Pigeon Funk

Pigeon Funk is a minimal techno side project initiated by San Francisco producers Kit Clayton, Sutekh, and Safety Scissors in 2001. Though originally released as a series of EP-length "battles" among the three artists, the trio's Pigeon Funk! compilation is still remarkably consistent, a weird collage of scattershot samples and...

May 6, 2004

[
        {
          "name": "GPT - Billboard - Slot Inline - Content - Labeled - No Desktop",
          "component": "16971022",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "15769925",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "16575154",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "GPT - Rectangle 2x - Slot Auto-select - Labeled",
          "component": "15782206",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "16575154",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "GPT - Leaderboard to Tower - Slot Auto-select - Labeled",
          "component": "15782207",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Pigeon Funk is a minimal techno side project initiated by San Francisco producers Kit Clayton, Sutekh, and Safety Scissors in 2001. Though originally released as a series of EP-length "battles" among the three artists, the trio's Pigeon Funk! compilation is still remarkably consistent, a weird collage of scattershot samples and random computer programming.

Peppered with bizarre asides such as "Pombo Doente," on which a narrator explains the biology of pigeons over a mash-up of erratic glitch, Pigeon Funk is hardly a straight-up techno recording in the vein of Richie Hawtin or Jeff Mills. Eschewing 4/4 patterns, it putters along in arrhythmic formations, occasionally breaking down into staccato noises reminiscent of a heart pounding. Other songs such as "Anotherp" don't have beats at all but are just enigmatic sounds that shift and sway like tectonic plates. The project would come off as more Bay Area experimentalism were it not for the presence of a handful of great funk tracks, including the brisk "Süsser Schlam" and the grimy, animalistic "Fly the Coop." These unabashed dance workouts hold the album together in spite of its wayward urges. -- Mosi Reeves

KEEP NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of South Florida, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.