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The Funkoars are an Australian hip hop act from Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The group is part of the Certified Wise crew of hip hop artists from South Australia (including the Hilltop Hoods, and Vents), who also collaborated on various recordings. Despite being on hiatus since 2016, Funkoars are still rostered to Golden Era Records.

Funkoars have performed throughout Australia, supporting or playing alongside acts such as the Hilltop Hoods, Milkbar Stars, Koolism, Def Wish Cast, Cross Bred Mongrels, Gangstarr, Apathy & Celph Titled, and Public Enemy.

Biography

1999–2005: Formation & Who's Your Step Daddy

Funkoars was established in Adelaide in 1999, and consisted of MC and producer Daniel Rankine (a.k.a. Mr Trials or Trials), MCs Adam Baker (a.k.a. Uncle Sesta or simply Sesta) and Matthew Honson (a.k.a. Sketchy Hons or Hons), and DJ Daniel Yates (a.k.a. Reflux). According to Trials, a "Funkoar is the dreg of society. It is the funnel in which all morals and conscious are drained into the river Styx."

In March 2014, Sesta explained that at the time of the band's formation, notions of fame or success were not a significant factor in the creative process, and "that's what gave the local scene such a strong foundation. There was no promised light at the end of the tunnel that your average band would dare to dream of." Sesta further explained that artists at the time were driven by a love of hip hop culture, unconcerned by market trends, and they "enjoyed the process of making the songs" most of all. In addition to Gravediggaz and Akinyele, Sesta also identified Centrelink as an early influence of the band, as bandmate "Hons would come to my house on check day and we'd come up with a lot of ideas there, sort of."

Funkoars' debut album, Who's Your Step Daddy, was released by Peepshow Entertainment in September 2003. Following its release Funkoars toured Australia extensively.

2006–2012: The Greatest Hits, The Hangover & The Quickening

Funkoars released its second studio album, The Greatest Hits, in September 2006 on Obese Records, an Australian hip hop label. The production on the second album is mostly credited to Sesta and Trials, both of whom have also produced for the Hilltop Hoods. The Greatest Hits featured guest appearances, such as the Hilltop Hoods ("What I Want"), Vents ("The Symphony") and Pegz ("Meet The Family").

Following the release of The Greatest Hits, Funkoars embarked on a national tour, between July 2006 and August 2006, supported by Awbs & Maundz and Cross Bred Mongrels. In 2007, Funkoars performed at the Adelaide Big Day Out, as well as the 2009 Big Day Out in Sydney, Australia.

In 2008, Funkoars left Obese Records and returned to the Peepshow label for the release of the third album, The Hangover. The album's first single "Black Sally", features samples from single, of the same name, by Human Instinct, a psych-rock band from New Zealand—Human Instinct's vocalist/drummer, Maurice Greer, appeared in the music video for the single.

In September 2011, the band released The Quickening, which peaked at number 11 on the ARIA Charts. At the AIR Awards of 2012, it was nominated for Best Independent Hip Hop/Urban album.

2013–present: Dawn of the Head

As of February 2013, the group is signed to Golden Era Records, a record label founded by the Hilltop Hoods.

"Larry Emdur" was a single released in early 2013 and included on the 2013 Golden Era mixtape, and was a parody of the Australian television personality Larry Emdur, using a sample from the Larry David cable television program, Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO). The music video for the single featured clips of Emdur from TV shows including The Price is Right. On occasion, Emdur joined the band during live performances of the song.

On 9 June 2013, the band announced that DJ Reflux was leaving the group to move onto other projects. Golden Era Records producer and DJ Adfu has performed with the Funkoars emcees in subsequent live shows.

To commence 2014, the band completed an east coast Australian tour over January and February to promote the Dawn of the Head EP. Supported by Australian duo Mr Hill & Rahjconkas, the three emcees received live DJ support from Adfu and the Adelaide launch show ended in a 20-emcee performance. The Funkoars were part of the Big Pineapple Music Festival that occurred in May 2014 on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. In regard to touring in 2014, Sesta explained: "We (kinda) drink a lot less on the road these days, which means people don't avoid us nearly as much, so yes, anything's possible. What we can guarantee is you'll see four humans go from ice cube casual to monster mash in 30 seconds or less for the duration of our set, fun for the whole family."

The Funkoars released the Dawn of the Head EP in February 2014. In an interview in March 2014, Sesta described the effect that the changes within the band as "we used less samples and focused more on playing instruments ourselves, it led to a much more enjoyable and dynamic chemistry in the studio". Sesta described the song as "six heavy, sweat-dripping pockets of nervous energy, tightly duct-taped together, and pressed really hard onto wax"

In May 2016, the band released the single, "Mad As Hell".

Side projects

In June 2005, Mr Trials released a solo EP, entitled For the Ladies, which received distribution through Obese Records. Trials has also undertaken production for other Australian hip hop recordings, such as Vents' Hard to Kill, a remix of the Hilltop Hoods single, "Clown Prince", and Drapht's albums, Brothers Grimm and Life of Riley. In relation to Life of Riley, reviewer, Shane Scott, proclaimed, "If you don't recognise Trials as one of Australia's finest producers by now you are a sleeping motherfucker, but in the end it's you who loses."

