Major Funk

"This band can really, really play... unexpectedly upbeat, very fresh, and beautifully alive... The overall sound is superb" -Richard Clark (Great Dark Wonder)

"A soul-based take on brassy funk. Stuffed with chinking guitars, blistering brass and feisty vocals." -Bill Buckley (soulandjazzandfunk.com)

"Probably the most danceable band I can think  of." -Angela Drainville, Atlin Arts and Music Festival Producer (Yukon News)

"What can’t be understated is the deliberate nature in which this 7-piece ensemble crafts their hip shaking, feel-good tunes." Cups n Cakes Network

High energy bass-led grooves, soaring vocals, and a tight horn section; this isn’t what you’d expect from a band coming from the Yukon in Canada’s North, but it’s exactly what you get with Whitehorse’s Major Funk. It’s also a great formula to get a crowd moving, and they’ve got this down to a science. Several years of research and development in the studio and on the road has refined the band’s sound into something familiar but fresh, epic but accessible, and dangerously infectious. Most importantly, however, it’s a ton of fun, and it makes you want to dance. It’s all on display in their growing discography of top notch funk-pop music and their unforgettable live shows: a groove-heavy genuinely good time that will stay with you long after the last note. 

NEW ALBUM FROM MAJOR FUNK: "THE IN BETWEEN" 

OUT NOW!

Major Funk is releasing its second album The In Between—a pandemic project from a team of Yukon creatives unearthing the perplexities of life in limbo. The collection of bilingual (English and  French), pop-funk tunes premiered on April 14, 2023, which comes two years after the release of the band’s debut album Is That You? 

Much has transpired for the band over the past two years, including a Western Canadian Music Award (WCMA) nomination for R&B Artist of the Year 2021. The band has been writing, recording, and playing locally, as they gear up for a 2023 tour. Band co-founder Étienne Girard says, "Music is one way that we find love in the spaces in between, and we make music that makes people want to move.” 

Composed during a societal moment of flux, The In Between thematically explores meaningful moments that are often sandwiched between significant life events. Echoing in the album’s sixth track, “Interstitial”: “Look in between lines. It’s the place where we find love that makes us feel alive.” 

Reflective lyrics are juxtaposed with Major Funk’s signature feel-good vibe. The six-piece ensemble includes members from across Canada with a wide array of postsecondary and professional music training, combined with decades of experience. “This band can really, really play,” says Richard Clark, writing for Great Dark Wonder. Major Funk’s music is “... unexpectedly upbeat, very fresh, and beautifully alive...” 

Major Funk returned to Yukon’s Green Needle Records to record their second album. Owner/Operator/Producer/Engineer Jim Holland was key in researching tones and techniques to create the final sound for the record. To complement the album, Major Funk will release two professional music videos directed by Daniel Little, a Whitehorse-based filmmaker who also has worked as a camera operator on Discovery’s Gold Rush. The “Interstitial” video that will debut in February 2023 features breakdancing choreographed by Yukon’s Valérie Herdes and performed by Oleksii Ogarov and Kasper Höglund. The dancers have a personal tie to the theme of the song and the  album, as both Oleksii and Kasper are in a place of transition as refugees, leaving their homes in Ukraine for Yukon. 

The album is Yukon-rooted, musically and visually. The album artwork was created by Yukon-born graphic designer/tattoo-artist Kirsty Wells (who has even tattooed band members Brent and Selina!), featuring the band's logo, designed by Yukon illustrator/graphic designer Tedd Tucker. 

TRACK LIST: 
1. Reciprocity 

2. Right Here Right Now 

3. A l’infini (en français) 

4. Feel the Love 

5. Tangible 

6. Interstitial 

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more details, music videos and singles releases, release show tickets, and album pre-orders! 

Members:

Selina Heyligers-Hare: vocals and keys

Etienne Girard: bass

Adrian Burrill: vocals and trumpet

Brent Gallant: guitar

Toby Moisey: saxophone and flute

Anders Grasholm: drums