Like in a good martial arts movie, a good song will have a moment when you know that it’s about to go down. That the big moment is coming, and it’s going to explode with an audio roundhouse to your head…and you cannot wait for it.
That is the sound of Kung Fu. The band, not the martial art.
The band, which formed in 2012, masterfully fuses the worlds of traditional funk with cutting edge EDM to create a killer one-two musical punch.
Tonight (July 5, 2018), the band returns to the familiar battlegrounds of Asbury Park, New Jersey — a city they’ve played numerous times. This time they perform at Jams on the Sand — a free concert series held on the beachfront section of The Anchor’s Bend.
We spoke with Beau Sasser, the band’s keyboardist, to talk about new music, cinematic inspirations, and playing outdoor festivals versus clubs.
Your sound has been described as “70s funk fusion meets a modern dance party” due to its mix of funk and EDM. Can you talk about how guys cultivated your sound? Was it an international effort to mix funk and EDM, or did this just find its way organically into your sound?
We all like a lot of different styles of music, but I think this band likes dance music and party music the best. We like to make sure the people in the crowd can get down so our sound has originated organically from funk and EDM and high energy dance music in general.
You’ve been releasing a number of singles/Ninja Cuts over the past year. When can fans expect a new full-length from Kung Fu?
We have a few more “ninja cuts” in the tank ready to release, and a few new songs ready to record. So we will see what happens after that. I hope we start recording a new project after the new year.
“Caught Up” is one of the latest singles the band dropped, and it’s a song you penned. I read in an interview on JamBase that you were inspired by the movie The Fifth Element to write this song. Can you talk about this film, and how it inspired the latest track from the band?
I always loved this movie. I rewatched recently it and thought about how someone can wake up in the morning and their day can change so drastically in just 24 hours. I’m a Bruce Willis fan and he plays his role (as soldier turned cab driver turned reluctant hero Korben Dallas) so well — the downtrodden hero that’s at a place in his life that’s already not so great and it just gets worse. He has this “nothing to lose” feeling involved with his character and I tried to capture that in the song.
The band is about to go on a run of big outdoor festivals coming up. Can you talk about the difference (if there is any) about performing on a big outdoor stage as opposed to a club?
Most of the venues we play we are in a controlled environment. We can show up early and have plenty of time to set up lights and sound check comfortably. That certainly is not the case with big outdoor festivals. We don’t have the luxury to take up that much stage time before our set. So I would say the biggest difference would be learning how to feel comfortable in outdoor venue settings. The sound is very different outside and we have to work fast to get gear in place and ready to do the show.
On Thursday you’ll be performing right on the beach with the Atlantic Ocean behind you for Jams on the Sand. To me, that’s a pretty unique venue. What’s one of the most unique/odd places Kung Fu has ever performed?
I really like doing shows close to the ocean so I’m really excited about the jams on the sand! We’ve done a couple of boat cruises that I thought were really cool. One time we had to go way out side of the harbor to soundcheck before the show as not to make any noise for people at the harbor. It was surreal being on a giant boat by ourselves before the crowd got on ….sound checking and jamming way out at sea.
On a personal note — what do you love about being in Kung Fu?
I have to say I love the friendship and the musicianship very much about Kung Fu. We push each other musically and it’s incredible to write together and have great support amongst ourselves with our original music. Also everyone involved are all great guys and we definitely have a lot of fun traveling and playing music together.
And on a final, silly note, what’s your favorite Kung Fu/martial arts movies of all-time?
I actually haven’t watched a lot of kung fu movies! My kids likei so I’ll go with that one.
