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Phat Phunktion

Madison, WI: As a group of University of Wisconsin-Madison music students who banded together in 1996, Phat Phunktion have built a loyal following of listeners throughout the United States and around the world. Combining the polish of Top 40 with the smooth feeling of 60’s soul and the raw groove of 70’s funk, Phat Phunktion is a nine-piece tour-de-force that are one of the most revered live acts of the past 20 years. In their hometown of Madison, they have been known to attract crowds of 5,000 people and regularly sell out wherever they perform.

In 2003, Rolling Stone singled out Phat Phunktion as a “band on the rise.” During the same year, they won a Wisconsin Area Music Industry Award, or WAMI, for “Best R&B Band.” In May 2003, a panel of Billboard Magazine judges selected the band as one of six acts to perform at the DiscMakers’ Independent Music World Series, Midwest regional final, where they funked up the Elbo Room in Chicago. Of the six finalists, Phat Phunktion and Chicago’s Orbert Davis took top honors. The band has appeared numerous times at the Madison Blues Festival, Milwaukee’s Summerfest, and the House of Blues in Chicago, with a myriad television and radio appearances to their credit, including “The Jenny Jones Show” and Michael Feldman’s “Whad’ya Know?”

In 2004, Ben and Leo Sidran’s Nardis/Liquid 8 label released their third CD, You and Me. Since then, You and Me has generated substantial interest at home and abroad. In America, 10,000 CDs have been sold to a devoted fan base via word-of-mouth and Internet sales. In Japan, large sales spurred a re-release of the disc on the Japanese label, Groovetime Records. In Europe, the record was played on radio stations throughout Italy and Spain. In 2004, JazzTimes reviewed You and Me, exclaiming, “Phat Phunktion has a horn-driven sound that draws inspiration from ‘70s funk, and on ‘You and Me,' the band’s first release on a national label, producers Tim Whalen and Al Falaschi demonstrate a talent for crafting strong, danceable tracks…. Musically, the album is first rate.” In 2005, You and Me received the Madison Area Music Award (MAMA), for “R&B Album of the Year.”

During the summer of 2005, Phat Phunktion embarked on their first U.S. tour. Following the Nardis release of You and Me, the tour was a turning point for this award-winning band. As keyboardist / co-founder Tim Whalen said at the time, “We are not just a local band anymore.” From June 2005 until August 2006, the band played non-stop at festivals and clubs all over the United States, from Arizona to the New England seaboard, and everywhere in between. They brought the house down at the Bele Chere Music Festival (Asheville, NC), the Riverbend Festival (Chattanooga, TN), Riverfest (Little Rock, AK), the Art Tatum Jazz and Heritage Festival (Toledo, OH), The Knitting Factory and BB King's in New York City.

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Album Review

Phat Phunktion: Live at the High Noon

Read "Live at the High Noon" reviewed by Doug Collette


If you have an abiding appetite or innate taste for old school funk a la Tower of Power, then Phat Phunktion is right in your wheelhouse. This band is poetry in motion-constantly-but without the off-putting histrionics and faux showmanship that so often undermines the impact of the musicianship. Consequently, as with “Don't Destroy the Funk," the frequent exhortations to the audience in the band's hometown Madison, Wisconsin venue pale next to the grinding rhythm section of bassist Nick ...

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All About Jazz Top 10 MP3 Downloads: May 2017

All About Jazz Top 10 MP3 Downloads: May 2017

Source: All About Jazz

All About Jazz features a free song every day spanning all genres of jazz, and of the 30 tracks featured in May, these ten represent our personal favorites. We also included the top ten reader favorites as indicated by total downloads. Musicians and record labels can submit full length MP3s for consideration here. Enjoy! EDITOR'S PICKS Don't Destroy The Funk 06:08 Phat Phunktion From: Live at the High Noon Onward 5:16

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Recording

Award-Winning Nine-Piece Band Phat Phunktion To Release "Live At The High Noon" On CD/Blu-Ray On June 2

Award-Winning Nine-Piece Band Phat Phunktion To Release "Live At The High Noon" On CD/Blu-Ray On June 2

Source: 1888 Media

As a group of University of Wisconsin-Madison music students who banded together in 1996, Phat Phunktion have built a loyal following of listeners throughout the United States and around the world. Combining the polish of Top 40 with the smooth feeling of 60’s soul and the raw groove of 70’s funk, Phat Phunktion is a nine-piece tour- de-force that are one of the most revered live acts of the past 20 years. In their hometown of Madison, they have been ...

“A talent for crafting strong, danceable tracks.” JazzTimes

“Horn-driven tour-de-funk by a band on the rise.” Rolling Stone

“They are quite simply the best dance machine to roll through the river city in a while.” Huntington Herald-Dispatch

“I was having Tower of Power flashbacks. Since 1976, I've been asking myself the cosmic question: ‘What is hip?’ Well now I know: Phat Phunktion.” Chattanooga Times

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Live at the High Noon

Self Produced
2017

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Real Life .:. High...

Phat Phunktion
2011

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Don't Destroy The Funk

From: Live at the High Noon
By Phat Phunktion

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