Album Notes

Not since the experimental genius of Brian Eno and David Byrne of the Talking Heads, has a duo exploded with creative ingenuity as the combination of Joe Vella and Steve Roberts. An avant-garde pair with a background in all aspects of the arts, they’ve been able to engineer and arrange music with sophistication like no other. A weird combination of exotic instruments, hypnotic repetition, and spiraling lyrics shows a command of mood swings which are rhythmically complex. A perfect example- Telefunken- unites a musically old world (with use of a strong harpsichord lead) to a futuristic world as brought in by the use of a Theremin (created by Vella and housed in an old Telefunken radio). The hypnotic voice of Roberts as he drifts on the notes laid by Vella, is reminiscent of Jim Morrison of the Doors.

A surprise of multiple dimensions, Short Circuit has captured an evolving combination of lyrics and music. Weird fusions as seen in E- a song on Thomas Edison and his ability to channel idea creation- captures the voice of Roberts on a 1900’s wax cylinder reciting philosophical quotes, as well as, the legend of John Henry in which Roberts imitates a Southern preacher during the age of the railroad. In a poetic stone ringing -symbolic of the fight of man against machine- he brings poetry’s deeper meaning to the plate. In strange mathematical compositions like PiY2, you hear the use of the Theremin conveying the loss of souls adrift in space, all tied together by a famous quote at the end. The whipping groove of Fast Cars is nothing short of head boppin, face crackin, speed and with Vella’s sharp Jimi Hendrix like cords on Chez-man develop a well balanced and diverse compact disc.

The essence of the recording is eclectic and covers the experimentation of a new sound. Trying to define their borders, Funk Thunder hits hard with an unclassifiable mix of music and experimentation which grounds its roots in Rock, Funk, Jazz, and Punk. The polyrhythmic pop duo brings their second CD- Short Circuit- to the forefront of today’s musical scene.