Adelaide’s Funkoars are truly in an anti-class of their own. Trigga Trials, Sketchy Hons, Uncle Sesta and Flashy Reflux are back once more with their third full-length album aptly titled The Hangover. Once again, this 14-track offering is a funk-fuelled insight into the ‘eternal hangover’ that is their ‘miserable fuckin’ lives’ However, there are also moments of deviation both sonically and lyrically just subtle enough to compliment the signature elements that have secured the ’Oars a well-deserved position at the forefront of Australian hip hop. Trials and Reflux elaborate.
Most fans in the local scene would be well aware of The Funkoars by now. Say you were describing yourselves to a rock-dwelling, ignorant listener, what would you say?
Trials: Different, haha. We’ve always stood out a little which has helped and hindered us many times but fuck, I dunno. We are four cool and dangerous motherfuckers with equally bad ass pets. Our music is a cross between the best night of your live and being kicked in the sack.
Reflux: We bring the party to the stage…and plenty of guitars.
You guys have plied a, by now, familiar lyrical path of alcohol, women and general debauchery. Did you feel any need to diversify conceptually at all on The Hangover?
T: Not at all, basically we’re a lot older. Who’s Ya Step Daddy? was a bunch of teenagers getting drunk, The Greatest Hits was us touring off the back of the first one and partying even worse. When we all started writing The Hangover we were well worn the fuck out, lots of hangovers, lots of late night TV, lots of paranoia. All we have ever done is write what we do and go through ourselves, usually it was just getting drunk and trying to score but as you grow older the scoring stops and the booze doesn’t help so I guess other shit slips through, haha.
How, if at all, did you approach the lyric-writing side of things differently this time around?
T: Not really you know. I guess we’ve all changed a little bit as people as well as writers and I guess it reflects in the music. It’s not so much battling the mysterious “wack emcee” any more, I guess being conscious of people actually listening as well kind of effects it. I mean I look back at older shit where we threw “faggot” around willy nilly and these days it won’t slip out of my mouth you know? I grew up and realized that it’s all bigotry and dumb shit so I ditched it. Same as I knew it was important to address the size of my penis and the ring that lives at the top of the mast. Contradiction? Probably.
Was the single, Black Sally, a real labour of love, a metaphorical combination of two favourite topics of The Funkoars?
R: Not really, we just thought that’s what the track should be about. It’s a good description of what the sweet lady booze can be.
T: It was funny man because we had to explain it to Hons a million times until he got it, so we figured nobody else would, haha. I had that sample sitting around for years and was running out of shit to make the record with so it was resurrected. Anyone who knows us knows that slow music is not our kinda thing so it was nice to try and make something a bit rougher but just as slamming.
If The Hangover is the end point both literally and figuratively of personal activities and albums, what comes next?
T: I’m just finishing up production on the new Vents & Drapht albums while still making the new Oars one so it never really stops. I took a few weeks off to level up on Call of Duty but we’re back in zee booth already. In between records you can catch us on the final Clandestien album, Patto’s debut joint and my mate Maundz’ full length.
R: There is always another party to go to the next night. Get back on that horse…
There is a noticeable development on the new album in terms of the sound you guys produce. Was it a conscious decision to incorporate more guitar sections, or more a natural discovery?
T: Honestly since we started doing it and even moons before, the funk sound has been around, I just wanted my own variation on it. Sesta and I are huge psych rock fans so it only seemed natural to put some fuzz on the record.
R: I think it came about more by accident…we just keep going down that path and it was what was working for us.
Are these tweaks in production style a means of challenging yourselves?
T: I guess so. You can’t just loop everything and call yourself a producer. The digging and disguising is essential, More so now than ever that the sample watch dogs are keeping a keen eye on us, haha.
“…Our music is a cross between the best night of your live and being kicked in the sack…”
How did the Masta Ace collaboration eventuate? Was it more a result of spontaneity?
T: Hons picked the cut; we made the track with no intention of Ace ever even being a part of it. I was talking to him via the interwebs about beats and it just happened that he was heading down under so it worked perfectly. He was a top dude and even struggled through a video for us when he was well sick. We spent an hour or two discussing the difference between Brooklyn and Australian flies, apparently ours are more ruthless.
What was he like to work with?
T: Unreal man, this dude is one of my favourite MCs of all time so you know, if he was a wanker it would’ve killed it. He couldn’t have been cooler. Same thing happened with Primo when he came down a few years ago for a Gangstarr show. We were sound checking and whatnot and some dude (who happened to be Premier) was setting up behind us and stopped to come over and give us props on the production. Praise from Caesar!
Trials, the collaboration with Ralph Magazine is an unexpected, yet perfectly matched enterprise. How did you manage to hook that up? Did they approach you?
T: I just did an interview with (now frequent drinking friend) Luke from Ralph who is one of the more attractive men on the staff for the mag. We hit it off, met up, drank, and bam! Now every week I’m writing two columns, one for the mag and one explaining why it was late again. They haven’t let us near the girls yet.
You have branched out in a production capacity with two distinct albums, Drapht’s Brothers Grimm and Vents’ Hard To Kill. Are there any more similar projects in the pipeline?
T: Yeah, Sesta and I are going to start on the ‘Statler and Waldorf’ album which is just me and him reading Dianetics passages over psychedelic music. I’ve got a few sneaky beats all over the place coming out soon too: TZU and Adroit Effusive. My fingers are in many a musical pie.
What is in store for punters at Funkoars shows this summer? Is there a tour planned? Or just festivals at this point?
R: The Hangover Tour is hitting capital cities and a few other places from January through to March. Expect mayhem and a new set showcasing the new album.
T: Oh man we have the mother of a launch tour show planned. We’re doing a bunch of festivals which are well fun ‘cos it’s like performing to 6000 Oars, just people out to get drunk and hopefully consensually molested. The launch tour is where you’ll get to see all the theatrics; we’re bringing our blender back on the road with a few more tricks courtesy of the Ralph Magazine friends.
Haha dope interview! Funny guys.
Australian Hip Hip? Hooray?