Funky Young Band"s Album Launch

For some musicians, funk is where it"s at. It starts and ends with the groove! FUNK ENGINE is one such band. The band members (three from Sydney, one from Byron Bay) all met through the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the Jazz Workshop. FUNK ENGINE was formed in 2013 by electric bass player, composer and band leader Siebe Pogson and also features Nish Manjanuth (tenor saxophone), Holly Conner (drums) and Felix Lalanne (electric guitar).

The band"s favourite artists include Sydney jazz fusion outfit The Subterraneans, electric bassist and composer Steve Hunter and Japanese funk powerhouses, Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro. Other influences are Bob Marley, Weather Report, Jaco Pastorius, James Brown, Parliament, Bootsy Collins, Herbie Hancock and Thelonious Monk.

FUNK ENGINE debuted at The Newsagency in 2013 to great success and have since packed them in Lazy Bones Lounge, the Beats festival Peats Ridge, Hermann"s Bar, Foundry 616, The Townie, Mr Falcon"s and the Town Hall Hotel Newtown.

Taking a Ride was recorded at Free Energy Device Studios, produced by Llew Kiek and Richard Belkner, mastered by Michael Lynch. Guest artists include Rhyan Clapham aka rapper Dobby, Deiniol Chynoweth (vocals), Nick Polovineo (trombone), Nick Calligeros (trumpet) and Novak Manojlovic (keyboard). Polovineo will join the band at the Hotel Blue album launch.

Album Notes: Title: Taking a Ride

1. East Coast (Pogson/Manjunath/Lalanne/Conner)
2. 21 Jam (Pogson)
3. Taking a Ride feat. DOBBY and Deiniol Chynoweth (Pogson/Clapham)
4. That Jive Motha F**cka (Pogson)
5. The Tap Dancer (Pogson)
6. Do that Stuff (Pogson/Manjunath/Lalanne/Conner)
7. Monk Funk (Pogson)
8. Wooten Woods (Pogson)
9. Rescue (Pogson)

Recorded and mixed at Free Energy Device Studios by Richard Belkner.
Mastered by Michael Lynch.
Produced by Llew Kiek and Richard Belkner.
Executive Producer: Siebe Pogson
Artwork by Green Peas for Breakfast

Band Members

Nish Manjunath: Tenor Saxophone
Felix Lalanne: Electric and acoustic guitar
Holly Conner: Drums
Siebe Pogson: Electric bass, Hammond Organ (track 1)

Special Guests

Rhyan Clapham aka Dobby: MC (track 3)
Deiniol Chynoweth: Vocals (track 3)
Nick Polovineo: Trombone (tracks 3, 5 and 8)
Nick Calligeros: Trumpet (tracks 3,5 and 8)
Novak Manojlovic: Fender Rhodes (track 8)

This album consists of the compositions I have written over the past three years. I believe that Funk Engine has come a long way since the band was first formed in 2013 and further still since the first album in 2014. I would especially like to thank our producer Llew Kiek who has worked tirelessly to get the most out of us musicians. This was an extremely ambitious and big project so it was not easy to pull it off. I would also like to give a special thanks to James Fraser, Sam Glissan and Callum McInerney who kindly volunteered to do some voice over work that was originally going to be on the album and Adam Roberts for his advice on sound recording. Unfortunately, due to time, budget and the quality of the recordings, their voices will not be heard. We hope to revisit the idea live one day. Finally, I"d like to thank the musicians, particularly the main band who has been with me for three years. It"s because of your time, effort and input that I can keep producing and developing my art and grow as a musician and as a person.

Siebe Pogson Biography

Siebe was born in 1992 and grew up in Putney, Sydney, where he currently lives and works as a piano teacher, accompanist and bass player. From an early age, he learnt the cello then took up the piano at seven. In his teens, he dropped the cello and picked up the electric bass and played in rock bands in high school. Classically trained in piano and learning rock by ear, he also developed an interest in jazz. While still at high school he had lessons with Kevin Hunt on jazz piano and Saul Richardson on bass. In 2010 he achieved honours in his Certificate of Performance for piano (CMUS). In 2014, he graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium finishing his Bachelor of Music Studies degree majoring in classical piano studying under Beethoven expert, Gerard Willems. He has also studied with bass virtuoso and jazz legend Steve Hunter and in 2014, he attended a three-week bass camp run by Victor Wooten just outside of Nashville. It is there that he met his current teacher Anthony Wellington, world famous bass teacher and second-bass in the Victor Wooten band.

Siebe"s musical influences are incredibly wide ranging from heavy metal/hard rock to classical music. He has played music from Iron Maiden to Bach and a lot in between. Both electric and acoustic jazz have been an influence as well as funk. He likes to compare himself to Frank Zappa not that his music sounds like Zappa, but in in the sense that like Zappa he is not interested or influenced by a single genre or style.

Siebe plays bass in five bands ranging from heavy metal to jazz fusion. He has been on several recordings including the Sundown Shamans (2012), Shamanic Volume 1 (2015) and Ironic Maiden EP (2015). He also made a recording of his own compositions with his band Funk Engine in 2014 with a second album due to be released in 2017. In 2015, his composition "Dark Dreaming" for soprano saxophone, electric viola da gamba, piano, drums and bass was recorded live at the ABC radio national for the music show. It is now rare not to see him playing somewhere in Sydney each week.