Patafunk Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Mar 2nd 2010 10:10AM by Christina Lee
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Patafunk is Carlos Martinez's ever-evolving project. As a deejay, his music became a sonic scrapbook of his travels since age 18. As a result, debut album 'Dubdelic' fused together elements from more than a dozen genres, including disco, house, jungle, reggae and ska. Patafunk has since grown to a trio, with Susana serving up electronics and Lorenzo 11.1 strumming guitars. As they mix and master their sophomore album 'Shake It,' the band keeps true to their intentions of spreading a unique world view. Spinner recently talked to Martinez about Patafunk's upcoming album, musical influences and SXSW.

Describe your sound in your own words.

There is no specific sound. It's like when funk came along in the '60s and '70s, it was a mix of so many things -- Latin music, Jamaican music, soul and jazz. We're that new kind of funk, because we also mix in jazz, reggae, Latin and all the Jamaican lines of music. We're a fusion of different kinds of music trying to find a new sound and a new style called Patafunk.

What are your musical influences?

I'm a music lover. I have my own radio show and I'm a deejay, so I'm always listening to new music, old rock 'n' roll and things from the '50s and '60s. I love disco music. I love electronic music. I'm very eclectic with my music tastes.

How did you come up with your band name?

"Pata" is Spanish for "leg," but more for animals than for humans. We took "pata" the leg of the animal and made it the base. Your leg is your stem, you need it to stand -- so it's your base. Funk is the base of our music. We mean to say that funk mixed with other kinds of music is our base, but we are not a funk band. Everybody knows funk.

Who were some of your favorite musicians growing up?

As a kid, I listened to hard rock 'n' roll and heavy metal. Then, punk. I was listening to the Ramones for about two years. Since they played a lot of '50s covers, I moved on to '50s music and the blues like Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and Little Richard. Then I listened to '60s psychedelia and San Francisco music like Janis Joplin and Jefferson Airplane. At the same time, I discovered house music, urban and hip-hop. I love all of the Jamaican line of music: ska, reggae and dub. I'm also very close to Latin music. I listen to Latin roots in the streets of Venezuela.

Where have you enjoyed traveling to the most?

Every time I go to another country, I realize people are the same everywhere. They just want to have fun and dance and share all this love. Lebanon was very far from here: It was pretty cool. There are so many Caribbean rhythms in Dominican Republic and Aruba. It's good to come back with all those sounds from Spain, from France. I had very few gigs in San Francisco, but was in the city for eight months, every Tuesday in a place called Fuse. It was a beautiful opportunity to share with different deejays and people from everywhere.

What is the craziest thing you've seen or experienced on tour?

When I went to Lebanon, I saw many things that were not crazy but different from my culture. It helps that we're all open-minded. As for crazy things, there's always someone dancing between the band and the audience. That's part of the show. That's cool.

Didn't you have trouble getting into Lebanon?

There was some confusion in the airport. The guys with immigration were looking at my passport for a signature or stamp that showed that I went to Israel before Lebanon. If you go to Israel first, you can't go to Lebanon. If you go to Lebanon first, you can't go to Israel. For me, it was crazy. That's why I like the Canadian band Chromeo. They have a Lebanese guy and a Jewish guy playing together, like it should be. Patafunk's like that. The three of us are very much alike in thinking that different people of different colors and different races need to get along. That's what we're trying to say in our songs. I'm very pro-union and pro-people.

Tell me more about your second album.

It's a little bit different from the first one. I produced the first album by myself in the studio. I played almost every instrument and wrote every song on the album, but had different singers. It's a little bit more abstract than the second album. I sing on the second album and I wrote the songs and played almost all the instruments. It's going to be a little bit more commercial and poppy. I'm not trying to say that it's pop, but it's more music for the radio and for people to sing along to. It's a mix of so many things – Latin, funk stuff, soul and electronic. It's more like the sound we're playing live. Some parts are sung in Spanish, some parts are in English. Right now, we are mixing the album in Venezuela and we're going to master it in New York City. It's our business card for this year. The album can show the sound of Patafunk as it is now.

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