Brooklyn Funk Essentials celebrate the 30th anniversary of their debut album, Cool And Steady And Easy, by re-imagining two singles, “Blow Your Brains Out”, and “Brooklyn Recycles.”
A cult acid-jazz ensemble, Brooklyn Funk Essentials have established a global following. The re-released singles offer a new take on their classic singles.
Their 1994 debut album, Cool And Steady And Easy, was an underground hit.”Take the L Train” and “Big Apple Boogaloo” became DJ favorites. Upon its release, Cool And Steady And Easy received Billboard’s Best Alternative R&B Album of the Year. Prolific producer Arthur Baker (of Afrika Bambaataa and New Order) worked with Lati Kronlund in producing the record.
Baker and Kronlund met in the 1990s after Baker became captivated by a single Kronlund wrote and produced, “Where Love Lives” by Alison Limerick. As fate would have it, Alison Limerick became the lead vocalist for Brooklyn Funk Essentials in 2016.
The new rendition of “Blow Your Brains Out” features Limerick’s new vocals, as well as production and instrumentals from Lati Kronlund. Candid dialogue captured in the studio opens the original version of the track: “This f**ker’s nine minutes long?!” “Yeah, just long enough to blow your brains out!”. The daunting time flies by with engaging instrumentation and sonically compelling production.
“Brooklyn Recycles” was initially a Maceo feature, but is now wholly rewritten by BFE’s original trombone player Joshua Roseman. Bassy Bob Brockmann played the trumpet, with Paul Shapiro on saxophone, and Everton Sylvester contributed inimitable spoken word.
Next followed 2nd album In The Buzzbag in 1998, Make Them Like It in 2000, Watcha Playin’ in 2008, Funk Ain’t Ova in 2015, Stay Good in 2019, and most recently Intuition in 2023. The re-released singles, which came out July 27th, are available on all streaming platforms now. A live performance from a few years ago is also available below.
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