Awards and nominations

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

DVDs

References

1. ^ "Artists". Golden Era Records. 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
2. "Hilltop Hoods". Sputnikmusic.com. 2005–2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
3. "Hilltop Hoods Return to Tassie". The Dwarf. 28 February 2006. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
4. Jim (4 February 2004). "Subject: Gangstarr last night". Oz Hip Hop.com. The XMB Group. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
5. Sophiska (2 March 2005). "Celph Titled & Apathy" (Forum post). Inthemix.com. Inthemix Pty Ltd. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
6. "Public Enemy Tour at Heaven". Resident Advisor. Resident Advisor Ltd. 9 December 2003. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
7. Xpose (14 August 2006). "Funkoars: Greatest hits and top 5 drinks". inthemix.com.au. inthemix Pty Ltd. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
8. ^ Greg Moskovitch (4 March 2014). "Funkoars: "There's A Little More Method to the Madness This Time"". Music Feeds. Music Feeds. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
9. "Funkoars". Nova FM. DMG Radio Australia. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
10. "Hilltop Hoods to headline Clipsal 500 Friday night concert". Adelaide Clubber. 26 January 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
11. "Central Station album review The Greatest Hits". centralstation. 31 July 2006. Retrieved 10 January 2010.
12. "Funkoars - The Greatest Hits - Album Launch". Inthemix. Inthemix Pty Ltd. 4 August 2006. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
13. Cecbuzz (13 December 2006). "Final acts announced for Big Day Out". FasterLouder. FasterLouder Pty Ltd. Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
14. TheFunkoars (6 November 2008). "Funkoars - Black Sally feat. Maurice Greer" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
15. ^ "NOMINATIONS: 2012 Jagermeister Independent Music Awards". Australian Independent Record Labels Association. 17 September 2012. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
16. allaussie hip hop (20 November 2009). "Funkoars sign with Golden Era Records". allaussie hip hop. WordPress.com. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
17. ^ "Golden Era Records Mixtape feat. Hilltop Hoods, Funkoars, Vents, Briggs, K21 mixed by Jaytee featuring the friend Seth Sentry FULL TRACK LISTING". Golden Era Records on Facebook. Facebook. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
18. TheFunkoars (22 January 2013). "The Funkoars - Larry Emdur". YouTube. Google, Inc. Archived from the original (Video upload) on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
19. Ward, Mat (1 July 2015). "Funkoars super-producer Trials instils Black pride". www.greenleft.org.au. Green Left Weekly. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
20. Funkoars (9 June 2013). "Post". Facebook. Retrieved 9 June 2013. Since being a member of the band shortly after its inception in 2003, always a versatile multitasker, DJ Reflux will now be moving on to other projects and departing from the group.
21. Funkoars (9 June 2013). "Post". Twitter. Retrieved 9 June 2013. some news regarding the recent departure from the group of our long time friend & collaborator, Dj Reflux
22. ^ "Funkoars Tour Jan-Feb 2014". Urban Channel. 5 January 2014. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
23. Nastassia Baroni (4 December 2013). "The Big Pineapple Music Festival 2014 Lineup Announced". Music Feeds. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
24. ^ "Mad As Hell - single". Apple Music. May 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
25. "Single of the Day: The Funkoars "Mad As Hell" (2016)". the AU review. May 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
26. Xpose (9 August 2007). "Vents - Hard to Kill". inthemix.com.au. inthemix Pty Ltd. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
27. "2005, English, Sound, Recorded music edition: Clown prince / Hilltop Hoods. [sound recording] /". Trove. National Library of Australia. 2005. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
28. Patrick Taylor (17 June 2008). "Drapht :: Brothers Grimm :: Obese Records". RapReviews.com. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
29. Shane Scott (5 June 2012). "Drapht : The Life of Riley". Beat. Furst Media Pty Ltd. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
30. ^ Peak positions for albums in Australia:
    • All except noted: "Funkoars discography". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
    • The Hangover and "Black Sally": Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 110.
31. "The Quickening (DD)". Apple Music. 16 September 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
32. "Dawn of the Head (EP)". Apple Music. February 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
33. "Funkoars - Black Sally". YouTube. November 2008. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
34. "FUNKOARS - What's Your Malfunction". YouTube. May 2009. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
35. "Where I Am - single". Apple Music. 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
36. "It's All Good (Is Very Good) - single". Apple Music. 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
37. "THE FUNKOARS - VAMOOSE". youTube. April 2012. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
38. "The Funkoars - A Clockwork Purple". YouTube. 27 February 2014. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
39. "THE FUNKOARS - 1UP FEAT. PHEW & K21". YouTube. April 2014. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
40. "THE FUNKOARS - The D". YouTube. April 2014. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2020.

• 1999 establishments in Australia
• Australian hip-hop groups
• Australian musical quartets
• Golden Era Records artists
• Musical groups established in 1999
• Musical groups from Adelaide
• Obese Records artists