The Voodoo Funk Project is a group consisting of Mike Gorman (keyboards), Ed Jones (saxes & flute), Julian Crampton (bass) & Geoff Wilkinson (programming). The sound is a mix of dark melancholic Headhunters-style jazz-funk and creamy late-night smooth jazz cocktails. By combining the contemporary production techniques of Us3 producer Geoff Wilkinson with the outrageously funky basslines of Julian Crampton, the Voodoo Funk Project create a solid bedrock for Mike Gorman and Ed Jones to weave their melodic spells across the grooves. Mike and Ed utilise an array of effects on their instruments to create a combination of strong atmospheric backdrops for their tremendously hypnotic melodies and five star solos. Whether you’re watching the rain from an East London tower block or cruising down the Pacific Coast Highway, the Voodoo Funk Project will cast it’s spell over you…
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All Music Guide review by Stewart Mason:-
The first 30 seconds of Voodoo Funk Project's debut album will send listeners scurrying to the liner notes looking for the recording date: "Black Magic" is Blackbyrds-style funky soul-jazz, right down to the vintage synth whooshes that lazily ripple across the sound field and the introduction of an extremely 1970s-vintage clavinet part about two minutes in. The rest of the album maintains this retro vibe, unsurprising since the brain behind this U.K. foursome is producer and programmer Geoff Wilkinson, formerly half of acid jazz pioneers Us3. Unlike that dance-oriented group, there's no desire on the part of Voodoo Funk Project to update their sound with turntables or guest rappers: the groove is the thing, pure and simple, and keyboardist Mike Gorman and bassist Julian Crampton do a remarkably good job of splitting the difference between backing reedsman Ed Jones' solos and staying front and center on their own, as exemplified by the interplay between the four musicians on the genuinely excellent "This Is Where?" Those who blanch at the merest idea of jazz-funk won't have their minds changed by Deep in the Cut, but this is essential new music for fans of the form.
