So, I was supposed to put this up a few weeks ago when Chicken George sent it to me, but I’ve been running around like crazy, in and out of town, in and out of the country. Apologies for holding out on y’all.

Chicken George, an Austin institution whom we featured here back in May, has teamed up with Latin Funk specialists, Brownout, to create a great mix celebrating “The Legendary Latin Funk Sounds of Brownout.” The mix highlights the band’s music, past and present, including tunes from their latest release on Six Degrees Records, Aguilas and Cobras, which dropped on Tuesday:

To get a taste of what the album sounds like, I’ll let Chicken George show you the way:

DJ Chicken George has compiled a fresh mix entitled “The Legendary Latin Funk Sounds of Brownout” featuring a selection of new tracks as well as previous hits from their acclaimed debut album Homenaje. This mix pays tribute to Brownout’s impeccable unique sound of heavy Latin percussion and rhythms combined with a mighty horn section. Think FANIA Records meets The JBs with an extra added layer of “hardcore Latin Funk.”

[audio:http://buhbomp.com/audio/friends/brownoutchicken.mp3|titles=DJ Chicken George – The Legendary Funk Sounds of Brownout]
¬ DOWNLOAD CHICKEN GEORGE’S MIX HERE

The album itself is available for purchase at any of these links:
¬ Six Degrees Records | Amazon | iTunes

Brownout is one of several musical projects involving the multi-talented Adrian Quesada, who, aside from being a celebrated musician, also happens to be an incredibly cool dude. (He didn’t even hate on me when I borrowed one of his CDs back in college and took several years to get it back to him. Time, as you should already know, is not my specialty).

Since that time, Quesada and his various band mates have become a musical force, winning international acclaim performing under several combinations, including Ocote Soul Sounds, and most notably, Grupo Fantasma, who were nominated for a Grammy for their album Sonidos Gold.

Grupo Fantasma has also made a name for themselves doing shows for some guy named Prince. You might have heard of him.

I could go on and on about these dudes, but I think their own bio does them better service. Here’s an excerpt (you can read the whole thing on the Brownout myspace page) just to give you an idea:

If ever a band could boast having a complex genealogical tree, that band is Brownout. The eight-piece, Latin funk ensemble based in Austin, Texas, is both offspring and germinating seed to Grammy-nominated Grupo Fantasma. The latter in turn traces its roots to when Austin based Blue Noise Band and The Blimp, from booming border town of Laredo, Texas, converged in its conception.

Brownout may well be Grupo Fantasma’s psychedelic Latin funk little brother, an offshoot of the collective that regularly backs Prince, its latest incarnation, or even its alter ego. What they are not is the sprawling conjunto’s side project. Brownout has taken Grupo Fantasma’s funk roots and blown them up. In the process they’ve taken on a life and developed a unique sound all their own. Aguilas and Cobras, the group’s new album on Six Degrees Records, stands as testament to their one of a kind evolution.

The band member’s musical journey began as a revolt against the Mexican cumbias and Tejano music of their hometown. Opting instead to immerse themselves in the worlds of Sly Stone, James Brown, and Mandrill, they were nurtured by soulful staccato drums, deep-in-the-pocket guitar riffs, and bawdy bass lines, elements that would provide the overriding arch for their sundry musical explorations. Eventually they migrated out of the garage and flocked four hours north into Austin’s thriving music scene. Away from home they embraced their Latino heritage and as Grupo Fantasma they explored the cumbia rhythms they shunned as teenagers. …

Then came Brownout, a return to their coming of age forays into funk. Mostly instrumental, the band takes its cues from James Brown‘s J.B.’s and San Francisco’s Malo, the Seventies act fronted by Carlos Santana‘s brother Jorge, but they infuse it with their particular vibe of border music hybridity and generous brushstrokes of trippy psychedelia.

Got it? Good.

Here’s the tracklist for Chicken George‘s mix:

01. They Don’t Know
02. Cuete Interlude
03. Laredo 77
04. C 130
05. Olvidalo feat. Kino of Grupo Fantasma
06. Con el Cuete
07. Chema’s Contraband
08. Family Show
09. African Battle (Hydro’s Throwed Boom Bap Edit)
10. Ayer y Hoy
11. El Narco (Hydro’s South Texas Broken Neck Edit)
12. The Flea

Enjoy.