The Budos Band - "The Budos Band II"

The Budos Band - Budos Rising (Daptone 2007)

The Budos Band – The Budos Band II / Daptone

Sometimes it blows my mind how one particular style of music can grab and hold your attention for so long despite the fact that it has been bubbling in the ears of listeners for an extended amount of time. While this phenomenon is apparent in any number of particular genres from opera to punk, for my ears in particular its quality funk music. Not that I have never heard funk done wrong, but it is a style that just always seems fresh and invigorating no matter how many different bands play a similar brand within its slim confines. Just check the rivers of lost funk reissues streaming from crated reservoirs on almost a weekly basis. I know we Audiversitarians eat it up, and by the increasing number of them being released (which is odd seeing as how you would think reissues would have to be finite in essence), I am pretty sure most of you are down too. But it is always good to keep at least three-fourths of your mind in the present and supporting still-bumping acts so that they won’t have to wait for proper respect until thirty years down the line. New York City’s Daptone Records has an excellent stable of such bands that do a wonderful job of drawing a direct line between the classic butter-funk of the early 70s to today, and though Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings get most of the attention, The Budos Band are making a go at the spotlight with their sophomore effort.

A relatively young eleven-piece band out of Staten Island, NY, The Budos Band erupted on to the scene in 2005 with their eponymous debut album sounding as if it was dropped much closer to 1971 than midway through the 21st century’s aughts. Born out of an after school jazz ensemble, the core of the group added members for the next few years until their final line-up of drums, bass, guitar, electric organ, two trumpets, baritone sax and a percussion section consisting of mostly Afro-Latin toys like bongos, congas, clave and shekere was solidified. With the members in place, the boys started to carve out a niche all their own within the crowded confines of funk music by heading specifically in the Afro-Soul direction. With a relatively subdued backdrop of deep funk, The Budos color their sound with Afro-Latin rhythms, psychedelic organ lines, lyrical Afrobeat-like horn soloing, and patient, well thought-out arrangements that remind me mostly of Blaxploitation soundtracks than anything.

With The Budos Band II, the group continues to separate themselves from similar-minded bands like Nomo and Antibalas by really taking that Afro-Soul soundtrack sound to the next level. Brilliantly recorded in that nostalgic analog-like warmness, The Budos’s funk is not so much get on the dancefloor and shake your ass off until you pass out, it’s a much more groovin’, get-up-on-your-girl and shimmy to the hypnotizing music. More Mayfield than Brown, the music does a great job of marrying rhythmic influences from American, Latin and African styles of funk without ever leaning too much in one direction. A song like “Budos Rising” could easily be laying the musical groundwork for a chill ride through the alleyways of NYC, a late-night club scene in the dense heat of Havana or an evening stroll through the bustling streets of Lagos.

Most of the songs are built the same way: kit drum and percussion laying down a steady, mid-tempo rhythm with accentuating electric guitar chops, the bass never really taking center-stage but opting for tighter supporting lines instead, the organ bouncing back and forth between choppy, rhythmic spouts and lyrical grooves, and the horns mostly leading the way for each song. Typically, the horns will all play together, but the baritone sax will occasionally take control for a deeper funk sound and the trumpets for a more Latin flare (a flute wisps in as well from time to time, but most of the attention is on the horns). Whether it’s the deep grind of “Scorpion,” the groovy remake of “My Girl” named “His Girl,” or the blazing Blaxploitation bump of “Ride or Die,” the music brings out the Afro in anyone who cares to listen.

Much like their debut, The Budos Band II is near chronologically indistinguishable when listened to without context. Soulful, groovy and captivating, the music pleasantly churns in calm psychedelic swirls while flaring with pure spirit. And the best part is though while it does certainly owe a lot to it’s influencing styles, the music really stands on its own two feet, especially in contemporary music. Flipping the tables, you almost want to make a movie inspired by this soundtrack because it will inevitably be one badasssss film.