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The Poets Of Rhythm

The Poets Of Rhythm

NPR dubbed them a troop of German James Browns, Munich funk disciples who built vintage soul from scratch.

APPLE MUSIC

More Mess on My Thing

The Poets Of Rhythm

About

MOODS · funky · retro-soul · raw · analog · groove-heavy · vintage · rhythmic · soulful · jazzy · West African-tinged · authentic · energetic

BIOGRAPHY

Formed in Munich in the early 1990s by schoolmates Jan Weissenfeldt (J.J. Whitefield) and Boris Geiger (Bo Baral), The Poets of Rhythm grew out of a shared obsession with late 1960s and early 1970s funk 45s, James Brown, Funkadelic, Parliament and The Meters. They launched their own label, Hotpie & Candy Records, debuting with the 1992 single "Funky Train" b/w "Hotpie's Popcorn," then cut the raw, analog-style debut album Practice What You Preach in 1993, a release that became a cult favorite on the rare groove scene.

WHY THEY'RE COOL

The Poets of Rhythm's hyper-authentic replication of vintage funk fooled even seasoned collectors, with homemade singles reportedly planted in U.S. shops to pass as forgotten 1970s finds, released under invented names like Bus People Express, the Pan-Atlantics and the Excursionists of Perception. Their evolution from raw James Brown worship to jazz and West African textures, capped by Discern/Define on DJ Shadow's Quannum Projects, cemented them as architects of the modern funk and soul revival, a lineage NPR recognized by calling them 'a troop of German James Browns.'

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