While it certainly won’t win them a slot at the Republican Convention, the debut album from Washington D.C. electronic funk band, Fort Knox Five, justifies the hype born of their singles, shows, and high profile remixes.
Sounding like a cosmic by product of George Clinton, Sly & The Family Stone, and Public Enemy, RADIO FREE D.C. draws on their hometown’s rich musical heritage of funk, soul, punk and hip-hop. The set - released via Fort Knox Recordings - will be the first electronic album distributed by legendary D.C. punk label Dischord Records’ Dischord Direct; it features D.C.’s leading players within underground music including Asheru (Unspoken Heard), Mustafa Akbar, Rootz & Zeebo (See-I), Sleepy Wonder and Ian Svenonius (Nation of Ulysses/The Make Up).
An authentic voice from the new funk phenomenon, Fort Knox Five aka Sid Barcelona, Jon Horvath, Rob Myers and Steve Raskin— first came together to form Fort Knox Recordings. The label was established to release genre-defying, party-rocking music, interweaving live instrumentation with funked-up electronic beats - what has now become known as the “Fort Knox Sound”.
In addition to their productions and live shows, Fort Knox Five are in-demand remixers and producers, working with artists ranging from Afrika Bambaataa to Bittersweet, Kraak & Smaak to Tito Puente and most recently Bob Marley & the Wailers (sanctioned by the Marley estate, a rare honour). The Fort Knox Five are internationally renowned DJs and were selected by Gwen Stefani for her “Harajuku Lovers” tour with Black Eyed Peas.
Intercut by RFDC (“Radio Free D.C.”) interludes, the 12-track RADIO FREE D.C. opens with Asheru’s intelligent rhymes in the party jam ‘Insight’. The album’s unifying anthem ‘Funk 4 Peace’ follows next, featuring long-time FK5 collaborator Mustafa Akbar, who also appears on the tracks ‘The Party Pushers’, ‘The Spirit Of ’75’ and ‘Uptown Tricks’. The album goes on to showcase FK5’s indie rock roots with a heavy dose of funk and soul, as they proclaim step-by-step instructions on ‘How to Start a Band’ featuring Ian Svenonius from DC Hardcore’s Nation of Ulysses and The Make Up. Rootz and Zeebo from See-I and mic-specialist Sleepy Wonder round out the album’s collaborators, appearing on ‘Killa Sound Boy’, ‘The Wonder Strikes Again’, and ‘Not Gonna Take It’, helping FORT KNOX FIVE venture deep into the heart of DC’s Jamaican Underground.
