Dark beat "addicted to drums"
I feel it deep inside me
I wanna ride it cant fight it
I might as well rely on the drumbeat
Do pump the low-end frequency
Can't hide it I wont deny it
Cause I'm addicted to drums
And I'm a slave to the drumbeat
Launched in the early '90s, their chart-topping single "Reach for Me" put Funky Green Dogs firmly on the global map. In 1997, they exploded onto the pop charts with their now-classic "Fired Up!" from their acclaimed debut, Get Fired Up! The single's robust fusion of grinding beats and bass catapulted FGD into the mainstream with worldwide sales exceeding 250,000 units, cracking the UK Top 20, rocketing to #1 on the Billboard Club Chart and going gold in Belgium. Other singles "The Way" (#1 Billboard Club Chart; #42 UK National Chart), "Until The Day" (#2 Billboard Club Chart) and "Some Kind of Love" have also made indelible marks of their own.
After releasing Star in 2000, their second album for Twisted Records (which featured the breakout single "Body") "We realized that the tracks that we really liked on our last album were the ones that we both wrote together," explains Oscar, who has known his musical partner Ralph since childhood. "We decided to do all of the music together this time and it made the difference for us."
Oscar and Ralph’s involvement in almost no outside projects (MURK has
remixed everyone from Madonna to Donna Summer) and not gigging on the international
DJ circuit. Having DJ’ed at most of the world’s best clubs, Oscar’s
DJ residency at downtown Miami’s revered Club Space proved to be an important
force on Super California. Every week, he tried out his outfit’s new
material and gauged people’s reactions to their new songs while they
were in progress.
"I have a great residency and I get to play for 3000 people every week," beams Oscar. "I tested out everything on the album. I don't even have to travel anymore. I'm spoiled rotten here at home."
The album’s title-track was the first song they completed. Released last summer via a limited-edition pressing, the track instantly became a club anthem. The song eventually helped influence the remainder of the album and its packaging. "LA has a reputation for being superficial and we can relate to that because of where we live," says Oscar. "The cover art is prop-driven and fake. We even built a fake beach scene…there's more of a concept on this album."
Super California stands as Funky Green Dogs’ most daring statement to date. On this album, they’ve produced a bolder collection of songs with a host of wonderful subtleties between the grooves. Tracks like "Rise" pack a hearty musical message, while others such as "Free" and "Hesitation" conjure up elements of the classic, raw, bottom-heavy MURK sound. The first single, "You Got Me (Burnin' Up),” is already a scorcher on dance floors, a natural evolution from Funky Green Dogs’ early club favorites.
"The first album we pieced together in a hurry
because that’s just the way that it turned out," concludes Oscar.
"The second one, we really wanted it to sound like an album and we achieved
it, but this time we knew exactly what we were getting into and had a lot
more time to workkk with. We're in a different mind-frame here. We just wanted
to do our shit: baselines and minimal-type things. There's even some pop in
there, which is an element of our sound. But in the end, the foundation of
this album—and everything we do—is based on grooves. That will never
change."
