Search - Quango :: Cosmic Funk

The revived Quango label wants to expose new talent like it did in the mid-'90s, but Cosmic Funk proves that you can't go home again. Back then, Quango's artists dealt in a compelling, mostly underground type of dance music known as electro, which combined funk and early hip-hop culture with the primitive synthesizer sounds of the early '80s, à la Grandmaster Flash. But besides the fact that Cosmic Funk's artists all sound alike, nothing really happens after each song's supposedly funky grooves set the pace. Migs & Jelly and the Funky Lowlives create barren grooves only fit for dancing with a daiquiri, while the ethnocentric Kaidi Tatham and SK Radicals intimate a Brazilian percussion party but ultimately forget to turn the record over. Neon Fusion's sparkling "The Future Ain't..." recalls the Headhunters, and it comes the closest to breaking out. But with New Sector Movements and East Village Headz (even the names sound the same), it's back to Loops 101. As a dancing soundtrack, Cosmic Funk moves some booty, but for provocative armchair travel, it is strictly earthbound. --Ken Micallef