Ladies and gentlemen, it gives us great pleasure to announce that the latest sonic creation, Funky Nothingness, has been unleashed upon the world! You can stream now on all platforms. And for those who crave the tangible, don’t panic! Vinyl and CDs are also available for your pleasure.
Working with the tracks that Zappa had produced, mixed, and worked on over the years, we compiled an 11-track album, naming it Funky Nothingness after a bluesy, stripped-down piece that the artist had recorded in 1967 at the end of one of the sessions for Uncle Meat. Originally intended to open an early version of "Chunga’s Revenge," the short, unreleased track “sets the tone for the album,” explains Joe Travers. Although the track was recorded a few years before most of the music presented here, Zappa eventually connected it to build a reel, signaling he was planning a release.
While a couple recordings from these sessions have been released over the years (fans may remember the 12-minute version of “Sharleena” from 1996’s posthumous collection, The Lost Episodes), the album introduces these recordings as a cohesive collection for the very first time. “Funky Nothingness, as an album, is special in that it features at least three written compositions, three cover versions and multiple instrumental jam-oriented segments, all previously unreleased,” Travers explains. “It’s very rare to find that amount of music from one set of sessions that has gone unheard for such a long period of time.”
Working with the tracks that Zappa had produced, mixed, and worked on over the years, we compiled an 11-track album, naming it Funky Nothingness after a bluesy, stripped-down piece that the artist had recorded in 1967 at the end of one of the sessions for Uncle Meat. Originally intended to open an early version of "Chunga’s Revenge," the short, unreleased track “sets the tone for the album,” explains Joe Travers. Although the track was recorded a few years before most of the music presented here, Zappa eventually connected it to build a reel, signaling he was planning a release.
While a couple recordings from these sessions have been released over the years (fans may remember the 12-minute version of “Sharleena” from 1996’s posthumous collection, The Lost Episodes), the album introduces these recordings as a cohesive collection for the very first time. “Funky Nothingness, as an album, is special in that it features at least three written compositions, three cover versions and multiple instrumental jam-oriented segments, all previously unreleased,” Travers explains. “It’s very rare to find that amount of music from one set of sessions that has gone unheard for such a long period of time.”
