Funkoars

Formation

Consisting of MC and producer Daniel Rankine (a.k.a. Mr Trials or Trials), MCs Adam Baker (a.k.a. Uncle Sesta or simply Sesta) and Matthew Honson (a.k.a. Sketchy Hons or Hons), and DJ Daniel Yates (a.k.a. Reflux), Funkoars was established in Adelaide around the year 1999. According to Trials, a "Funkoar is the dreg of society. It is the funnel in which all morals and conscious are drained into the river Styx."

In March 2014, Sesta explained that at the time of the band's formation, notions of fame or success were not a significant factor in the creative process, and he thinks "that's what gave the local scene such a strong foundation. There was no promised light at the end of the tunnel that your average band would dare to dream of." Sesta further explained that artists at the time were driven by a love of hip hop culture, unconcerned by market trends, and they "enjoyed the process of making the songs" most of all. In addition to Gravediggaz and Akinyele, Sesta also identified Centrelink as an early influence of the band, as bandmate "Hons would come to my house on check day [welfare payment day] and we'd come up with a lot of ideas there, sort of."

Music

Funkoars' debut album, Who's Your Step Daddy, was released by Peepshow Entertainment in 2003. The band then released its second album, The Greatest Hits, in 2006 on Obese Records, an Australian hip hop label. The production on the second album is mostly credited to Sesta and Trials, both of whom have also produced for the Hilltop Hoods. The Greatest Hits featured guest appearances, such as the Hilltop Hoods ("What I Want"), Vents ("The Symphony") and Pegz ("Meet The Family").

In 2008, Funkoars left Obese Records and returned to the Peepshow label for the release of the group's third album, The Hangover, on 29 November 2008. The first single from the third album, "Black Sally", features samples from single, of the same name, by Human Instinct, a psych-rock band from New Zealand—Human Instinct's vocalist/drummer, Maurice Greer, appeared in the music video for the single.

As of February 2013, the group is signed to Golden Era Records, a record label founded by the Hilltop Hoods. The group was first signed to the label in November 2009-as part of the deal, the Funkoars re-released its album, The Hangover, as The Hangover: Premium Edition.

"Larry Emdur" was a single released in early 2013, included on the 2013 Golden Era mixtape, and was a parody of the Australian television personality Larry Emdur, using a sample from the Larry David cable television program, Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO). The music video for the single featured clips of Emdur from TV shows including The Price is Right. On occasion, Emdur joined the band during live performances of the song.

On 9 June 2013, the band announced that DJ Reflux was leaving the group to move onto other projects. Golden Era Records producer and DJ Adfu has performed with the Funkoars emcees in subsequent live shows.

The Funkoars released the Dawn of the Head EP in February 2014 to build momentum for the release of their fifth studio album, In Case of Emergency. In an interview in March 2014, Sesta described the effect that the changes within the band as "we used less samples and focused more on playing instruments ourselves, it led to a much more enjoyable and dynamic chemistry in the studio".

Sesta compared the EP to the forthcoming album by referring to the former as "six heavy, sweat-dripping pockets of nervous energy, tightly duct-taped together, and pressed really hard onto wax", while the forthcoming album "is like an aggressive foot rub from your neighbour, you're kinda familiar with how it's going to go down, but the closeness of it makes everyone a bit uncomfortable."

Touring

Funkoars have performed throughout Australia, supporting or playing alongside acts such as the Hilltop Hoods, Milkbar Stars, Koolism, Def Wish Cast, Cross Bred Mongrels, Gangstarr, Apathy & Celph Titled, and Public Enemy.

Following the release of The Greatest Hits, Funkoars embarked on a national tour, between July 2006 and August 2006, supported by Awbs & Maundz and Cross Bred Mongrels. In 2007, Funkoars performed at the Adelaide Big Day Out, as well as the 2009 Big Day Out in Sydney, Australia.

To commence 2014, the band completed an east coast Australian tour over January and February to promote the Dawn of the Head EP. Supported by Australian duo Mr Hill & Rahjconkas, the three emcees received live DJ support from Adfu and the Adelaide launch show ended in a 20-emcee performance. The Funkoars were also announced as part of the Big Pineapple Music Festival in December 2013 that will occur in May 2014 on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. In regard to touring in 2014, Sesta explained: "We (kinda) drink a lot less on the road these days, which means people don't avoid us nearly as much, so yes, anything's possible. What we can guarantee is you'll see four humans go from ice cube casual to monster mash in 30 seconds or less for the duration of our set, fun for the whole family."

Side projects

In June 2005, Mr Trials released a solo EP, entitled For the Ladies, which received distribution through Obese Records. Trials has also undertaken production for other Australian hip hop recordings, such as Vents' Hard to Kill, a remix of the Hilltop Hoods single, "Clown Prince", and Drapht's albums, Brothers Grimm and Life of Riley. In relation to Life of Riley, reviewer, Shane Scott, proclaimed, "If you don't recognise Trials as one of Australia's finest producers by now you are a sleeping motherfucker, but in the end it's you who loses."

Albums

12"s

Ep's

Singles

DVDs

Compilation appearances

Production credits (Trials)