VA - D-Funk: Funk, Disco and Boogie Grooves from Germany 1972-2002 (2009)

Despite the undeniable influence of Kraftwerk on early hip-hop and electro, and the irresistible grooves Can could set up when they wanted to, most people wouldn't connect the words "funk" and "Germany" right away. This compilation attempts to change that perception with 76 minutes of dancefloor-filling tracks by artists familiar and forgotten. The most famous name here is Boney M., the Euro-disco phenomenon who achieved one-hit wonder status in the U.S.; other acts like Poets of Rhythm and the Whitefield Brothers may be familiar to serious crate-diggers and hip-hop DJs. The Poets and the Brothers make gritty, organic funk instrumentals with a meticulously retro analog sound, including plenty of distortion designed to mimic West African grooves of the 1970s. The Whitefield Brothers' "Rampage" could have come off one of Soundway Records' Nigeria Special compilations, and that's the idea. Other tracks, like James Last's "Bolero '75," are pure '70s cheese with electric piano and hard-strummed guitar backed by ultra-lush strings 'n' horns and a quick gospel-disco beat. It sounds like the backing track to an Elvis Presley single from the last year of his life. There's also a surprisingly credible cover of War's "Low Rider" by the aptly named Stolen Property, and the popping bassline on Cheeseslider's Bootsy Collins-aping "Sweatmajor" deserves to be heard. Overall, this is neither a snickering collection of clumsy novelties nor an essential trove of hidden funk treasures. It's worth a funk fan's time, and will provide some surprises for a professional club DJ to throw at his or her audience, though.