In our 105th instalment of “Stumbled Upon”, we meet New York’s Alissia , chat about all things funk and soul and check out groove to her latest offering, “Take Off”.
Name:
Alissia
Website / Social Media:
alissiabenveniste.com
Facebook / Soundcloud / Instagram / Twitter
Genre:
Funk
Members & their roles:
– Alissia Benveniste
– Ricky McKinney – voice & vocal coordinator
– Bradford Roland – voice
– Tre Edwards – voice
– Nero Tindal – guitar
– Mitch Henry – keyboards
– Ryan Stanbury – horn
– Lomar Brown – horn
– Jomo Slusher – horn
– Neal Rosenthal – horn
– Alfred Jordan – drums
– Jamahl Smith – Keys & live production manager
What music or artists inspired you?
George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, The Time, Prince, James Brown, Brothers Johnson, Cameo, Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind & Fire.
How did things get started?
One day while I was a student at Berklee College, someone asked me to film a video of an original song for the Berklee YouTube channel. I didn’t have a project then but I had a lot of original music. It was the perfect time to take advantage of this situation to put a band together. I called some friends who are all very talented musicians and we recorded the video live. Before you know, it we had 1 million views on the video and that is when my project Alissia & The Funketeers was born!
How would you best describe your live show?
I call my live shows a “funkification experiment” – pure original funk music and arrangements that will make you jump off your seat, dance and just have a good time!
What shows do you have coming up?
We are in the proccess of planning 2016 show schedule.
Keep an eye on Facebook for more dates.
Tell us about your latest release:
So far I’ve released two singles ( “On The Go” & “Take Off”). We are planning on releasing a new single in the next couple of weeks entitled “Back To The Funkture” and then my EP is coming out later in February. Get ready for a dose of pure funkness!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqJNyVh5awk
Where can I get your music?
Soundcloud / alissiabenveniste.com
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Listen to ‘Stumbled Upon’ on AU Radio , Mondays at 8:30PM, Thursdays at 3PM and Sundays at 10AM (AEDT).
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