As a collective and label, Funky French League has two missions:
promote and advance the entire disco, dance music and funk spectrum through parties, remixes, edits, radio shows and even their original material
to encourage and promote partying — with good taste, in which good people can hang out and listen to dope music with funky grooves
Over the past couple of years, the French collective have been busy: 2020 saw their debut effort, Disconauts, Vol. 1. They released a critically acclaimed series of remixes of French superstars off the Warner music back catalog, which included remixes of Françoise Hardy, Sheila, Veronique Sanson, and others. They then released a collection of reworks of three Latin American disco tracks initially released in 1980 — Irakere‘s “Baila Mi Ritmo,” written by Chucho Valdes; “Dance, Dance, Dance,” by Orquesta Novel; and “La Cotorra Criolla,” by Perucho Conde, one of the first Spanish rap songs, inspired by The Sugarhill Gang’s iconic “Rapper’s Delight.”
This year, the French collective released the Baule Vice EP. The EP’s first single, EP opening track “Heaven” is a synth-driven, disco-inspired banger centered around a relentless, two-step inducing groove, glistening synth arpeggios paired with soulful vocals and and an irresistible hook. It’s a fun song that sounds as though it draws from Nile Rodgers and Chic, Cameo, The Dazz Band, The Gap Band and others — but with a sleek modern feel and production.
While cutting his teeth for years touring around the world, collaborating with Washed Out and remixing work by artists like Rhye, Glass Animals, CHVRCHES and Charlotte Gainsbourg, Marius Lauber, the Viersen, Germany-born, Cologne-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, best known as Roosevelt quickly became one of most buzzed-about artists in electronic music.
Lauber’s sophomore album, 2018’s Young Romance, saw the acclaimed artist and producer making a decided move away from the slickly produced EDM of his previously released work to a warmer, hook-driven, disco-inspired sound. Fittingly, the album focused on — well, young romance, including the trials, tribulations and frustrations of falling in and out of love, and of desperately trying to carve out some semblance of home while on the road.
The German artist and producer’s third album, last year’s Polydans continued a remarkable run of critically applauded, dance floor friendly jams that effortlessly meshed 80s synth pop and disco — while serving as a love letter to electronic music, inspired by the interconnectivity found on the dance floor.
“Passion,” Lauber’s first bit of new material since last year’s Polydans sees the acclaimed German artist and producer collaborating with the iconic Nile Rodgers on a sleek, club banger centered around the disco legend’s imitable funk guitar licks, Lauber’s plaintive vocals, a strutting and irresistible groove and glistening synths. Bim Amoako-Gyampah contributes soulful backing vocals on the track, too.
While clearly inspired by and indebted to disco’s glorious heyday, “Passion” isn’t a soulless homage of a familiar and beloved sound; at its core it should remind listeners of what makes a great pop song and a club banger — deep, irresistible grooves paired with razor sharp, infectious hooks.
Understandably, the collaboration for a dream come true for Lauber, who says: “Nile has been one of my biggest influences over the years, so working on a track together with him was an absolute dream come true. The track had many different shapes and forms over almost two years, so I’m happy to finally have a version that I’m happy with. Nile and I worked on the track remotely via phone calls and e-mails, before I finally met him in LA to celebrate the completion of it. The man is a living legend to me, and just talking to him about the early disco days was such a big inspiration. ‘Passion’ is an ode to Studio 54, a homage to the energy and ecstasy of late-70s disco.”
Animated by Colombian design group Mero, the accompanying video for “Passion” visually recalls — and perhaps is inspired by — the video for Daft Punk’s “One More Time:” We see the video’s protagonists, animated versions of Roosevelt and Rodgers, struck by the power of disco and funk coming to life and jamming on another world. The video manages to capture the song’s hopeful and fun energy in a breezy yet surreal fashion.
While cutting his teeth for years touring around the world, collaborating with Washed Out and remixing work by artists like Rhye, Glass Animals, CHVRCHES and Charlotte Gainsbourg, Marius Lauber, the Viersen, Germany-born, Cologne-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, best known as Roosevelt quickly became one of most buzzed-about artists in electronic music.
Lauber’s sophomore album, 2018’s Young Romance, saw the acclaimed artist and producer making a decided move away from the slickly produced EDM of his previously released work to a warmer, hook-driven, disco-inspired sound. Fittingly, the album focused on — well, young romance, including the trials, tribulations and frustrations of falling in and out of love, and of desperately trying to carve out some semblance of home while on the road.
The German artist and producer’s third album, last year’s Polydans continued a remarkable run of critically applauded, dance floor friendly jams that effortlessly meshed 80s synth pop and disco — while serving as a love letter to electronic music, inspired by the interconnectivity found on the dance floor.
