Remember when pop was fun and full of life? Remember when it had something to say rather than just massaging the artist’s ego and before it was reduced to surfing the latest zeitgeist or conforming to the latest fashion? Remember when it was loaded with deftness and dexterity? Remember when melody took centre stage rather than studio tricks and gimmicks, guest celebrity rappers and auto-tunning? Well, Johhny Moezzi certainly does, and if you find yourself nodding along in agreement as you read the above list, you will love his latest release, Funky Papu.
Pop used to be great because it never considered itself merely pop. With such freedom, the creators could wander the musical landscape borrowing and blending, finding inspiration and infusing, merging and manipulating anything and everything that caught their eye…or, to put it more properly, caught their ear.
And that is what makes Funky Papu such a joyous experience; it ticks all of the boxes that make pop music so great; it is infectious and accessible, energetic and often euphoric, but it also doesn’t limit itself only to pop realms.
The opening salvo, Enemy Submarines, tees things up nicely, an ornate slice of funky pop, a song full of cutting-edge moves and disco grooves, modernity and classic soul-pop moves. And with such a calling card having been presented, the album continues to remind us how clever pop music can be if it remembers to be adventurous and doesn’t put too much stock in generic demarcations.
I Built a Women has the kick and kudos of a Prince record, Justice Wheels is a funky and frantic slice of ’60s-infused soul, N’air’raidtor grooves with grace, and The Beast sees Moezzi pushing things into rock and roll territory, where he deftly blends the weight and relentless drive of that genre and injects it with a gorgeous funkiness.
Pop music used to be much more than the sum of its parts. That is what made it so good. Pop music can be that again. How do I know? I just listened to Funky Papu, which is all the proof I need.