Seattle funk outfit The Oscillators are having a big year what with the release of their self-titled LP on Germany’s Tramp Records plus two vinyl 7″ singles – one on Tramp and one on Funk Night. It’s actually side A of the Funk Night 45 – The Scoop – which is getting a digital release here as part of the chain of digital singles which prefigure the arrival of contemporary funk sampler LP The Originals Vol. 3 from another German label, Golden Rules. Frequently billed as raw ‘deep funk’ it’s immediately clear that there’s a heavy psychedelic edge to pretty much everything The Oscillators do and The Scoop is no exception for while it chugs along with clattery drums and throbbing bass, the steady wah-wah guitar is apt on occasions to wander offer into meandering, squalling solos worthy of Eddie Hazel. Oh and did I mention the Ethio-jazz-style sax bit at the end? Given the nature of things, MB regulars may be unsurprised to find out that the band features members of Lucky Brown & The SGs and The Polyrhytmics, among others.
(Out 1 September on Golden Rules)
