Wack Wack is the latest in a series of killer covers by the legends of lounge – Skeewiff.
Made famous by Young Holt Unlimited who comprised members of the Ramsey lewis trio and had another killer hit with Soulful Strut.
Skeewiff’s version is a lit up latin love affair with hints of bossa nova and completes their series of releases for 2023 ahead of their new album in 2024.
Skeewiff formed in Brighton in the mid 90’s and their retro take on breakbeat funk quickly saw them win underground acclaim as well as have a number of worldwide hits under their Shaft alias. They formed Jalapeno Records to remove the outside influence of record labels (they had signed their hits to Ministry of Sound and Universal) and Skeewiff moved in an ever more esoteric direction.
Skeewiff always idolised the greats of production music and worked with some of the finest including Alan Hawkshaw while on Jalapeno. In the mid 2000’s they left Jalapeno to form a new (and immediately successful) company to give a fresh take on the production music they loved – Pedigree Cuts.
Now the boys have returned to Jalapeno for a special album of updated cover versions of some of their very favourite tunes.
The first release from this series was a killer 7” featuring Spanish Flea –made famous by Herb Alpert and his Tijuana Brass Band and Exclusive Blend – one of the funkiest library jams ever made by the great Keith Mansfield.
The duo continued their rich vein of form with Amen Brother, a track steeped in legend. This musical masterpiece, boasting one of the most sampled breaks in history from The Winstons, has indelibly shaped the foundations of countless genres and played a pivotal role in the birth of modern electronic music. That was followed by Misirlou, an eastern Mediterranean / Arabic influenced track that combines its ethnic roots with surf rock and The Cat – a homage to Blue Note’s Jimmy Smith – known for popularising the user of the Hammond B3 Organ.
Wack Wack completes their 2023 series of releases and will be available on all digital platforms on 10th November.
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