Lefties Soul Connection

Lefties Soul Connection - a must for any funk fan.

Check their website..... http://www.leftiessoulconnection.com/

The Lefties SoundSound and music wise the band is influenced by funk acts like the Meters and the JB's, but also by hip-hop acts like for example Jurassic 5, the Roots and Beastie Boys. In general they have their backbone in the raw (obscure) funk & soul from the 60s till early 70s but a lot of tracks are based on hip-hop feel/sound/structure (open drum breaks, ready to sample riffs). They also have some '(mod) rock' influence in their sound, this can be especially seen and heard at live concerts and you can hear it in the aggressiveness of their sound. Their goal is to rock the crowd hard with heavy beats, low bumping bass, screaming Hammond organ and tight guitar riffs, sometimes accompanied by vocals or chants. The band is not strictly a retro band, they're not trying to copy an old soul/funk band; an important difference with some other (raw) funk & soul bands of today. It's not their intention to play funk exactly the same like the JB’s or the Meters used to do. These bands will always be the best because it's the sound they've created. Lefties Soul Connection just picked up some of their grooves and philosophy and mixed it with hip-hop breakbeat / song structure and (mod) rock aggressive sound/performance style. What you get is an explosive performance with tight grooves and the heaviest live beats you ever heard (we like to call it the "shock 'n' awe" style or garage funk).Slowly they've been building a fan base within the international (raw) funk & soul (bboy) community with their sound and especially at performances but, because they're not strictly retro, they also broke out of this scene and got noticed by people that are more into hip-hop and even rock and dance. A good example of a track getting noticed outside the funk community is their interpretation of Organ Donor, a dj Shadow track (sound clip: http://www.leftiessoulconnection.com/organdonorreviews.htm). A large part of their recordings is instrumental. Basically they've set up the band similar to the Meters and Booker T & the MG's. Like these bands, their music is centred around groove/sound and not so much lyrics/a singer. At live shows though, more vocal tracks are added. These tracks are sung by guitar player Onno Smit; before starting the band together with Alviz also a soul singer. Some recent international quotes about Lefties Soul Connection: "Lefties Soul Connection receives the stamp of approval from me and also, I think they should receive the stamp of approval from the world. They're a group from Amsterdam that I think will be able to meet the world with a strong musical force.Get ready to listen and meet Lefties Soul Connection!"- Leo Nocentelli (guitarist of The Meters, New Orleans)“Lefties Soul Connection has developed rapidly into the best and coolest funk bands, and even one of the best rock bands of the Netherlands. 5 stars” – Volkskrant (Dutch national newspaper; translated) “As a quartet, Lefties Soul Connection works very well. Unlike other world-class raw funk bands like Breakestra and Melbourne’s The Bamboo’s, they do without a horn section, and as such avoid the cluttered sound that Breakestra in particular occasionally have. If you like your funk raw and energetic, get this album. Ow! – InTheMix.com (Australia)“Lefties Soul Connection has more bounce to the ounce, more funk in the trunk, and more groove to make you move than legally allowed.” – First Coast News (USA)“It's an exciting, organic sound that loudly declares: Funk's not dead.” – Japan Times“And that’s basically what Skimming the Skum is all about, new school arrangements with an old school feel. New Funk groups often risk being labeled ‘throwback’ but as long as bands like Lefties Soul Connection are in the game, we’ll all be funkin’ for the future.” GroundLift Magazine (USA)





MUST HAVE - Organ Donor (Hawkeye Hyphy Edit)Lefties Soul Connection. (MPM030P)

For me.......its all about 'Hawkeye's unreleased edit of Lefties Soul Connections's cover of DJ SHADOW's Organ Donor which was available on the More MPM Sampler which was released back in 2006. An absolute blinder that pushes the FUNK out of the original DJ Shadow version., and the two additional tunes are bad either.

Quotes.....

"The new edit of Organ Donor is supa hot and the Kutiman track will work nice in the clubs as well". - Mad Mats (Raw Fusion).

"At last the funkiest track of the year ("Organ Donor") gets a 12" release and these guys really turns things right" - Beatfanatic.

"The Lefties Soul Connection cover of Organ Donor receives a timely re edit on this limited 12inch sampler. Also included we have an ace afro funk joint straight from Tel Aviv and Hawkeye puts in a remix of the shop favorite DJ Day track. As always the Melting Pot label drops essential tracks." - Fat City (Manchester)

MPM label link: http://www.olski.net/index.php?area=home