Following his riotous performance at the Sub Club in June, Numbers, Monox and Kaput! have invited booty bass bampot DJ Funk back to Glasgow to headline their Hogmanay party. For the uninitiated, Numbers has been operating since 2003 under the mantra ‘acid house, electro, crunk, b-more, dancehall, disco, funk, grime, hip hop, R&B, rave and techno’. While essentially a roll call of the musical styles played out at the night, this motto reflects the diversity that has endeared the nomadic club to a loyal Glaswegian fanbase. Following another successful year for the Numbers crew, DJ Funk – who embodies the attitude and genres that make up the club’s modus operandi – will close 2007 in suitably jubilant style.
Heavily influenced both by hip hop and the rumbling techno of Chicago and Detroit, during the mid-90s, Funk pioneered the ghetto-house sound, combining jackhammer drum kicks and rattling handclaps with hyperactive, bubbling basslines. While his pornographic lyrical preoccupations might have precluded him from significant crossover success, he enjoys international cult status, going on to remix tracks for dance behemoths Basement Jaxx and Justice, his demented ‘Let There be Light (Bounce Dat Ass Remix)’ released as a B side to the latter’s ‘Waters of Nazareth’ last year, while his own bootybass compositions have appeared on compilations by techno luminaries Jeff Mills and Dave Clarke. So why should DJ Funk appeal to the Numbers crowd? ‘Because he’s a personality,’ laughs Richard Chater (a founding member of the Numbers crew). ‘He’s offensive. Lock up your daughters and don’t introduce him to your girlfriend.’
Words: Colin McKean
