Funken Wagnells is the product of a myriad of musical influences... from latin to jazz... from jazz to funk... from funk to soul. The group is a rariety these days being a 12 piece original act... Which includes a rhythm section that produces a kick arse groove spanning many genres and a four piece horn section consisting of some of Australia’s most recognised Jazz players . Two of the members Rodrigo Aravena and Cristian Silva come from a predominantly Latin musical background while Mick “The Reverend” O’Connor is an an Australian Blues/Rock hammond organ icon. In fact the Wagnells are a unique cultural and musical blend which reflects Australia’s cultural diversity. |
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The core members of the group have been been collaborating the Funken Wagnells for 7 years with many different musicians having involvement throughout .
The self titled debut album is the end product of this long term relationship and the music contains that one inexplicable element that only comes about after years of harmonious musical interaction between songwriters and players. This is the really special element of this album - that thing that Red Hot Chili Peppers captured on Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magic or Sly & the Family Stone on Fresh - it has that pearl of love between people. |
| The album also contains the band’s philosophy regarding the music ‘industry’. The second song Exposure speaks of the commercial elements drinking from the creator’s well at an unsustainable rate and exhausting a finite supply with a selfish motivation and no regard for the artist. The band’s independent recording and distribution philosophy is a consequence of this realisation and has been a large part in the inspiration for the setting up of the Australian Independent Artists Network .
Another commonality between Funken Wagnells and the AIAN is a belief in sharing information and ideas with other bands and organisations in order to effectively side-step the mainstream music industry - for musicians (and others) who are interested in our approach and ideas on recording, releasing and distributing, feel free to:
“Every band needs a silly sex song - you’ve got to get that out of the way” is the Wagnell’s philosophy and the song “Funky People” is that song. Check out the entire song and fathom the depths of it’s filth - “we like it lots (baby)” says the band.
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| The band’s debut album length CD has 13 tracks in total and includes... an incredible cover version of Sly’s “Thankfull Thoughful” |
| ...a number of stylin’ percussion solo’s |
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... some mean horn playing |
| and some inspiring vocals ... |  |
| The Funken Wagnells self titled CD is available
exclusively through this web site via our secure ordering facility.
The first 200 Cd’s sold will be signed by the songwriters so order one now. They are only available online outside of Australia and sell for around $16 US (which includes delivery within 10 days of ordering). |
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| HTML and design by AIAN. © Funken Wagnells 1998.
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