There’s a cult following starting to surround funk twisters Karate Boogaloo.
The Melbourne collective’s debut mixtape, KB’s Mixtape No. 1, flew off the shelf as crate diggers resonated with the offbeat nature of the release – a compilation of reinterpreted samples from the likes of The Isley Brothers, Donna Summer, Janet Jackson and more.
Now the band have returned with their second instalment of the mixtape series. KB’s Mixtape No. 2 takes off where the first release left things, enlivening classic ‘80s hip hop breaks from the likes of Stevie Nicks, Kraftwerk and Blondie.
There’s no vocals here; just cosmic funk wanderings that stretch the capability of instrumentation. Largely placid and suited to the soundscapes of a Fitzroy café courtyard, there’s more urgency in tracks such as ‘Edge of Seventeen’ and ‘Tour De France’, both of which flip the script on their acclaimed originals.
Mixtape highlight, ‘Bam Bam’, takes the 1982 reggae classic from Sister Nancy and embellishes it with tiptoeing synths and jerking guitar lines that effectively play to the patient tempo of the oft-sampled track.
With the mixtape now out in the world and Strawberry Fields and Meredith sets on the horizon, this party is only just beginning.
