Vancouver Sun

Funk Hunters find holiday groove

Local DJ duo is capping successful year of touring, recording new album

- STUART DERDEYN sderdeyn@postmedia.com Twitter.com/stuartderd­eyn

Vancouver DJ duo The Funk Hunters prove it pays to track down the meatiest beats in the deepest, darkest jungle of dance music.

Nick Middleton and Duncan Smith’s career trajectory has seen the two go from a local club favourite to the DoLaB Stage at Coachella 2016.

They’ve performed in 16 countries and that list keeps growing.

This month the crew comes back to Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom for a two-night stand.

The seasonal Funk the Halls show is in its second year and The Funk Hunters figure on it becoming a long-standing tradition.

The performanc­e remains milestone for them.

“We’d played the venue before with our good friends Delhi 2 Dublin on a double bill thing,” says Middleton. “But then this crazy idea was pitched about us doing this headliner show around Christmas. Having both been long time involved in DJing, show promo- a tion and production, we thought it sounded dangerous, as that’s a risky time of year. But it sold out as soon as it was announced and we had to add a second night.”

The hometown following for the group is certainly heartwarmi­ng, but support for their addictive brand of hip-hop/R&B and dance music is coming from all over these days.

In an interview earlier this year, A.J. Niland of Huka Entertainm­ent, which produces the Pemberton Music Festival, singled out The Funk Hunters as a Canadian talent the company intended on featuring at its numerous major events. The reason Niland cited was the group’s ability to cross over numerous genres, and its crack profession­alism.

“I think passion is our main strength,” Middleton says. “We really do work 24-7 full-on and have since the beginning — touring, making relationsh­ips and learning a lot more than what we expected at the start. I’ve been getting a lot more involved in producing lately and not doing it on the fly on my laptop in hotel rooms or on planes when the time allowed.”

Among the projects that bear The Funk Hunters stamp is Delhi 2 Dublin’s latest album We’re All Desi, and the album Illectric with former Jurassic 5 MC Chali 2na. Released on Middleton’s Westwood Recordings earlier this year, the album has been supported with extensive touring. The duo and the rapper prove a good fit.

“Interestin­gly, today we have much more of a system going as we move forward.

“I’m talking to you and then going into the studio. Duncan is off on tour with Chali. We never imagined that we could do that, as we thought our show really needed the two of us to work.”

Naturally, for shows such as Funk the Halls, The Funk Hunters come complete with numerous guests and other players to ramp up the performanc­e. But they feel fine dividing duties when it’s with someone as dynamic as Chali 2na up in front of the crowd. After all, the MC has been holding his own with a DJ for years.

“And that means I can take the time to be really meticulous in the studio, because the next album is

really what we’re focused on,” Middleton says.

“It’s due in the new year, and I’m working on about 25 different songs that will be whittled into a package we can release in the new year. We’ve been touring around the world without even making an album, and you could make the case that we don’t really need to, but artistical­ly there is a drive to put out a lot of music that is reflective of the last two years so we can move on.”

Listeners can chart the progressio­n of that sound by playing some of the various festival sets that are posted online.

Then they can spin Illectric and it will be easy to grasp what Middleton is talking about. The studio album’s tracks slam home with more power and, again, passion.

According to Middleton, fans can expect the same and more from the new material. “There are all different genres, vocalists from across the globe, and if I could do anything it would be to spend six months in the studio finessing it all,” he says.

“But I also know in my heart that I wouldn’t want to lose going out on the road because the two don’t separate.

“You go into the studio to make new music because you want to play it live. You go on the road to get inspired to make new music.”

Being able to split their duties has improved The Funk Hunters expansion plans.

Middleton does the music, engineerin­g and production, while Smith handles the regular podcast, The Detour, as well as the mix tapes and the audio visual aspects of the live performanc­e.

These skill sets have enabled the band to move into the massive American market.

“We’ve been to Europe a few times, Australia, New Zealand and even Brazil, but that doesn’t really add up to much when you are trying to break into the U.S. market,” says Middleton.

“We’ve approached it the same way we did everywhere else, pursuing the best shows and really touring a lot. And 2016 has been really incredible, with some major showcases such as Coachella that we’re really proud of.”

Expect Funk The Halls to be as high energy a holiday party as any you’ll attend this season, right down to the DJs’ matching pyjama suits.

 ?? BRANDON ARTIS PHOTOGRAPH­Y ?? The Funk Hunters, Duncan Smith and Nick Middleton, have gone from local club DJs to performing in 16 countries around the world.
BRANDON ARTIS PHOTOGRAPH­Y The Funk Hunters, Duncan Smith and Nick Middleton, have gone from local club DJs to performing in 16 countries around the world.

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