The Whitefield Brothers, made up of brothers Jan ‘JJ’ and Max ‘Muggy’ as well as various other members who seem to come and go as they please are a bit of a cult hit on all accounts. They were the founders of Munich’s legendary Poets Of Rhythm and their last album 'In The Raw' which hit these shores in 2001 gained them incredible press for their abstract take on funk and soul.
Nearly ten years on from their debut, the Whitefield Brothers second album delves even more into the crazy world of heavy psych-funk with every track blending in influences from around the world, you've got the Arabic tinged offerings of 'Reverse Featuring Percee P & MED' and 'Taisho' on top of an obvious passion and devotion to raw African beats and polyrhythms. There are so many different funk/jazz-fusions that never seem to quite work but the German duo just seem to get it.
You can really hear the passion and the obvious work that has gone into making this shines through so well, their extensive research into diverse musical traditions and their list of instruments should be enough to intrigue any lover of the wierd and wonderful, combining commonly used with flutes and gongs from Asia, African xylophones and strings Earthology dips in and out of different styles but the underlying edge to every track remains as heavy, groovy funk. Be it the horn section on 'Sad Nile,' the percussion on 'NTU' or the experimental sessions with guest musicians such as Quantic, Edan, Express Brass Band and the Dap-Kings which have taken place as far back as 15 years ago, The Whitefield Brothers have taken their time but have created groove and beats the like of which you won't hear anywhere else.
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