18
Sept
Fri 18 Sept
19:00
Fri 18 Sept / 19:00
Funkestra ft. Carter Arrington - THE EXCHANGE tour
Kingston Upon Thames, United Kingdom38 Market Pl, KT1 1JQ
Redtenbacher's Funkestra
Funkify Life
Bringing the Funk
London based Redtenbacher's Funkestra are the brainchild of Austrian bassist and principal composer and bandleader Stefan Redtenbacher.
The Lamb of Funk
Funkopia · 2025
The Funkestra in motion
Three decades of original jazz funk, studio collaborations, road-tested players and music made for deep-pocket listeners.
1996
Funkestra started
20+
Records and releases
205k
YouTube subscribers
20+ million
Streams worldwide
Latest release
FUNKOPIA | Limited-Edition 180g Translucent Red Vinyl LP | Redtenbacher's Funkestra
A 30th anniversary statement from the Funkestra: horn-heavy, rhythm-led and built around the international community of musicians that keeps this project alive.
£25.00
Masterlink Sessions
Latest from the studio floor
Stefan, Leo and James create live-in-the-studio music videos and streams from Masterlink Studio near London, with the Funkestra as the house band. Think classic studio crews like The Funk Brothers, The Swampers, Booker T. & the M.G.'s and The Wrecking Crew, backing brilliant artists in the room.
Tour dates
Catch the Funkestra on tour
We love every one of our recordings, but playing them exactly as recorded would bore us. The tunes remain the foundation; live, they are there to be stretched, reshaped and occasionally surprised. Every musician in the collective brings their own voice, so no two Funkestra gigs end up quite the same. Different flavour. Always funky.
23
Sept
Wed 23 Sept
19:00
Wed 23 Sept / 19:00
Funkestra ft. Carter Arrington - THE EXCHANGE tour
London, United Kingdom99 High Holborn, WC1V 6LF
24
Sept
Thu 24 Sept
19:00
Thu 24 Sept / 19:00
Funkestra ft. Carter Arrington - THE EXCHANGE tour
Maidenhead, United KingdomReform Rd, SL6 8BT
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New music, Masterlink Sessions, tour news and Funkestra notes, sent when there is something worth sharing.
News
Latest from the band
The Exchange Tour: Seven UK Shows with Carter Arrington
Redtenbacher’s Funkestra returns for seven UK shows this September and October, featuring guitarist Carter Arrington and new material from the forthcoming album The Exchange. The tour brings together classic Funkestra tracks, fresh compositions and a rotating line-up of exceptional musicians.
Read story
A Working Compass
After 30 years of Redtenbacher’s Funkestra, I have paused to examine the principles behind how I create, collaborate and lead—and which of them should be retained, refined or recalibrated for the next chapter.
Read story
A Career Milestone I Nearly Turned Down
I nearly turned down the opportunity to play bass with the Pete Roth Trio featuring Bill Bruford. Instead, the concerts in the UK, Estonia and Canada became a genuine career milestone—and reshaped how I think about trust, risk and live performance.
Read storyShop preview
Albums, sessions and Funkestra goods
A few picks from FUNKSTORE, with records, sheet music and session releases ready to add to your basket.
£25.00
FUNKOPIA | Limited-Edition 180g Translucent Red Vinyl LP | Redtenbacher's Funkestra
FUNKOPIA — 30TH ANNIVERSARY VINYL FUNKOPIA marks 30 years of Redtenbacher’s Funkestra with ten original tracks created by the musicians shaping the collective today. This limited anniversary edition is presented on individually hand-numbered, 180g translucent red vinyl with a full-colour printed inner sleeve. LISTEN TO FUNKOPIA FUNKOPIA by Funkestra THE VINYL EDITION Limited-edition 12-inch LP 180g translucent red vinyl Individually hand-numbered Full-colour printed inner sleeve Ten-track album Approximately 44 minutes of music Released by RSB Records Catalogue number: RSB29000 Available while stocks last. ABOUT THE ALBUM Rather than looking backwards, FUNKOPIA marks the Funkestra’s 30th anniversary by documenting the present-day collective. Created through live-in-the-studio sessions at Masterlink Productions in Surrey, the album brings together established Funkestra musicians and long-standing collaborators from the UK, Europe and the United States. The arrangements move between compact rhythm-section playing, Hammond organ, featured guitars and the distinctive brass sound of Horn House. Featured players include Carter Arrington, Tony Rémy, Mike Outram, Nigel Price, Tucker Antell and Andreas See, alongside drummers Mike Sturgis, Doug Harper and Ian Thomas and keyboard players Ross Stanley, Jim Watson, Dave Limina, Joe Glossop, Anders Olinder and Steve Watts. Horn House—Nichol Thomson, Tom Walsh, Graeme Blevins and Andy Ross—appears across several of the album’s central tracks. TRACK LISTING Side A The Lamb of Funk — with Horn House, featuring