Clusterfunk comes to the Knitting Factory

Clusterfunk is an event that's been going down every so often at a little spot in Williamsburg called Cameo. It's always headlined by Turkuaz (on whom we've previously reported) and features other local purveyors of the various flavors of funk. This Friday it graduates to the Knitting Factory, where the headliner will actually be Deitch, Hall, Lockhart & Loftin, a group comprising some of the area's notable funk and jazz musicians, including supernatural drummer Adam Deitch. [Late-breaking development: Deitch, Hall, Lockhart & Loftin have apparently canceled. Turkuaz will now headline, and hip-hop group Nyle X Naysayers has been added to the lineup.]

Turkuaz will still be there in a supporting role, along with Mamarazzi (pictured above). More information and advance tickets are available here.

For now, here's Mamarazzi's slow-jam single from earlier this year, along with a mangled remix by Kool A.D. of Das Racist.

Mamarazzi - Gangster [mp3] (Bandcamp)
Mamarazzi - Gangster (Kool A.D. Remix) [mp3]

The Knitting Factory seems to be doing pretty well since its move to Brooklyn last year. The new location has an independent bar and hosts some fun and interesting events, such as "The Muppet Vault," which took place this past Sunday, presented by The MuppetCast and ToughPigs, two Muppet enthusiast websites. Among other things, they screened some of the recent videos from The Muppets Studio's YouTube channel, the latest of which is "Pöpcørn," which I'd go so far as to say is the Swedish Chef's most successful musical effort since he duetted with Big Bird on "The Christmas Song."

Turkuaz & Dopapod

I had the great fortune to stumble across a Turkuaz show a couple of months ago. I was leaving another, frankly disappointing show and had my spirits lifted when I stepped on the street and heard some glorious funk coming from the bar a few doors down. These folks know how to start a party:

Mostly (if not all) Berklee alumni (now relocated to Brooklyn), they've got serious musical chops all around, and they back it up with some serious personality: a professorial, Col. Bruce Hampton–esque frontman; a charismatic horn section dressed like the Super Mario Bros.; and two sexy female "backup" singers stationed front and center, perpetually in motion.

Turkuaz - 20 Dollar Bill [mp3] (eMusic)

Some of Turkuaz's members pull double duty in Dopapod (pictured at the top of this post), a jammy, instrumental group that is still based in Boston. They also frequently dip into trippier, electronic territory with some dancefloor-ready burners reminiscent of the New Deal. Both flavors are represented in the two live tracks below, drawn from a show they performed here in New York a couple of months ago.

Dopapod - Freight Train (Live at Pianos) [mp3]
Dopapod - B3 Kings (Live at Pianos) [mp3]

You can get the full show and several others at the Live Music Archive, and their album Radar is available on iTunes. They're also playing a good number of shows in the northeast this summer, including several festivals. Tour dates are available at their MySpace page.