HOT PLATE
| available now |
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Freak Motif met for a jam session in the summer of 2009, took off on a spontaneous parade, and haven’t stopped jamming since.
They started performing sets of 100% improvised music, drawing influence from Fela Kuti, Phish, Thievery Corporation and the energy of their audience. Those early shows led to the recording of their first album La Casa Blanca, their EP Across the Nation, and a 7” single funk 45 called Killin' Me.
“Modern funk of the very highest caliber” - Craig Charles, BBC Radio
The Calgary-based 8-piece released HOT PLATE in 2019, their 2nd full length album on red hot red vinyl. The album hit the top 10 on nationwide college radio and #1 on CJSW Calgary.
8 groove heavy tracks, from afrobeat to disco to four on the floor trance to cinematic soul, featuring members of Busty and the Bass, Souljazz Orchestra and Toronto based singer Lady C.
"It’s heady, body-moving s*** that’ll get you up and on and off the floor, son." - YYSCENE
The Freaks bring the spirit of their first parade to everything they do, and have shared the stage with Five Alarm Funk, Garifuna Collective, and Antibalas.
Performance highlights include the Victoria Ska Festival, Red Truck Concert Series, Cirque de la Nuit, and the Calgary Folk Music Festival.
The Sounds of the Freak Motif
NEWEST RELEASE - HOTPLATE
"I can't even begin to describe how good this is. It's such a mix of all I love about various genres of music in one, including deep house (the original Chicago/Paris stuff). This album grooves like no other I've heard in a long time!"
- LP Schooled
"This music compels you to move like holy writ... a celebration made of big brass climaxes, wicked keys and deeply sensual guitar work"
- Divide and Conquer
"The 8-piece ensemble has matured their sound and is out to fill dance floors across the globe"
- Skeme Richards THE Nostalgia King
Little Dog
Single
A dub/reggae summertime groove, Little Dog is about subverting expectations. Bring strength when it's unexpected, bring positivity when there's fear.
DOWNLOAD:
bandcamp
Spotify
Apple Music
Killin me 45"
We’re proud to team up with Calgary label KEPT Records to release our first Funk 45! Soulful female vocals from Lady C on the A-side and beefed up brass from the Busty and the Bass horns on the instrumental flipside.
Killin’ Me burns hot like Famous Flames, and offers a tip of the hat (crown?!) to classic KING Records releases, by taking classic, straight-up funk ingredients and cookin’ them just right. Sing-along to the A-side and get fully funked on the flip. It’s a new 45 but with a classic feel; it offers an homage to old times, and it guarantees good times once that needle hits the groove.
“Modern funk of the very highest calibre”
-Craig Charles, BBC Radio2
Limited edition 45, available from KEPT Records!
Across The Nation
ACROSS THE NATION EP (Jan 2014) is a taste of the live Freak Motif experience. Four-on-the-floor beats, funky guitars, trippy synths, and some tasty horns...
Produced over the course of 2013 during sessions in Calgary and Montreal, it features four instrumental tracks that serve as a taking off point for the live jam.
“An extraordinary example of indie production at its finest — the cool sound hits all the right buttons” -Beatroute
“Superb, groove-soaked, spaced-out” -Calgary Herald
Available as a FREE DOWNLOAD!
La Casa Blanca : Remixes
LA CASA BLANCA: REMIXES (Jan 2014). DJs and producers from across Canada were given stems to the tracks from La Casa Blanca and full license to take the tunes in whatever direction they wanted. The results are fresh, trippy, and unexpected. Featuring: Teekay (Calgary, AB) Mr. Moods (Laval, QC) Dustin Def (Calgary, AB) Metacosm (Calgary, AB) Conda (Toronto, ON) SmokedBeat (Montreal, QC) Compiled and mastered by Freak Motif. Available as a FREE DOWNLOAD!
La Casa Blanca
LA CASA BLANCA (Dec 2012) is Freak Motif’s debut album, produced by the band at their home studio. To keep the energy and spontaneity of their improvised live shows, most of the tracks were composed, arranged, and recorded in one session.
“A tasty melange of funk, hiphop, reggae and soul” -New Canadian Music
“Refined, cleverly arranged, and catchy as f**k” -FFWD Weekly
'The Swamp' Live Acoustic @ CKUA Radio
'House Arrest Blues'
ft Caleigh Cardinal
Upcoming Shows - 2024
Oct 23 - @ Village Brewing - Calgary, AB
Oct 24 - @ The Royal - Nelson, BC
'The Mighty Battle River'
@ Calgary Folk Music Festival
"Freak Motif is a funky Leviathon with eight+ heads and one enormous, funk powered heart."
"prairie funk parade - for the people"
-Christine Leonard.
Beatroute, Feb 21, 2019
"8 solid cuts of deep grooves, afro funk and floor filling heaters that are perfect for a night out at the disco in the cold weather."
"HOT PLATE"
-DJ Skeme Richards.
The Nostalgia King, Jan 24, 2019
“[Across the Nation] is a superb new four-track instrumental EP — groove-soaked, spaced-out...”
"Big Ain’t Big Enough" -Mike Bell, Calgary Herald, Jan 16, 2014
“Groove. Funk. Space. It’s all a part of the sonic trip that is Freak Motif, who’ve been winning over heads and hips with their superfly improvised fusion of everything from blues and afrobeat to reggae, rock, hip-hop, ska, soul, jazz and jam.”
- Calgary Herald, Dec 13, 2012
“The energy and chemistry between all the artists is something that is really hard to create by force. It just happened in that band from the get go.”
"Freak Motif takes jamming to new heights" -Travis Borstmayer, Calgary Journal, Nov 2, 2012
“...Fans were singing, clapping, playing percussion with any items they may have had on them and anything else excited people do when they get way into the spirit of the show.”
"Expect the Unexpected" -Ernesto Tomas. Beatroute, Dec 10, 2012
Press
“A more frenzied version of the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble”
“La Casa Blanca’s an impressive package... Refined, cleverly arranged, and catchy as f**k.”
“Their unique reggae, funk, jazz, hip hop sound translates really well via studio album, but it’s really their live performances that will blow your doors off!”
"...this band is all about the energy that comes with creative spontaneity. Be ready for a few surprises...and the irresistible temptation to get up and sway along to the groove."
"Freak Motif" -Elizabeth Chorney Booth
Calgary Folk Music Festival, July 2019
"With the exception of the slow-grooved soul of "Running From Your Love"... eight tracks on Hot Plate are all instrumentals that offer a wide
variety of Soul, Disco, Latin and Afro strains mixed with a generous dose of slippery Funk grooves. The songs move from the delicate, clipped riffs and stately horns of "The Business" to pulsing
old-school disco and fluttery brass of closer "The Mighty Battle River"."
"Eight-piece soul-funk outfit Freak Motif bring it all back home..." -Eric Volmers,
Calgary Herald, Feb 16, 2019
- CBC, Apr 24, 2014
"Weapons of Brass Destruction" -James Wilt. FFWD Weekly, Dec 13, 2012
"Let’s Get Freaky" -Calgary Is Awesome, Feb 28, 2013
