“Yeah, my mum doesn’t really appreciate it!” I’m chatting to DJ Reflux from Adelaide hip-hop group FUNKOARS and I’ve just asked him what the ladies in his life think about some of their more, ahem, offensive lyrics – particularly those about who he calls the “not-so-gifted women in the world” (that’s putting it mildly). “But when we sing The Greatest Hit (off their 2006 album, The Greatest Hits) it’s all chicks in the front row singing along. I guess they all think ‘it can’t be about me!’”
He makes me laugh, this one, talking with a curious mix of a lilting Aussie hip-hop accent and eloquent, educated language (he said ‘conglomerate’ at one point – I rest my case!). I’m assured, however, that their new album, The Hangover, which dropped in November last year, is much less likely to offend our mothers.
“What about Black Sally?” I ask, referring to the first single off The Hangover, which has received copious amounts of airplay on triple j. Is that about an ex-girlfriend of one of the Funkoars? “It’s actually about alcohol,” he replies, and I feel foolish. Here I’d been wishing that someone would write a song like that about me (guess I’m not quite as potent as a bottle of JD). “We have made songs about ex-girlfriends, but they haven’t left the studio!”
Black Sally is a powerful combination of the usual finely-crafted, witty Funkoars lyrics and a casually rhythmic backing track which reminds me of a scratched record catching as it spins – Reflux describes it as a “head-knotting groove.” It’s taken from the Human Instinct track of the same name, with Maurice Greer of Human Instinct even appearing in the video. While it’s a bit slower than usual Funkoars – and possibly a bit of an odd cocktail, mixing psych-rock with Aussie hip-hop – after the guys heard it they couldn’t resist. “We looked at more rock-based stuff for this album, with more guitars,” Reflux admits. “It’s designed to really come across live. We felt like we’d already done funk to the nth degree.”
Funkoars are touring with Phrase, out of Melbourne, who has recently received acclaim for his new album Clockwork, so it should be quite a nice package deal! “If it’s a massive crowd, our performance goes up tenfold,” Reflux promises, so we’d better all haul-ass out there. It does sound like fun, with talk of ridiculous props, video camera footage and, of course, dirty jokes. “We might put Hons in a full-body condom – five dollars a lick!” Reflux laughs wickedly. Was he joking? Guess you’ll have to come along and find out. But I know I’d fork out a fiver for that.
Make sure to bring your homies to the ANU Bar on Thursday June 25 to catch Funkoars, Phrase and DJ Flagrant. Tix through Ticketek.
