Throughout his career, JJ Whitefield has been a chameleon of sorts. From the Poets of Rhythm to The Whitefield Brothers to Karl Hector & The Malcouns, his music takes different shapes and forms. There is one common thread throughout though, and that’s the drum. Take any of each outfit’s releases and there will be some sort of funky drum embedded in each of the tracks. You could interpret that in different ways, but the fact remains it’s got an element of funk buried in it somewhere. As we’ve seen with a lot of diggers (and the same musicians who dig and appreciate the music), this project is a natural progression towards this kind of thing. We all start out with the funk and soul, then move out to psych or african breaks, and eventually end up somewhere in prog or krautrock. Early on when I was digging, I saw it a lot but never understood. This far into the game I do, and while we’re not putting any labels on this latest project from JJ, we’d definitely say it falls into the latter category of ’70’s krautrock. Ambient and heavily synth based, Rodina goes along the same lines as bands like Tangerine Dream, Cluster, and Popul Vuh. It’s a special project and we’re happy to share it here at FleaMarket Funk. A different direction for JJ, yes, but one we think you will enjoy just as much as his past catalog. This dreamy rocket ride of seven tracks takes you to outer space and back, with JJ as your captain. You might want to dig out your headphones for this one my friends, it’s a trippy ride.

Available through Now Again, have a listen to Rodinia “Drumside Part II” below and check out the promo video for the record.

BONUS: JJ put together a special mix for the people called “Asteroid”. Check it out!

Get the record here.

Keep Diggin’!