History
Functional Breaks was
formed in October 1999 as part of Future Underground Nation (FUN), a promotion
and production collaborative based in the UK's
South West city of Exeter.
The ‘breaks’ was dropped in 2006 to stop the label being pigeon holed. June
2007 see’s the label reaching the milestone of the 50th release with
four classic Functional tunes being remixed by some of the labels favourite
artists. Functional started off with Exeter
acts Spoon Wizard, Silken & Blue Effect. There were also releases from Southwest
acts Stabilizer & The Phantom Beats.
The next step forward was
the signing of international artists with Sensei & Johnny
Dangerously from the US & DJ Rocca & 5th Suite from Italy.
With the 20th release, a double album was released, the ‘Retro Future’
album mixed by Phil K & Ben & Lex which saw the Beatz & Bobz
residents starting off thier productions and increased the labels standing in
the breakbeat world. Will White of the Propellerheads and one of Spain’s top breaks producers DJ Killer followed
with releases.This lead onto the signing of revolutionary dub warriors
Dreadzone and releases from Rob Smith from Bristol legends Smith & Mighty. Tayo one
of the founders of the UK
breaks scene released a single supporting his Beatz & Bobz mix album. As the
label moves onwards and upwards Beatz & Bobz longstanding resident Tom Real
has been hot on the production front with killer tracks & remixes with one
of the UKs biggest talents The Rogue Element.
Functional have had a
number of releases which have appeared on compilations by the likes of Dave
Seaman, Ashley Casselle, The Stanton Warriors, Tom Middleton’s DJmag Cover CD
and Tayo’s These Are The Breaks on labels such as Global Underground, XL, Hope
& React.
As a label, Functional
have also become very conscious of the need to be involved within the rapidly
growing digital market. Functional have
therefore been concentrating heavily on making its releases available for
download from a widespread number of legal digital download sites across the
world. Added to this, the label have
been actively seeking synchs and have had tracks short listed for the CSI TV
series.
The Functional Roster of Artists:
Uberzone, Dreadzone, Rob
Smith, Tom Real & Rogue Element, Will White and Ben & Lex.
Over the years, the standard
and quality of Functional’ releases have constantly risen. This is largely down to the artists on our
roster, both locally and internationally.
Locally our Beatz & Bobz residents have been busy in the studio. Ben
& Lex have already had a number of successful releases on the label. Tom
Real & Rogue Element have provided some of the most successful releases
along with our biggest selling act on the label, Dreadzone. Dreadzone released
the ‘Once Upon a Time’ album and the ‘Live at Sunrise’ album proving that they are still one
of the hottest live acts on the festival circuit. Rob Smith from Bristol rockers Smith
& Mighty has releasedhis second release with Functional, with the third
already in the pipeline. The biggest news has been the signing of the first
album in 5 years from Breakbeat pioneer Uberzone. The album Ideology was
released in Sept 2007 and two singles have been released, the first
Satisfaction / FUBAR was followed with mixes of 4 Bit from Uberzone himself and Hybrid.
The Beatz & Bobz Mix CD Series
The Beatz & Bobz mix CD series was inspired by FUN’s
long-running club night of the same name.
The aim was to create a series of mix albums that encapsulated the
legendary Beatz & Bobz nights, now in its 10th year. The series has already created quite a stir
with both volumes 2 and 3 (mixed by the Propellerhead's Will White and Tayo
respectively) selling thousands of copies worldwide. Next up was Functional
artists Dreadzone released in February 2005, with Atomic Hooligan & Jay Cunning and JDS mixing volumes 5 and 6
respectively. 2007 see’s a very special release planned for Beatz & Bobz 10th
birthday with longstanding guest DJ Rennie Pilgrim mixing the Beatz & Bobz
10 album. The album was recorded live in the clubs spiritual home the Cavern
Club in Exeter
in June. The release will be hitting the shops in September. The aim of the series of mix CDs is to push
both the Functional label and the Beatz & Bobz club nights on a show that
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