WINNIPEG WEDNESDAY: THE FUNK HUNTERS @ THE PARK THEATRE

Vancouver’s THE FUNK HUNTERS should need little introduction if you’re remotely tapped into the mid-tempo breaks scene. As djs, producers and more recently, label owners, Nick Middleton and Duncan Smith have stamped out a wobbly place in western Canada’s funky bass community. The pair are a staple in British Columbia’s mountainous party scene, touring the area extensively with their many funky friends, with many repeated appearances at the exclamation point of festivals, Shambhala.

The Funk Hunters are wrapping up a massive tour and we’re lucky enough to catch the funk in Winnipeg before they do. We caught up with the duo to find out a bit of what makes The Funk Hunters so funky. Read on to get an idea and cop some of the tracks and mix below.

Thursday, April 2, 2015
The Park Theatre
Tix: $20 adv / $25 at the door
Facebook event details Local support by JR and Saratonin

Your DJ sets are always pretty diverse which likely means you like a tonne of different kinds of music. What was the musical primer to start The Funk Hunters?
We started DJing together at house parties on a small island in BC. There was usually around 20-50 people and everyone seemed to like different music so we really had to appeal to everyone for it to be a good dance party. We would play lots of hiphop, classic rock, electronic, and even some country music but whatever we played, half the room was stoked and the other half would be waiting for us to mix it up again. It was a lot of fun. Sometime during that period we really got into funk music and breakbeats which seemed to be the catalyst that lead us onto this mission of funk hunting.

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How does it feel looking back at the start of The Funk Hunters and seeing where you are now?
It feels pretty amazing. It’s been an incredible journey these past few year but its also been a lot of hard work and dedication. We’ve also had an amazing community supporting us from where we live in Vancouver and now that spread into a world wide funk family. If you asked me in 2007 if something like this would be in our future, I probably would have laughed but know we can just use our story as motivation and inspiration to go even further, for us and hopefully for others too.

Seems like you tour practically non-stop. Do you ever get tired? How do you keep fresh, both personally and with your sets?
Tour life can definitely take its toll but there are so many rewards and incredible experiences that come with it so while it can run you down, its also what give us the energy to keep going. Just being in front huge crowds who are there to support you and your art makes is what drives us on a daily basis.

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How is this tour going? It’s almost done – what are the highlights?
2015 has been a whirlwind so far. We’ve already played over 30 shows in 6 countries and even a few in international waters. Touring with Chali 2na has easily been pretty incredible. We’ve been listening to Jurassic 5 & Ozomatli since the late 90’s and he’s such a talented artist and really just a great guy to be on the road with. We played the Commodore Ballroom here in Vancouver with him and our band last month and it was easily the most rewarding and positive show we’ve ever done. Having our city there in full form and selling the venue out a month in advance and sharing the stage with someone like Chali will forever be a highlight.

What have you learned from touring?
Take care of yourself and respect the people who are supporting you. Tour life can be a lot of work and a lot of fun but its important to eat healthy, sleep and party responsibly. Also, when the road gets you down sometimes it can be hard to find the time and energy to take a minute and talk to your fans, take a quick photo, or even answer some interview questions. Its really just about showing love and appreciation to every single person who is supporting you and really allowing us to have the opportunities that are in front of us right now.

What’s happening next? Do you have releases coming out soon?
The last few months have been crazy on the road but we so have a bunch of project in the works at the moment including some funky mid-tempo bootlegs, a couple remixes for Chali 2na, and a remix for our friends Fort Knox Five. We have also been busy in the studio with our band recording some new original music, some of which we are just putting the final touches on. You can definitely expect to see some new releases from us before the summer.

What’s it like balancing a busy tour schedule and a label?
Westwood is a label project that Nick started last year and I know its defiantly been an insane amount of work. I help with some some small day to day stuff but its really something he’s taken on himself. I know its a labour of love and he’s a bit of a work horse when it comes to having way to many things on the go. One thing I will say is he’s got a really great ear for curating the releases and the label is really helping to support other talented artists and get much needed and deserved exposure.

How much planning goes into your DJ sets? Do you just wing it or do you map out the entire set?
It totally varies for different shows. For any big show we usually have a setlist, but it will often change during the show and depending if we are playing with musicians or MC’s, that could easily cause things to change as well. Every crowd has a different vibe, and every venue different set times. On top of that, we are always making and discovering new music so I think our sets are really just constantly evolving.

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