bobbalin' hot and sister 45
Mama Feel Good! are DJs Bobbalin’ Hot & Sister 45 who are united by their love of good-times and soulful music. MFG! celebrates soulful black music, played all on wax and mostly on 45-inch vinyl. Based in Birmingham they play mainly Funk and Soul but also Gospel, Northern Soul, Afrobeat, dance-floor Jazz, Rare Groove, Boogaloo and Latin. They play the first birthday of funkshun this Saturday night in Mickey Martins pub in Limerick.
They spoke to us early in the week in advance of their first Irish gig
When did you start DJ'ing and who were your main influences?
Sister 45: I was influenced from an early age by my mom’s record collection; She had loads of Motown and Soul records that I remember being allowed to put on the turntable. As a teenager I was into Hip Hop, I was listening to tapes by Freddy Fresh and Cutmaster Swift. I was given a James Brown Funky People LP that blew me away and made me want to find more records like it. I started playing records about 5/6 years ago and have been into buying black music; mostly Funk and Soul but also Gospel, Northern Soul, Blaxpoitation Soundtracks, dance-floor Jazz, Disco & Rare Groove.
Bobbalin’ Hot: I started djing in late 2001/early 2002. I had my large CD collection stolen and was given a demonstration (by a DJ friend) showing the superiority of the vinyl format. I then started to blow most my wages on records. After a few months my housemate- who was doing a spot of promoting, decided it was time I played a set for him. Half an hour later it was decided that I was going to play at his night called ‘Rocksteady’. I had very little choice in the matter and started to get very nervous!
My pop's record collection has probably been my biggest influence; my dad always played vinyl records and was very protective over us touching them- mainly to do with the fact that as a kid I might have drawn over some of his reggae 45s in crayon. Music was always played in the house, and the annoyingly heavy bass lines would spill into my bedroom, waking me up on early Sunday mornings. My dad played a lot of reggae, calypso, disco, soul and a bit of Paul Simon and Garfunkel.
My journey to the funk was mainly through following the university flock to the urban path of Drum and Bass to Hip Hop and finally to the rawness of funk grooves. I was always more interested in the whereabouts of Hip Hop breaks then the word play, so started buying funk compilations and then finally 45s.
Birmingham has always languished somewhat in the shadows of other cities in Britain, but it has a proud tradition in the area of Black music whether it was through probably the strongest pirate station PCRL or some of the most important albums like Steel Pulse's Handsworth Revolution'. What was it like as a city to grow up in, and what should be we keeping an eye on coming out of west midlands today.
Bobbalin’ Hot: For me Birmingham was an alright city to grow up in; fairly friendly and a good mixture of cultures. When I was a kid I used to detest going to market with my mum as I always got trampled on and the 60s architecture was grim. I did however like the small record stores and I can remember being bought tapes (for the first time) for my 8th birthday- Bobby Brown's 'Don't Be Cruel" and Rick Ashley's first album- I still know the words to 'Never Gonna Give you Up"!
In terms of Brummie artists, as a music educator I have come across some really talented individuals, but there seems to be an unhealthy cliquey tribalism that prevents musicians from making it into the mainstream.
Nights like funkshun are really playing homage to slabs of vinyl. What future do you see for the format ?
Sister 45: I think its great the A2DF, Rainer and the boys are keeping vinyl alive. God save the 45. I love 45s, they can fit through your letterbox, they’re easy to carry, they’re stylish, they’re really loud, and they are tangible. MP3’s can piss off if you ask me. I like a music collection that you can see and touch. There will always be people championing the wax, especially funk and soul DJs. It doesn’t sound the same when the sound has been compressed.
Bobbalin’ Hot: The Mini Disk has died a sad death in commercial sales, the VCR tape has disappeared but vinyl is here to stay- well as long as oil prices don't deplete the blessed format. The sound quality is far superior to CDs and the records sleeves are bigger and better too. Vinyl aint going nowhere- the crackle and hiss are what make it; analogue sound for me cannot be contested.
Have you used any of the new technologies-serato etc?
Sister 45: No I haven’t, although some DJ friends of mine use Serato. Which doesn’t do a lot for all those local record shops.
Bobbalin’ Hot: Nope. I have seen my mates use it and with great effrontery have loudly cackled when it broke down at a house party and someone yelled: "Has anyone got any vinyl?”
Most of your music seems to be rooted in the past, what do you make of new musical movements coming out of UK at the moment, dubstep, grime. etc.
Sister 45: Our music is definitely not rooted in the past, the funk scene is always moving forward with bands like Nicole Willis, Sharon Jones, Poets of Rhythm and The Apples. I haven’t got anything to say about grime.
Bobbalin’ Hot: I have helped quite a few young people make beats and tracks in genres such as grime, niche and speed garage; I am neither a fan or offended by the music. To be honest, I prefer these styles to the watered down Indie pop and boring commercial RnB and Hip Hop the charts are infested with.
Funk is still alive; although I can’t stand some of the generic, formulaic bands out there. I have seen bands like The Bamboos, Nicole Willis and the Soul Investigators breath new life into the genre.
There is an argument that such new styles are not even getting a chance to breathe before major media spotlight, thus killing them in their infancy? Is this valid or is it an excuse for failed artists who never had the talent in the first place.
Sister 45: I think if its good enough somebody will pick it up. It doesn’t cost a lot of money to press a 45, I think you have to be entrepreneurial about how you get seen and heard these days. Whether that is at festivals or through Myspace.
Bobbalin’ Hot: I'm no expert when it comes to the music industry but I would say the record companies and media throw a lot of weight on the sort of music they feel should be in the limelight. It's the same with the reggae industry and Hip Hop, talented and talent-less thugs are being paid vast sums of money to perpetuate negative stereotypes and rather shallow lifestyles, it stigmatises people. Less coverage is given to conscientious/ poetic artists in the same genres. This makes me angry.
What is your top 5 at the moment?
Sister 45:
Sylvia Striplin You Can’t Turn Me Away (Uno Melodic Records)
The Ikettes I’m just not ready for love (united Artsits)
Juice Catch a groove (Greedy Records)
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings Mean Man (Daptone)
Ann Sexton You’re Losing Me (Seventy-Seven Records)
Bobbalin’ Hot:
- Funky Walk- Dyke and The Blazers
- The World (Is Going Up In Flames)- Charles Bradley
- Con- Funk-Shun- The Night-Liters
- I’ll Keep Holding On- The Marvelettes
- Organize- Mugo
Can I use some of the photos from your flickr album?
Yep.
Shane
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