Funk and electronic music: a bridge that has existed for decades
Before reaching dance floors in Europe, Rio funk was born from an electronic beat imported from Miami.
When Brazilian funk plays in a club in Barcelona or Berlin, it sounds new. But the relationship between funk and electronic music is old. It begins in the 1980s, with records arriving from Miami.
The beginning in Miami
Miami bass was music made on drum machines, with long bass and a fast beat. At the bailes of Rio de Janeiro, DJs played those records to huge crowds. Little by little, the scene started recording its own versions, in Portuguese.
In 1989, the compilation Funk Brasil, released by DJ Marlboro, helped cement that shift. From then on, Rio funk had its own beats, vocals and slang.
The beat that became a signature
Around the turn of the 2000s, the tamborzão brought a more Brazilian percussion, inspired by atabaque drums. Then came São Paulo's mandelão and the styles of Belo Horizonte, each with its own sound. Funk never stopped being electronic music: it was always made on machines, for the dance floor.
Funk didn't arrive at electronic music. It was always there, it just spoke another language.
Around the world
Today, producers in many countries use funk beats in house, techno and Latin music. For a Brazilian DJ abroad, that history is an advantage: audiences already know the sound, but rarely hear someone who grew up inside it.
