Artist: Prunk
Title: Le Funk
Label: PIV Records
Released: 27 January
Sounds like: An effortlessly executed album that nods to the past and feels made for a day at the chiringuito
Review
Such is its heritage, The Netherlands, and more specifically Amsterdam, has long been a centre for electronic music. A quick overview makes for impressive reading.
Awakenings is a global force of Techno. Trance is big business thanks to Armin van Buuren and Tiësto and the country even counts a mutation of House named after it, due to the exploits of Chuckie and Afrojack and their dirty electro sound.
Increasingly, it's also put itself forward as a booming hotspot for the Minimal House movement. DJs including Young Marco, Chris Stussy and ANOTR have been pushing a dubbed take on the genre that is quickly becoming the prevailing sound of the underground.
Another of their contemporaries is Prunk.
Showing assertion, the PIV Records boss largely sidelines his signature sound on his new album, Le Funk (Incredible, a collaboration with UK duo Ruze, is an exception to this). Fans will be pleased to know, that in doing so his music doesn't lose any of its seductiveness.
Album opener Mushroom Jazz is effortlessly sexy and lends itself to a lazy afternoon sunning on the sands of Salinas. If the track title is in reference to the Psilocybin variety, then that's a scenario we can fully get onboard with.
This intoxicating brand of sunshine House continues on the Mr. V-featured Friday Night, which giddies at the forthcoming weekend, upping the tempo a bit more.
The laid-back groove returns for New Genesis, as we find ourselves back in beach club territory (and perhaps the suggestion of some Pacific State influence?).
Story Of House is something for fans of the timeless House sound. It could also be a sequel to Oden & Fatzo's Lauren, before a vibraphone takes things into a breezily different direction after the three-minute mark.
Amassing steamy saxlines, neat jazz keys, bouncy drum loops and balmy pads, it's hard to imagine an album as perfectly packaged as Le Funk.
In the album notes, Prunk says that he hopes "to not only appeal to DJs, but also to House lovers". Perhaps it's that skewed perspective that has helped elevate this body of work beyond his usual high standard.
This eight tracker is capable of leaving a lasting impression of Ibiza summer 2023, though the shock is, away from the predictability of the dancefloor. In Amsterdam terms, it feels more Woodstock '69 than Shelter, and entirely to its credit.
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Highlights: Mushroom Jazz, New Genesis, Story Of House, French Toast
Le Funk is out now. BUY HERE
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