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Following the underground success the "Breakin Out" album released
in late 2009, The Killer Meters drop another single with remixes
aimed directly at the dancefloor. "Breakin' Out" surprised their
fans and the worldwide soul/funk scene by moving on from standard
covers to a new hybrid of psychedelic soul/funk/rock. They even
sneaked a disco/soul track "Rainbow Of Love" onto the end of the
album.
They've been gigging around the UK and Europe promoting the album
and Rainbow Of Love has become one of their best received tracks.
This surprised the band, as the track whilst related to the soul/funk
of the rest of the album, they thought funk aficionados might turn
their noses up at a bit of four to the floor action. Very few soul
bands today can master a genre and then expand into other territories
whilst remaining true to their roots.
It's not wonky, its not dubstep, its not grimey, its more right
than left. Just funky beats, soulful vocals and nice vibes. That's
almost old school these days!
The Killer Meters can and they have. This 12" adds to their formidable
array of styles.
Californian producer and B-boy DJ Zeph has been a fan of the Breakin
Bread sound for years and as soon as he got a promo copy of the
album he called up and almost begged to do an edit of "Rainbow Of
Love". His edit is a take on the rock/dance sound that is so big
on West Coast USA right now. He brings the drums to the fore, extends
the build up and strips the rest of the track right down to the
basics. Proper b-boy ish!
Breakin Bread's other funk band Color Climax couldn't resist doing
a full funk remix. Their mix takes the disco out and adds the full
flavoured funk. Deep basslines and some crafty vocal chops give
the track a whole new feel for those who prefer their funk to four
to the floor disco.
Virgil Howe is the drummer and producer behind the Killer Meters
and he gives us the last two mixes. The disco version takes the
Atmosphere break and twists it beautifully. The breaks mix digs
into the b-boy disco vaults to produce a megamix.
All songs have been tried and tested on the Breakin Bread dancefloor
and they all get the crowd proper hyped. It's time to let some other
people get their hands on these mixes!
Background:
The Killer Meters first emerged in 2005 with a stunning album of
Meters covers and since then they've taken on the fantabulous Karime
Kendra as a full time vocalist. This lady is a true phenomenon.
Her amazing voice and electric stage presence is a family tradition.
Her mother is the Northern Soul legend, Ty Karim, but Miss Kendra
has more than earned her own formidable reputation. She's now rightfully
regarded as one of the UK's best yet still relatively unknown soul
mistresses. Her appearances on the Killer Meters first album drew
a heap of plaudits and led to a lot of collaborations, most recently
on Shawn Lee's underground smash album "Soul In The Hole" (Ubiquity
Records). The forthcoming album showcases her at the top of her
game and this single is a little teaser showing the styles she can
attune that fine voice of hers to.
The Killer Meters were originally the brainchild of Virgil Howe
aka Sparo a producer DJ who has released a number of mix CD's and
albums on Scenario Records and a stalwart on the former London pirate
institution Itch FM. Their first album led to 4 years of heavy gigging
and sessions with other bands. The almost constant gigging and playing
led to them being perhaps the tightest funk outfit in the British
Isles and also helped them develop their own sound. The first single
from their new album was released in late 2008 and gave a taster
of the psych/funk/fuzz/rock sound they've made their own. In 2009
the album finally dropped and since then the band have been so in
demand for gigs all over the UK and Europe that they've hardly had
time to breathe.
Watch out for The Killer Meters over the festival season and then
expect some new material towards the end of the year.
You
can check The Killer Meters at
www.myspace.com/thekillermetersfunk
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