“Passion,” Lauber’s first bit of new material since last year’s Polydans sees the acclaimed German artist and producer collaborating with the iconic Nile Rodgers on a sleek, club banger centered around the disco legend’s imitable funk guitar licks, Lauber’s plaintive vocals, a strutting and irresistible groove and glistening synths. Bim Amoako-Gyampah contributes soulful backing vocals on the track, too.
While clearly inspired by and indebted to disco’s glorious heyday, “Passion” isn’t a soulless homage of a familiar and beloved sound; at its core it should remind listeners of what makes a great pop song and a club banger — deep, irresistible grooves paired with razor sharp, infectious hooks.
Understandably, the collaboration for a dream come true for Lauber, who says: “Nile has been one of my biggest influences over the years, so working on a track together with him was an absolute dream come true. The track had many different shapes and forms over almost two years, so I’m happy to finally have a version that I’m happy with. Nile and I worked on the track remotely via phone calls and e-mails, before I finally met him in LA to celebrate the completion of it. The man is a living legend to me, and just talking to him about the early disco days was such a big inspiration. ‘Passion’ is an ode to Studio 54, a homage to the energy and ecstasy of late-70s disco.”
The acclaimed German artist and producer will be on the road for some extensive touring across the European Union and UK later this month through early June. He’ll be touring across North America for much of the summer, including a September 1, 2022 stop at Elsewhere’s Rooftop. Check out the tour dates below.
NORTH AMERICAN LIVE DATES
6.11 – Palm Springs, CA – Splash House 2022 (DJ SET)
6.17 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall
6.18 – Dallas, TX – The Studio at the Factory
6.20 – Atlanta, GA – Terminal West
6.21 – Nashville, TN – Eastside Bowl
6.22 – Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall
6.24 – Rothbury, MI – Electric Forest Festival
6.26 – Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line Music Cafe
6.28 – Englewood, CO – Gothic Theater
6.29 – Salt Lake City, UT – Soundwell
7.01 – San Francisco, CA – 1015 Folsom (DJ SET)
7.08 – Austin, TX – The Venue (DJ SET)
7.09 – Washington, DC – Flash Rooftop (DJ SET)
7.16 – East Hampton, NY – The Clubhouse Hamptons (DJ SET)
9.01 – Brooklyn, NY – The Rooftop at Elsewhere (DJ SET)
INTERNATIONAL LIVE DATES
5.26 – Hamburg, Germany – Gruenspan
5.27 – Berlin, Germany – Huxley’s
5.29 – Cologne, Germany – Carlswerk Victoria
6.02 – Paris, France – La Trabendo
6.03 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Melkweg Max
6.06 – London, UK – Electric Ballroom
6.07 – Manchester, UK – Band on the Wall
6.08 – Brussels, Belgium – Orangerie
6.09 – Istanbul, Turkey – Zorlu Performing Arts Centre
Deriving their name as a silent nod to the legendary Nile Rodgers — “C’est chi-chi! It’s Chic!” — the emerging NYC-based funk and disco act Say She She features three accomplished, strong female lead vocalists: founding members Piya Malik, who has spent time in El Michels Affair, 79.5 and Chicano Batman; and Sabrina Cunningham; along with Nya Gazelle Brown, a former member of 79.5.
Say She She can trace their origins to when Malik and Cunningham found themselves living in the studio apartments directly above and below each other. The pair would hear each other singing through the floorboards and quickly became friends. “I knew the girl below me had the most beautiful voice as I would hear her early in the morning and she would hear me late at night. Between the two of us I don’t think we got a wink of sleep. Then again I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say they moved to New York City to sleep,” Malik says in press notes.
After spending years singing in other people’s bands, Malik and Cunningham felt they were finally ready to step out into the spotlight with their own project, at first writing tongue-in-cheek songs about bad boyfriends, band breakups and bad politics. Shortly after, they started writing much more serious and vulnerable tunes, like much-needed therapy sessions, detailing the lives of post-modern women. The result is material that touches upon love, lust, sex, heartbreak, betrayal and hope.
A few years after starting the project, the duo recruited their close friend and Malik’s former 79.5 bandmate Nya Gazelle Brown to join them. At that point, the act’s core lineup was settled.
Slated for release this fall through Karma Chief Records, an imprint of Colemine Records, Say She She’s self-titled, full-length debut was recorded on old tape machines in the basement studios of friends. The album features guest spots from The Dap Kings‘ Joey Crispiano and Victor Axelrod, The Shacks’ Max Shrager, Chicano Batman’s Bardo Martinez, Antibalas‘ Superhuman Happiness‘ and Low Mentality’s Nikhil Yerawadekar, Twin Shadow’s Andy Bauer and NYMPH‘s Matty McDermot.
