The Bridge

THE BRIDGE "The Bridge goes off like a bass line in a ballet class...Funk is alive and well and living in London" -(BASE ROCK)
The freshest funk in the UK is found alive and well in THEBRIDGE, a collective of the UK’s finest musicians. Made up of Dave Holland, Craig Mathewson, Matt McDonough, Ryan Haberfield and Vinzenz Benjamin the band delivers “a unique, popular sound that gets everyone grooving” (BBC). Coupled with a amazing ability to attract the most exciting singers from across Europe (including Adeola Ranson, Jane Fraser, Plamen Bonev) and collaborations with the hippest brass sections on the planet THEBRIDGE are undoubtedly the funkiest band in the UK.
Press Release 2008
Well, Hubert Tubbs of Tower of Power fame is praising them, and he seems to think “it’s going to take off in a big way for these guys.” For a funk band, this is about as good as it gets. It is like supping from the grail of funk. Hubert isn’t exactly lying either. In fact he’s telling the funkin’ truth. The Bridge -with their recently released album ‘Featuring’- are causing a stir in the funk community. If you are into that get up-huh funky stuff, this band is bringing it steaming and nasty to a venue near you.
Formed in 2005, the band has been working tough. With a residency at JazzFly, gigs at the Clapham Grand, The Jazz Café Camden, The Cheltenham Jazz Festival and The Bedford, they have cemented their reputation as one of London’s fiercest live acts. Sweat literally rolls off the stage. Dave Holland, the band's founder and leader says enthusiastically "My music is for the people.” He says this smiling behind a short beard. “I've seen and heard a lot of classical and jazz music that just confuses people. That's not offering the composer the greatest satisfaction– people relating to your music you know? The thing that gets me going is playing the music live. I love the crowds singing along. It’s fantastic!"
The music on the album is indeed infectious. Keep Moving On, London Town, A Little Bit of Funk and You Tell It are true highlights. You see the influences there -Prince, James Brown and just a bit of the old Michael Jackson- but the music has The Bridge’s own flavour. The album is tight, well played, and the production fantastic, blending musical eras together seamlessly into modern sounds which could only have come from London.
Bassist Vinzenz Benjamin -who just completed a tour with legendry 90's outfit Go West- is boastful of the band's virtuosity. "It’s because the music is driven by really great bass lines. It's the perfect mix of modern influences with some of the sounds you would have heard in the 70's and 80's". Guitarist Ryan Haberfield could not agree more. He’s a fan favourite with his skilful guitar solos and tight rhythms. He’s left the studio and T.V. to give his time to the band. Why? ‘Oh man, I love the funk.’
The band is a collective of studio musicians and it shows. No wonder the music translates so well to live venues. Matt McDonough (Wishbone Ash, Barrage), one of the group’s most charismatic members is enthusiastic about the band touring beyond London and South England. "I really want this band to go on tour. We would absolutely kill the festival scene in Europe. I spent a lot of time early in my career in Canada, so I wouldn’t mind getting there as well. Who knows?"
Holland is serious about this prospect. The band is gigging at break neck fervour, and the album is pitched to fever pace. Party People is so pulsing you just have to jig in your seat. Funky Turnaround has been in the band's repertoire for over a year now, with its furious and bouncy chorus. It has made a strikingly fresh evolution onto the album. A Little Bit of Funk is a declaration of a lifestyle for the band and will surely convert the folks dancing along.
Yet the fantastic track You Tell It, states the band's credo best. The Bridge tells it like it is much like the antagonist of the song. There is simplicity in The Bridge’s music and their new album. There is lounge, heavy bass, laid back keyboards, scratching guitars, bloated horn sections blaring; all the ingredients are there for something too heady, too Mark Ronson. Yet they decide to make fun music, and shoot it straight from the hip lacking pretensions but keeping high brow musicality in the forefront. The Bridge is on to good things. They say look further but they mean for you to keep coming back. See them once and hear them twice. You might be converting from your local music bypass, to The Bridge.
Dan Cecil 2008