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Miles Tackett has an unmistakable affinity for dirty and dusty sonics. As the backbone of funk collective Breakestra, this multi-instrumentalist/producer/vocalist has spent the past decade reinterpreting ‘60s and ‘70s funk and soul from a hip-hopper’s perspective. While he once produced sample-based programmed beats (as This Kid Named Miles), Tackett has since exclusively taken the organic, analog route with Breakestra. As he puts it, the music of his band is part of the, “new, old funk movement.”

What began as a live entity at renowned venues like Root Down soon grew into studio sessions. And since creating the first Breakestra project The Live Mix, Part 1 up until their brand new LP, Dusk Till Dawn, he has opted to ignore the lure of most digital technology, opting to record directly to tape. “Analog tape brings a character and flavor to it that digital just can’t ever get,” explains Tackett. “There’s randomness that exists within tape it being an organic matter—it works completely different.”

Talking to Tackett, though, it’s clear that he’s not completely removed from modern times (e.g. he realizes obviously that vinyl, despite making a small comeback, is not the preferred music format). The perceived challenge for Breakestra is how do they evolve while using vintage instruments to solely play an old school sound? For Tackett, pushing forward with Breakestra isn’t as hard as it may seem.

Evolution in making the new album included something as simple as positioning the mics a certain way in the studio and on the stylistic end, embracing other forms of funk like psychedelic. Proof of the latter can be heard on the fuzzy-guitar tinged track “Show You The Way,” featuring extra exuberant vocals of Breakestra’s Mixmaster Wolf. The use of a cello instead of horns for the melody on “Me & Michelle” is another moment that documents how the collective won’t become a one-note funk act. “I definitely wanted to experiment with different instrumentation and different sounds,” Tackett says about Dusk Till Dawn.

Of course, that straight up raw funk is still present on feel good numbers like “Get It Right.” Made in dedication to their late friend DJ Dusk, the new Breakestra album is based around the idea that this party sound that has been so influential to hip-hop still has a pulse and has room to grow. With Tackett at the helm, his genuine love of the old school will ultimately help his group prevail. As he says, “I just do music I enjoy, man—doing music I like. There’s no scheme, no plan, and no hype.”

Words by Max Herman

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