Last month, I wrote about “Forget Me Not,” the New York-based act’s debut single and their forthcoming debut album’s first single. Featuring a strutting bass line, glistening wah wah pedaled funk guitar, fluttering flute and dreamy three part harmonies “Forget Me Not” is one part Patrice Rushen, one part Tom Tom Club’s “Gangster of Love,” one part ESG, one part Mary Jane Girls, centered around righteous feminist lyrics.
Building upon a growing profile, the disco and funk outfit’s latest single is the slow-burning, sultry “Blow My Mind.” Centered around the trio’s yearning and impassioned cries, shimmering Bollywood-inspired riffage and a strutting bass line, “Blow My Mind” is a song about returning to a former flame, with who you’ve managed to hold feelings for — even after some period of years. “‘Blow My Mind’ is about a love that you can’t seem to get rid of and you can’t quite get enough of,” Say She She’s Nya Gazelle Brown explains.
Directed by Spencer Bewley, best known as Reelloopy, the accompanying video for “Blow My Mind” is fittingly mind-blowing as it’s chock full of trippy imagery. Bewley predominately works in found and self-produced 16mm film footage, which he culls, reframes and radically re-contextualizes, juxtaposing as many four projected images at a time to create reckless, riddling and yet fully synthesized visual poems. “Blowing minds is a subject very close to my heart and the fact this was a rare case of me liking the song EVEN MORE after the dozens of times during editing I had to listen to it made this an absolute joy to work on,” Bewley adds.
As I mentioned, the band’s full-length is forthcoming but in the meantime, they’ll be releasing their debut 45rpm “Forget Me Not”/”Blow My Mind” through Colemine/Karma Chief on May 20, 2022.
Back in 2013, Red Bull Music Academy invited the legendary electronic music artist ad producer Giorgio Moroder to speak in front of a small group of music students about music, his creative process and more — and to what was then-billed as his first ever live DJ set at the now-defunct Williamsburg, Brooklyn nightclub Output.
Along with his long-time collaborator and musical director Chris Cox, the electronic music legend played a 75 minute set of re-arranged and exclusive remixes of some of his massive hits, medleys of other big songs, an exclusive song commissioned by Google — and famously, his collaboration with Daft Punk, “Giorgio by Moroder,” which appeared on the French electronic outfit’s last album, Random Access Memories.
Moroder’s DJ set is an encompassing and thoughtful primer on his pioneering work and sound, as well as roughly 50 years of disco and electronic music. Importantly, the set is a bold and swaggering reminder that along with Kraftwerk and a handful of others, Moroder is part of a Mount Rushmore of electronic music, who helped create an enduring “sound of the future” while popularizing the use of synthesizers in just about anything and everything since.
Personally, Moroder’s Red Bull Music Academy set brings back fond and very dear memories during the most formative periods of my life: I can vividly picture myself as a small boy and watching my mother cleaning and singing along — incredibly off key, I should add! — to Donna Summer‘s “Bad Girls,” “I Feel Love” “Hot Stuff,’ and “Love to Love You, Baby” as though it were yesterday.
Moroder turns 82 today and we should give the legendary man, his flowers because his work is that important — for all of us. Happy birthday, Giorgio! May there many, many more!
Deriving their name as a silent nod to the legendary Nile Rodgers — “C’est chi-chi! It’s Chic!” — the emerging NYC-based funk and disco act Say She She features three accomplished, strong female lead vocalists: founding members Piya Malik, who has spent time in El Michels Affair, 79.5 and Chicano Batman; and Sabrina Cunningham; along with Nya Gazelle Brown, a former member of 79.5.
Say She She can trace their origins to when Malik and Cunningham found themselves living in the studio apartments directly above and below each other. The pair would hear each other singing through the floorboards and quickly became friends. “I knew the girl below me had the most beautiful voice as I would hear her early in the morning and she would hear me late at night. Between the two of us I don’t think we got a wink of sleep. Then again I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say they moved to New York City to sleep,” Malik says in press notes.
After spending years singing in other people’s bands, Malik and Cunningham felt they were finally ready to step out into the spotlight with their own project, at first writing tongue-in-cheek songs about bad boyfriends, band breakups and bad politics. Shortly after, they started writing much more serious and vulnerable tunes, like much-needed therapy sessions. detailing a post-modern woman’s life. And a a result, the material is full of tales of love, lust, sex, heartbreak, betrayal and hope.
