Elements of Funk

Contrary to most narratives of black music, disco and funk pretty much grew up together. And proto-disco records can be found right alongside proto-funk in the 1960s.

So it might be important to ask: What is the difference between these two styles?

There are lots of commonalities, derived from their mutual heritage from earlier R&B/soul and jazz music. A nice, aggressive horn section, for instance, can be found in either style.

The role of the bass guitar is more prominent in either style — however, that prominence is perhaps more noticeable in disco. Not to say that there are not great funk bassists, because there are plenty. (Take, for instance, Bootsy Collins, often thought of as the funk bassist par excellence — but listen carefully to his James Brown contributions (here's "I Got to Move") or perhaps the Houseguests (Bootsy's band between Brown and Clinton) -- these bass parts are much different that the post-1978 Bootsy's Rubber Band material. They were on a major label when those labels were pushing their artists to conform to disco. P-Funk held out a long time, but they too succumbed).

The drumming I’d say is the biggest difference between the styles. Disco drumlines are fairly straightforward, usually 4/4 time, and are notable for the hi-hat cymbal on every beat, for a fast shuffle rhythm. The best funk tends to be more involved in the drum department, with complex syncopation and jagged rhythms. Listen to the drumming of Clyde Stubblefield (“The Funky Drummer”), Jabo Starks ("Think (About It)" by Lyn Collins), or Zigaboo Modeliste (on The Meters’ “Cissy Strut”), among others. No hi-hat to be found. These do get simplified as the Funk era moves on, as disco lines prove to be very popular (Parliament, for instance, coming back in 1974 as the dance-oriented part of the binary, always had very simple drum parts).

This rhythmic difference makes sense if you think about where either style was most popular. Disco was a DJ-based sound for the dance clubs, with elements easy to cross-fade and beat-match and manipulate using what mixers they had at the time. Funk was based more on the live band, perfecting musical partnership and talent for improvisation, but cohering over a common book of favored songs to play at venues. This is why there are lots of platters of more obscure bands covering big-name tracks. Isaac Hayes, who grew famous arranging pop standards with funky instrumentation) makes a lot of sense in this context as well. James Brown even was constantly revisiting his own catalogue throughout his career (I have an "updated" version of "Please Please Please" on two consecutive 1970s releases).

We might break it down over-simplistically like this: Disco is for the bass as funk is for the drum. Now, don’t get it twisted. I am not saying that disco songs can’t have good drumming, nor that a powerful bass riff was not a part of funk music. Because the two styles congeal from similar inheritances, there is much crossing influence. Neither drum or bass was a major part of white musical styles before the 1970s, and so exploring their possibilities will be inherently transgressive.

Also we should not forget the complex history of drumming rhythms as an aspect of black identity, celebrated, inhabited, but very often banned and discouraged by white society, especially during slaveholding times (and if you need evidence look up pamphlets distributed by racist organizations trying to "protect" white culture from rock n' roll — they pretty much lay it out on the table for you there...) So, in my opinion, for Funk music to revel in the drum and in rhythm is a defiant identification with Blackness, flying in the face of white hegemony's centuries-old struggle to stamp it out and make it acculturate.

But the beat of the One "Jes' Grew" — and if you let it take hold it will set you free. Let the Music Take Your Mind. Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow. I Know You Got Soul.

As for the other instruments, an important distinction might be found in Funk’s percussive accompaniment. James Brown got his musicians to play as if every instrument was percussion, with sharp, jabbing notes. The horns got some riffs and fills, but the guitar almost never broke from this percussive arrangement. (On the contrary, disco tracks often use a shuffling, scratching guitar line.)

Also, there is a marked tendency in disco to provide texture through string arrangement. This starts in some Motown songs, and is used to great effect by Isaac Hayes — but it quickly became the saccharine overload of disco tracks. Compare the difference between a very good funk band's first record and their later offerings. Ripple's first album dropped in 1973, and featured "I Don't Know But It Sure Is Funky" is prime funk, all lean, jagged riffs and smart street soul. Their second album didn't come out until 1978, on Salsoul Records (a notable disco label), and featured "The Beat Goes On and On" as syrupy stringed & chicken scratchy a song as a discotheque could ever want.

Other funk acts exulted in guitar heroics found most often in rock songs. You might think of Funkadelic’s crunchy riffs (“Red Hot Momma” or “Super Stupid”or "Alice In My Fantasies"—not really equalled until Black Sabbath or some Led Zeppelin tracks)* or The Jimmy Castor Bunch’s soloing (“It’s Just Begun” or “Troglodyte”). And James Brown got hisself a share of this as well — think of “Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved” or better yet, the tracks of his almost-entirely unknown instrumental LP Sho Is Funky Down Here (1971 -- listen to it: it'll melt your face off).

Another important distinction might be articulated as the difference between the extended-play track of disco (perfect for dance clubs) versus the churning, developing long compositions of funk. A funk song, very often mostly instrumental to begin with, will have a main riff followed by one of more solos for different parts. On the other hand, the disco long-playing record just repeats the same pattern forever, even though there might be a break or a bridge (but even that will get repeated if the track is long enough). For an example, think of Isaac Hayes’ “Do Your Thing” (at least nineteen minutes long) versus the full version of “Disco Inferno” by The Trammps (also around twenty minutes, sometimes). The former develops & moves into extended solos, milks the groove, extrapolates on it, explores its possibilities — the latter just repeats, sometimes reintroducing the chorus for variety, but it gets pretty numbing after a while (Quaaludes & cocaine were potent drugs). (The LP version of “(Not Just) Knee Deep” by Funkadelic is about 50/50 between the two styles, with its long vocal vamp in the middle, but otherwise mostly repetition.

The most famous and influential part of a funk song has got to be the break, a brief interlude interrupting the basic order of the song. Often this will be where the other instruments cut out, and leave the drummer to improvise a new pattern in the gap. These were long a part of jazz styles and can be heard in many types of songs. Funk just made them better, and their strength was recognized by nascent hip hop DJs, who used these parts to construct the music for their block parties. These parts were repeated so often that these breaks became more famous or recognizable than the entire song (think of the "Amen Brother" break). Hip hop turntable techniques are derived from the need to juggle this tiny sliver of rhythm for the length of a whole track, using doubled copies of the same record, dropping needles, back-spinning, and scratching.

Funk breaks don’t just have to be taken from this technical part of the song: they can be the opening riff or any other part, just as long as they’re short and able to be isolated. And great breaks are found in all sorts of tracks, whatever a DJ could make someone move to.**

Those are just a few differences between the two styles. I’m not trying to hate on disco at all, but I have little patience for a lot of classic disco. It served its purpose & represented its urban, diversified cultures, but it’s way overplayed and not very interesting, so I’m not planning on playing much of it on my show. But many funk acts, particularly as the years went on, brought more and more disco styling into their music. Its simplicity and escapism were plenty marketable, and as the brutality of the seventies dragged on, folks seemed to be all in for escapism.

"Your fish are dead." "Yeah, I can't get them out..."

* Lots of white boys and rock enthusiasts need to learn some shit about guitar history. The tracks are there — you're welcome...

** I have heard the relatively brief length of the sample in classic hip hop was due to the data capacity of the first samplers, about two seconds tops.