PHOTOS COURTESY: EARPHUNK.COM
Earphunk might be the most aptly-named up-and-coming band this side of the Mississippi River.
The five-piece rock’n’roll and soul-funk fusion or “Prog funk” band met as college students in the New Orleans area. They quickly began playing shows, and in 2014, they recorded their third album, “Sweet Nasty,” which quickly proved to catapult their recent success. Some of this is, in part, because of BitTorrent. Since Earphunk launched “Sweet Nasty” on the digital publishing platform, they’ve seen more than 600,000 downloads and counting.
Their music hits low, funk-filled notes, then takes the listener to ecstatic highs with a horn section that could have stepped right out of the French Quarter.
Earphunk’s spacey sound has certainly grown and changed in various ways over the years. They’ve found a solid direction, both in their music and songwriting, guitarist Mark Hempe said. All of Earphunk’s members have grown musically as individuals and, thus, as a group.
“We’ve found a more distinct sound and direction to follow,” Hempe wrote in an email. “In the beginning, we were highly influenced almost solely by NOLA funk, etc. But now, we have taken a bit more progressive and rockier direction that hits harder and can give us more free reign for expression.”
At the core of Earphunk lays their musical origin: New Orleans. The city’s sound permeates through their music, and they’ve had the privilege to play with some of New Orleans’ best. When you’re a band with saxophone and horn features, it doesn’t hurt to be in the city of jazz and soul.
“There’s a very unique rhythm and feel that people from other parts of the country don’t experience often,” Hempe wrote. “But here in New Orleans, it’s a rhythm that’s a part of our daily lives. I read a particular quote from Ivan Neville recently and I would say he described the feeling perfectly. To paraphrase it, he described being a musician from New Orleans as like having a little inside joke that you all share.”
Just as some New Orleans musicians become part of the city itself, others break away, spreading the unique sounds of the city. Earphunk is doing just that. If it wasn’t already apparent with the popularity of their nationwide tours, the band will prove their prowess with their upcoming album, which they are recording in Chicago and releasing this spring.
“We recently completed basic tracking for a new full length album in Chicago with Steve Albini,” Hempe said. “I think the environment and working with Steve made everyone really up their game for this one and we are very excited to release it! As what can typically be the case when a band comes out of the studio, I think we have come out of the experience a much better band.”
With Albini, who has worked with the likes of Nirvana and Foo Fighters, the recording experience was truly unique for Earphunk.
Expect serious jams tonight at The Lyric, as Oxford will be the very first stop on Earphunk’s fall tour, which, according to Hempe, has the potential to “be the best in Earphunk history.”
The Main Squeeze, a “killer” band from Chicago, will open, but you can expect to see them join Earphunk for a few jams as well. For each tour stop, two limited edition white vinyl records of “Sweet Nasty” will be available at the merchandise table. The doors open at 8 p.m.
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