A few years after starting the project, the duo recruited their close friend and Malik’s former 79.5 bandmate Nya Gazelle Brown to join them. At that point, the act’s core lineup was settled.
Slated for release this fall through Karma Chief Records, an imprint of Colemine Records, Say She She’s self-titled, full-length debut was recorded on old tape machines in the basement studios of friends. The album features guest spots from The Dap Kings‘ Joey Crispiano and Victor Axelrod, The Shacks’ Max Shrager, Chicano Batman’s Bardo Martinez, Antibalas‘ and Superhuman Happiness‘ and Low Mentality’s Nikhil Yerawadekar, Twin Shadow’s Andy Bauer and NYMPH‘s Matty McDermot.
Last month, I wrote about “Forget Me Not,” the New York-based act’s debut single and their forthcoming debut album’s first single. Featuring a strutting bass line, glistening wah wah pedaled funk guitar, fluttering flute and dreamy three part harmonies “Forget Me Not” is one part Patrice Rushen, one part Tom Tom Club’s “Gangster of Love,” one part ESG, one part Mary Jane Girls, centered around righteous feminist lyrics.
Building upon a growing profile, the disco and funk outfit’s latest single, the slow-burning, dreamy and sultry “Blow My Mind.” Centered around the trio’s yearning and impassioned cries, shimmering Bollywood-inspired riffage and a strutting bass line, “Blow My Mind” is a song about returning to a former flame, with who you’ve managed to carry the north for — after a period of some years. even.
“‘Blow My Mind’ is about a love that you can’t seem to get rid of and you can’t quite get enough of,” explains Say She She member Nya Gazelle Brown.
As I mentioned, the band’s full-length is forthcoming but in the meantime, they’ll be releasing their debut 45rpm “Forget Me Not”/”Blow My Mind” through Colemine/Karma Chief on May 20, 2022.
Deriving their name as a silent nod to the legendary Nile Rodgers — “C’est chi-chi! It’s Chic!” — the emerging funk and disco act Say She She features three accomplished, strong female lead vocalists: founding members Piya Malik, who has spent time in El Michels Affair, 79.5 and Chicano Batman; and Sabrina Cunningham; along with Nya Gazelle Brown, a former member of 79.5.
The emerging New York-based funk and disco outfit can trace their origins to when Malik and Cunningham found themselves living in the studio apartments directly above and below each other. The pair would hear each other singing through the floorboards and quickly became friends. “I knew the girl below me had the most beautiful voice as I would hear her early in the morning and she would hear me late at night. Between the two of us I don’t think we got a wink of sleep. Then again I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say they moved to New York City to sleep,” Malik says in press notes.
After spending years singing in other people’s bands, Malik and Cunningham felt they were finally ready to step out into the spotlight with their own project, at first writing tongue-in-cheek songs about bad boyfriends, band breakups and bad politics. Shortly after, they started writing much more serious and vulnerable tunes, like much-needed therapy sessions. And as result, their material is a journey through a post-modern woman’s life, full of tales of love, sex, heartbreak, betrayal and hope. A few years after starting the project, the duo recruited their close friend and Malik’s former 79.5 bandmate Nya Gazelle Brown to join them.
Slated for release this fall through Karma Chief Records, an imprint of Colemine Records, Say She She’s self-titled, full-length debut was recorded on old tape machines in the basement studios of friends. The album features guest spots from The Dap Kings‘ Joey Crispiano and Victor Axelrod, The Shacks’ Max Shrager, Chicano Batman’s Bardo Martinez, Antibalas‘ and Superhuman Happiness‘ and Low Mentality’s Nikhil Yerawadekar, Twin Shadow’s Andy Bauer and NYMPH‘s Matty McDermot.
“Forget Me Not” serves as the New York-based act’s debut single — and their self-titled album’s first single. Featuring a strutting bass line, glistening wah wah pedaled funk guitar, fluttering flute and dreamy three part harmonies “Forget Me Not” is one part Patrice Rushen, one part Tom Tom Club’s “Gangster of Love,” one part ESG, one part Mary Jane Girls, centered around righteous feminist lyrics. Written as an homage to New York’s Guerrilla Girls and to all the women’s rights and protest movements, who have paved the way for change, the song is a call to disrupt and dismantle male dominated spaces.
Directed by Alyssa Boni, the recently released video for “Forget Me Not” follows the trio looking like a cabal of hood-wearing, almost all black wearing crew as they go through Lower Manhattan town posting stickers everywhere they can place them. We also see them dancing in East River Park, wandering through Little Italy and Chinatown and going through a detailed dance routine in various locations.
