Bust out the boombox, flatten out that cardboard dishwasher box, Funky Bijou have a bunch of fierce and sturdy breaks for you. The duo of DJs Marrrtin et Deheb, key players in the Rennes-based DJ and graffiti crew Stereophonk, have been cranking this stuff out for a decade or more now, and their productions have featured at breakdance battles worldwide. This mix in two 20-minute parts is a showcase for their finest moments, and it indulges unapologetically in the globetrotting ’70s gangster-movie grooves that facilitators of funky breaks are so fond of. Lots of apprehensive bass lines, gritty rhythm guitar, and alarming brass outbursts. Much of side A is informed by Japanese yakuza thrillers, closing out on their excellent “Okinawa Break”, with its urgent shamisen and razor-sharp bamboo-flute licks. Side B kicks off with the squealing tires of a getawav car, the green light for the tight, punchy “Lido Break”. That’s followed by a synth-heavy remix of “Yekatt”, a Mulatu Astatke piece covered by French Ethio-jazz revivalists he Selenites Band (also on Stereophonk). “Worldwide” wraps things up, not with a big bang but with a sneaky shuffle. Or does it? The bumping bonus track “Late Night” is thrown in as a little extra for the digital version of Adventures in the Land of Breaks, and it’s nothing to complain about.
