The Budos Band

This Staten Island crew specializes in a very specifically '70s sound -- the Latin-and Afro-based groove that lurked on records by groups like Cymande, African Music Machine, and Mulatu Astatke, but later found its biggest mainstream exposure (in highly watered-down form) via TV cop shows. Though they share a label and members with the Dap-Kings -- the band that lays down anachronistic grooves behind retro-soul belters Sharon Jones and Amy Winehouse -- the Budos' funk is of a decidedly sinister bent: The minor-key horns and creeping bass lines will scare, not ease, you onto the dance floor. 

Now Hear This:
The Budos Band - "Chicago Falcon" DOWNLOAD MP3

By Sean Howe