INTERVIEW: Isaac Aesili of Funkommunity

Funkommunity is the new project from vocalist Rachel Fraser and producer, DJ and multi-instrumentalist Isaac Aesili, names which will be familiar to many of you with a working knowledge of the New Zealand soul and beats scene.

With their debut album Chequered Thoughts hitting stores (and digital download sites) today, both here and abroad, I thought it wise to catch up with Aesili on the phone for a quick discussion about Funkommunity.

So Funkommunity? funk and community?
You know it.

What is the importance of these two concepts, and how do they work together in what this is?
The funk is, I guess, central to, the music that I have been partaking in for the last ten, fifteen years, and all the offshoots of the funk, including jazz and soul, and electronic funk. Community of course, also applies to Aotearoa musicians, and especially in this sort of music, it’s something they know pretty well, which is the concept of sharing the space with others, and supporting each other. So these two concepts are pretty central to the music that I have been making. I thought it was appropriate to make this new album based on that.

But why was this project given that title?
It was just one of those moments where Rachel and I were considering using our own names, but we didn’t want it to just be a Rachel Fraser and Isaac Aesili concept album. We wanted to find a term that would sum up what we are doing when we are writing and working in the studio. We also wanted something that would sum up the experience people will have when they come and check out the band, and Funkommunity really fit that.

Is there an elasticity to Funkommunity? While it’s primarily you and Rachel, is it quite flexible about who else can be involved?
Yeah for sure, that is also where the community side comes into it. It is an album that was primarily written by Rachel and I, and I produced it. But of course, like everything else that I have made, there were collaborators involved like Christoph El Truento, Julien Dyne, Steph Brown and other musicians, and we are definitely going to be expanding the writing crew when it comes to future albums.

Okay. So, the seed for this record was back when you and Rachel made ‘I’m All In’ for your Eye See album, is that correct?
Yes.

How did things develop from there? How did you go from that song to this album?
The background to ‘I’m all In’ was this, Recloose had done some tracks with Rachel on his Perfect Timing album. The standout track for me was ‘Catch-A-Leaf’, I was like wow - she has got an amazing voice. I asked Recloose about her and he was like, ‘She’s from Thames, she’s real talented, but she hasn’t done much formally’. I was like, would you mind if I collaborated with her? He was like, ‘For sure man, that is a good idea. She is down in Christchurch working at K-Mart and not doing much.

I went down there, we met up, and she was keen to write for the Eye See album. So we ended up doing the track ‘I’m All In’ which came really easily, and really organically. We were both vibing on what each other was doing, so that lead into doing ‘Media’ which was another song on Eye See. We just kept the connection going and eventually it turned into, we should keep making some music. I was like, Rachel, I am keen to produce an album for you, cause I believe in your talent and I think I can help you do your thing! Then once we were making this album, it just turned into, let’s start a whole new thing.

What do you think the common factors are qualities are that make it so easy for you two to work together?
I think the common factors were our musical temperaments are quite alike, our inspirations are definitely matched, but they’re also different enough that we are interested in what each other is digging. For me as a producer and a musician, my favorite music has always been the combination of some music with female vocals. This has been a common theme to many genres I’ve really loved. I always dreamed of being able to make that sort of music, especially coming from an RnB and soul kind of side of things, I always wanted to work with female vocalists. That is why you saw Solaa working with Hollie Smith and Ladi6. Then my first album featured heaps of female vocalists, and it has always been an ambition of mine to work with a female vocalist more consistently.

After working with a number of vocalists on Eye See, all of whom were awesome; it just felt natural that Rachel and I should work together, because she was one of the biggest surprises. She wasn’t established, but I really really felt the quality of the work she was invested in. I just had this intuition that I should continue working with her. I managed to convince her to move up to the north island on the promise that I would produce an album for her. As time went on and each of us committed more, especially my time in producing all of the album, and her time living in Auckland and writing together, we just felt like it was a solid enough concept to turn into something new, not just Rachel’s album, but a band, and a new project. 

Funkommunity's debut alum Chequered Thoughts is out now.

By Martyn Pepperell