The true Southern contribution to funk history can be found South of Memphis. In New Orleans, home of a school made popular by an often forgotten quartet: The Meters. Paradoxically, very rarely does anyone think about the Meters when thinking about funk; however, their name comes to mind when discussing the term “funky”. Far from the Clintonian hallucinations and Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaames Brownian shows, the Meters did however produce the funkiest original soundtrack of their generation. Incredibly refined, their instrumentals take the idea of music without a beginning, a middle and an end to the extreme. More than anywhere else, trance is queen. Laid back at first, it insidiously affects both body and mind. Everything lies in the repetition, the disarmingly simple but formidably effective cadence. The anthem Cissy Strut is a mythical example of this funk dialect unique to the Meters. By using non-percussion instruments in a percussive way, the New Orleans gang plays on hypnosis. George Porter’s bass faces Joseph « Zigaboo » Modeliste’s drums: their endless back-and-forth creates this unique syncopated beat. The Meters brought their beloved polyrhythm onto the scene, and funk hasn’t looked back since! How did good studio musicians who hopped around all of New Orleans joints compose between 1969 and 1975 the most sampled rap themes ever?
Create a free account to keep reading
