FUNK/HIP HOP

Smoove is a man in the thrall of the funk, and while he’s happy to pilfer from any genre or decade, it all needs to have that groove. ‘Everything is rooted in the funk; soul, even music going way, way back,’ he explains, ‘but I always like a hip hop beat to it whatever era it’s from.’

Smoove started his career as a breakdancer when he was just 12-years-old, before joining a hip hop crew. ‘I was always more into the music than the rap side of it. I was fascinated by the samples, where they came from and how they were reshaped into new tracks.’ Finally getting his hands on a four-track and a pair of decks, he moved into production and DJing.

Releasing his debut long player, Dead Men’s Shirts, on the legendary Acid Jazz label in 2005 he’s created a unique funk fuelled sound by blending together a heady mix of hip hop and breakbeat. Tracks like ‘Coming Back’, ‘I’m a Man’ and ‘The Revolution will be Televised’ have led to him remixing everyone from Dynamo Productions and Andy Lewis to Bucky Leo Quintet and The New Master Sounds. ‘It’s really daunting starting a remix, but once you get a beat together it all falls into place. But you can spend literally months fiddling about in the studio with just nothing then one day it all just clicks.’

Launching his own Wack Records in 2006, his distinctive grasp of retro funk with a modern twist should prove why DJ Food and Eddie Piller are fans.