Konk

One could describe the sound of Konk as being pretty similar to the sound of a roomful of people partying down and shaking their rumps. Born from the same early ’80s New York dance-funk scene that made groups like Liquid Liquid and ESG the legends they are today, Konk fuse a wide palette of sounds (Afrobeat, post-punk, hip-hop, funk and disco) into one digestible and accessible catchall that’s ideally suited for grimy underground dance floors. Most comparable to fellow New Yorkers Defunkt for their super-clean approach to recording, Konk left a lengthy trail of singles in their eight years together, most of which are collected here, along with the best tracks from their only album, 1983’s Yo. As always, Soul Jazz have performed a superb job of compiling, packaging and reciting the stories behind Konk’s material (as they’ve previously done with ESG, A Certain Ratio and the New York Noise compilation, among many others) but most of the songs collected here aren’t crucial listening. Besides "Baby Dee,” "Elephant” and "Soka Loka Moki,” much of Konk’s material suffers from "that shitty ’80s sound.” "Baby Dee” is included on the New York Noise compilation, which provides a much better wallop for your dollar.