CULTURE CLUB
AT FULL BRASS ON THE SCENE The Brass Funkeys are set to return to Cambridge Junction this month. Miriam Balanescu sits down with band member Vij Prakash
Each member brings their own musical history to bear on their tracks, ranging from jazz to reggae, punk and metal. “There are a lot of influences flying about,” laughs Vij. “We set about trying to ruin some of our favourite songs. It’s that irreverence of taking things we like and trying to change the vibe.” The Brass Funkeys have just dusted off a two-year project, documenting a calendar year in their musical lives, culminating in four EPs. “We thought we’d do that rather than a big album – we’ll do four snapshots of the year and give people an idea of our process and what we do,” explains Vij. “Lockdown extended that project.” A fluid approach to composing TOOT YOUR OWN HORN The nine-piece Brass Funkeys have been creating bombastic music and refining an energetic live experience for more than ten years. The Junction plays host on 30 September
and creating is at the crux of their music, with the band members developing ideas separately before workshopping them together. Even gigs are part of this process. “The Cambridge gig will come off the back of a busy festival season over the summer, where we’ll be trying out quite a lot of new things, and then bedding into new material,” says Vij. “It’s always a really nice way to get to play to big crowds
F or those not yet familiar with the unrestrained sounds of the Brass Funkeys, the nine-piece band has been a favourite among Cambridge locals ever since they emerged in 2011 as regulars at the Junction and Cambridge Jazz Festival. As the name suggests, each of the group’s members is a master in various brass instruments – with the interesting addition of a sousaphone, an instrument shaped to contort around the body of the player. Acquiring this instrument helped bring the band into being. “We were playing different funk and jazz projects together in various guises,” describes tenor saxophonist Vij Prakash. “Then one night, one of the guys bought a sousaphone on a drunken Ebay splurge – and a chaise longue, actually. I think he totally forgot about it. Then a few weeks later, this amazing instrument appeared.” Fusing a New Orleanian style with multifarious influences, the band is known for its original compositions and putting a fresh spin on well-known tracks – their big sound the ace card. “We realised early on that people were going quite mad for it here,” remarks Vij. “So we started off playing on the street, just making a lot of noise, and we would get some big crowds quite quickly.
in a lot of different places and see where people are, try some different things out, see what lands and where people’s ears are going.” While the Brass Funkeys have been innovators on the jazz scene, Vij believes brass band music is set to take over the UK: “The scene has grown and there are bands drawn to that sound all over the UK and Europe. It’s a present scene now in the UK, which is good for us because we’re not necessarily having to explain the roots of our music to people. We can just play our original music and people have a bit of a grounding in that sound.”
“One of the first things we did was Mill Road Winter Fair, where we didn’t have a slot or anything, but set ourselves up on the railway bridge and just started playing. Apparently the bridge was kind of swaying back and forward. Now, every year I get a slightly worried email from Mill Road Winter Fair asking if we’re going to turn up – and if we are, we need to book a slot.” On why brass street music is such a winning formula, Vij explains: “Originally, it’s the immediacy of it. The fact we don’t need to plug into anything, we don’t need to be strapped to anything, we can make our own noise. We can play anywhere.”
Originally, it’s the immediacy of it. We don’t need to plug into anything, we can play anywhere
CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK SEPTEMBER 2023 17
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