VHS or Beta – Le Funk (ON! Records)
Think Daft Punk is le shit? Tired of American dance music (Crystal Method, anyone?) that never lets you leave the video game? Sick and tired of Techno that’s boring or House that’s just not danceable? Did you see the dancefloor genius in Trans Am’s first album? Then VHS or Beta is for you. On Le Funk, the Louisville, KY quartet presents disco with balls, built with a real band and real guitar solos. But you might not know it from hearing the band’s incredible replication of disco’s electronic backbone, so they include a live track here just to prove it.
That’s the great thing about VHS or Beta. By re-creating the rhythms of dance with real instruments and only minimal electronics, they breath life into a genre seriously maligned by its own excess and too many insipid interpretations. Forget about white suits, 54, and cocaine in the air conditioning. VHS or Beta is dance music for the rest of us. For your next party, give the 80s pop rap compilation a rest and try out Le Funk.
Two MP3s available from Amazon: Disco Paradise and Solid Gold.
I agree completely. I’ve been speaking the gospels on these guys for awhile. The tracks are all standout (heaven being my personal fav). They recreate the energy and excitement of the disco sound but replace the cheese with the power of live instrumentation a must for serious dance fans and jamband lovers as well.