic Music Festival, Osheaga Festival, and the Decibel Festival. The duo also are equally known for running Boston-based label Soul Clap Records and are part of Crew Love, a publishing and touring group formed with Wolf + Lamb and Double Standard Records.
Goldstein and Levine recently worked with the legendary George Clinton and Sly Stone (who contributes a funky keyboard solo) on “In Da Kar,” which is featured on the first Funkadelic album in well over 30 years. The track consisting of stuttering percussion, shimming and undulating synths, wobbling bass and dub-inspired reverb paired with George Clinton’s vocals to create a swaggering bit of old school funk-inspired house that possesses a cosmic glow; or simply put, it’s the sort of funk that George Clinton would have envisioned existing in 2194. (And yes, Clinton would manage to be alive leading the charge of all things funk.)
Directed by long-time friend and collaborator, Gabe Muniz-Alessio the video employs the use of a couple of old Funkadelic/Parliament/George Clinton motifs — remember the animation and live action video for Clinton’s “Atomic Dog” (which this track nods at)? The interplay between claymation and live action are meant to point out how people — especially joyriders — seem to fail to perceive the realities of those living in and around the production end of the oil supply chain. But it also continually refers to pollution, war, and the police state-like nature of many oil producing countries. It’s a scathing and surreal criticism of our greed, selfishness and utter stupidity, as we all watch the world explode before our eyes. And yet it says that maybe funk can save the world — after all, funk may the true lingua franca we all need.
