THE FUNK 'N' BLUES KITCHEN - THE FUNK 'N' BLUES KITCHEN

• The Funk ‘n’ Blues Kitchen: The Funk ‘n’ Blues Kitchen
      (2014, cd, Germany, pottpeople)

The Funk 'n' Blues Kitchen's 2014 self-titled CD is an excellent, genre-bending masterpiece that seamlessly blends real instruments with modern digital samples and loops. 

Released on the German POTTpeople label, this 13-track instrumental album is the brainchild of guitarist and composer Martin "Ludi" Ettrich.

Instead of capturing a standard live studio band, as he does with The Almost Three, Ettrich acts as a musical chef in his "kitchen," assembling a highly unique instrumental menu. He uses several distinct guitar and production techniques across the album. There's funky rhythms, a vocoder / talk box, Texas blues licks, nice jazzy octaves, ... 

For "The Funk 'n' Blues Kitchen', Ludi recruited eight of his talented bass-playing friends (including musicians associated with progressive outfits like Birth Control, Helge Schneider, and N.O.H.A.) to record independent, live bass lines, adding different flavours to each track.

Perfect party and/or road trip music (although I enjoyed it through my headphones while working on my computer).