Mr. Bird – Dance Away EP | Flea Market Funk

We are always excited to hear from Mr. Bird, the English DJ and producer who now calls Portugal his home. He’s just docked his ship over at Matasuna Records and for 2018 has released a scorching EP of tracks to get you sweating where ever you call home. This four track EP should be on your radar if it isn’t already. The first single, “Dance Away” a collaboration featuring Chief Commander Yaaba, one of the lead vocals for London outfit Yaaba Funk, is an Afro Disco heat rock. It starts with a massive bass line and highlights great horn work as well as the call to the dance floor from Yaaba, who takes you higher with his voice and leads you on a path to the promised land. No stopping this track! Moving further into dance floor culture, “The Sasquatch” is a straight house banger that for sure will have heads and asses moving with it’s endless beat and funky hook. We like where this EP is going on Side A. Ending up on a club note, this track is catchy none the less. Flip the record over and we start with “Floating Funk”, with its heavy bass line and horn stabs, builds up into a frenzy of nu-disco bliss, and as the song’s title suggests, floats its way to your ears with cymbals, cowbells, pounding drums, whistles, and more. Let’s not forget the funk, it’s always with us. Rounding out the record we have “Carnival Beat”. This track travels back to Africa once again, reminiscent of Angolan breakbeats, rhythms, and grooves. It is definitely heavily influenced by past rhythms, simmering hot in a pot of African funk and dance parties that last well into the early morning. While the entire record is good on a whole, we definitely lean towards both tracks that have the African feel to them. Earthy and explosive, the entire platter that Mr. Bird is serving up is quite tasty. If you are familiar with some of his older work (if not, click the link), he’s definitely an artist that has put out some terrific releases, recording sessions with the legendary John Peele, as well as a great discography of sides. This release marks his first with Matasuna, and we are loving the direction he’s heading. Check out the first single streaming from bandcamp below, and pre-order the record, available 1/19.