The 238’s w/ Julia Haile – The Itch b/w The Scratch

When two powerhouses collide to form a group, well it’s a good thing. Linking up through social media in 2014, organist Chris Hazelton from the Boogaloo 7 and The M-Tet’s bassist Chris Lujan bonded over their love of the Tascam 238 Multitrack cassette machine, and the rest is history. Fast forward to 2017, and we have members of Oakland’s The M-Tet and Kansas City’s Boogaloo 7 and Hi-Lux coming together to put out a blazing funk forty five as The 238’s. Mailing cassettes back and forth, they were able to put together two tracks when in fact, most of the band members had never met in person. The result? A mixing of heavy funk and soul jazz vibes that are a double sided banger of heavy funk. Side A, “The Itch” features vocalist Julia Haile. It is an upbeat slice of sister funk that propels feet to go in the direction of the dance floor immediately. If you have itchy feet and they need to move, this cures what ails you. The flip, “The Scratch” is a slab of heavy instrumental funk that is highlighted by some fat back drums, sleazy horns, and some terrific organ work by Chris Hazelton. Smoking, actually. With the spirit of Jimmy Smith and of the greats behind him, Hazelton pushes in deep to divide a path to what’s good and what’s not. If you haven’t guessed, it’s good, and with that sound, the KC player has made quite a name for himself in the world of jazz. In fact, all of these players have. Enlisting, Michael Reed on drums, Nick Howell on trumpet and tambourine, Clint Ashlock on trumpet, Nick Rowland on tenor sax, Brett Jackson on baritone sax, The 238’s have a sound. It’s a sound we like and we are positive you will too. There is something for everyone on this two sider. Driving dance floor funk and late night, instrumental organ funk that is like a napkin after a late night pizza run: greasy with a capital G. One thing I want though, is for this instrumental jam to be longer. But maybe they are just teasing us with this single and lining things up for the full length. Either way, this is a hot platter. Available in limited runs of black and color vinyl, it’s available on Sunflower Soul Records the 3rd of March. Check out both sides below and pre-order the record as well.