Orgone sounds like a lost master tape from a 1972 Muscle Shoals session that somehow found its way into a modern Los Angeles warehouse. It is music built on the 'pocket' - that elusive, microscopic space between the beat where the groove actually lives. The guitars are scratchy and rhythmic, the horns are punchy without being polite, and the drums have a dry, thumping weight that feels like they were recorded in a room made of wood and cigarette smoke.
What makes them distinctive is their versatility as a 'soul machine.' They can pivot from a blistering, instrumental afrobeat workout to a lush, vocal-led soul ballad without losing their grit. Unlike many retro-revivalist acts that sound like they are wearing a costume, Orgone feels lived-in. Their background as a hip-hop backing band gives their rhythm section a particular snap and repetition that feels modern, even while using gear from fifty years ago.
Start with 'The Killion Floor' to hear them at their most raw and foundational. If you want something more expansive and psychedelic, 'Chimera' shows how they have evolved. It is the perfect soundtrack for when you need the music to have some dirt under its fingernails but still keep the energy high enough to move the room.
Orgone is an American band from Los Angeles, California. The group's sound draws from 1960s- and 1970s-era funk and soul. While several members of the band played together from the early 1990s, Orgone did not coalesce into a regular band until 1999. Many of their early gigs were as a backing band for hip-hop musicians. After a 2001 debut release, the band added vocalist Fanny Franklin to do a cover of "Funky Nassau" by the Beginning of the End; she remained as a full-time member, although much of their music is instrumental. The group released its second album The Killion Floor in 2007, which featured "Funky Nassau" as well as covers of "Do Your Thing" by Isaac Hayes and "I Get Lifted" by Harry Wayne Casey of K.C. and the Sunshine Band. In 2010 the band opened for Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings on tour. They have also performed at festivals like Bonnaroo and New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
Shares deep funk, organ, funk, soul (signature)
Shares deep funk, basement show, trumpet, organ (signature)
Shares deep funk, organ, funk, soul (signature)
Shares heavy pocket basslines, tight brass section stabs, basement show, trumpet (detail)
Shares trumpet, organ, funk, soul (instrumentation)
Shares organ, basement show, funk, soul (signature)
Shares trumpet, organ, funk, soul (instrumentation)
Shares funk, soul, tape saturation, analog warmth (subgenre)
Shares trumpet, organ, funk, soul (instrumentation)
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