Carter Arrington Hi Länder — featuring Andreas See Code 12 (Vinyl Cut) — with Horn House, featuring Mike Outram and Tony Rémy Old Blood (Vinyl Cut) — with Horn House Blood and Whiskey — featuring Tucker Antell Side B Crowbar — with Horn House The One True Coin (Vinyl Cut) — with Horn House The What Factor? (Vinyl Cut) — featuring Nigel Price and Tony Rémy The Fool — featuring Mike Outram Fluffball MUSICIANS BassStefan Redtenbacher DrumsDoug Harper, Mike Sturgis and Ian Thomas GuitarsCarter Arrington, Simon Peter King, Nigel Price and Tony Rémy Hammond organ, Rhodes and keyboardsJoe Glossop, Dave Limina, Anders Olinder, Ross Stanley, Jim Watson and Steve Watts PercussionKarl Vanden Bossche and Fergus Gerrand SaxophonesTucker Antell, Piers Green and Andreas See Horn HouseGraeme Blevins — saxophonesAndy Ross — saxophones and fluteNichol Thomson — tromboneTom Walsh — trumpet PRODUCTION Produced and arranged by Stefan Redtenbacher, except where otherwise indicated. Recorded and mixed by James Welch at Masterlink Productions, except where otherwise indicated.Studio assistant: Tyler DaviesMastered by Tim Debney at Fluid MasteringVideo production: Leo Mansell, Shoot and Splice FilmsPhotography: Rob Blackham, Blackham ImagesArtwork and graphic design: Neil J HartLegal: Stacey HaberReleased by RSB Records PRESS “Never have either jazz or funk sounded more vibrant and vital than they do here.” — Dave Franklin, The Big Takeover
£25.00
Big Funk Band | Limited-Edition 180g White Vinyl LP | Redtenbacher's Funkestra
BIG FUNK BAND — THE FUNKESTRA AT FULL SCALE Big Funk Band was not made by assembling one enormous group and asking everybody to play at once. Instead, Stefan Redtenbacher built eight different ensembles around the particular needs of eight original instrumental compositions. More than 50 musicians from Austria, Cuba, Germany, Ghana, Italy, the UK, the USA and Venezuela move through expanded rhythm sections, 13-piece horn sections, strings and instrumental combinations not previously heard on a Funkestra album. The record is especially concerned with drums. Benny Greb, Keith Carlock, Stanton Moore, Francesco Mendolia, Josef Hinterhölzl and long-standing Funkestra drummer Mike Sturgis each bring a distinct rhythmic character to the writing. “Funkberater” combines two drummers, two guitarists, two keyboard players, percussion and the Austrian Backwood Five with a large horn section. “Go East” places Bruce Gertz’s double bass alongside Stefan Redtenbacher’s electric bass, while the opening “Crescent City” pays tribute to New Orleans—the musical meeting place from which a considerable amount of this trouble began. “Feed the Chicken” brings Stanton Moore, Cory Wong, Michael B. Nelson and Tucker Antell into the same piece. Elsewhere, Keith Carlock, Benny Greb, Francesco Mendolia, Mike Outram, Dave Limina, Paul Jordanous and Piers Green add their individual voices to the changing line-ups. The cast is substantial, but the album is not a roll call of well-known guests. Each musician and expanded ensemble serves the composition. The result is one of the major large-scale records in the Funkestra catalogue: drum-centred, horn-heavy and deliberately different from both the compact, bass-led Dr Hypenstein and the open small-group playing of The Hang. LISTENING Big Funk Band by Funkestra RECOGNITION Big Funk Band was selected for The Wicked Sound’s Best Albums of 2021 and was also included among Funknstuff’s best funk albums of the year. German publication Hooked on Music praised the album’s instrumental writing and substantial horn arrangements, placing the Funkestra in the company of bands such as Tower of Power, the Brecker Brothers and the Average White Band. LIMITED WHITE-VINYL EDITION Limited edition of 300 copies 180-gram white vinyl Printed inner sleeve Eight original instrumental compositions Vinyl mastered by Barry Grint at Alchemy Mastering at AIR Original artwork by Angus MacKinnon TRACKLISTING SIDE A Crescent City — featuring Benny Greb and Tucker Antell Slipped Biscuit — featuring Keith Carlock and Tucker Antell Feed the Chicken — featuring Stanton Moore, Cory Wong, Michael B. Nelson and Tucker Antell Go East — featuring Bruce Gertz SIDE B Cool Beans — featuring Mike Outram and Paul Jordanous Shiny Boots — featuring Piers Green Funkberater — featuring Backwood Five Jump Up — featuring Francesco Mendolia, Mike Outram, Dave Limina and Tucker Antell ARRANGEMENTS AND PRODUCTION All compositions written by Stefan Redtenbacher. Produced and arranged by Stefan Redtenbacher, except where indicated. Horn arrangement for “Cool Beans” by Paul Jordanous and Stefan Redtenbacher. Horn arrangements for “Crescent City,” “Go East,” “Jump Up” and “Slipped Biscuit” by Peter Tomasso and Stefan Redtenbacher. Horn arrangement for “Feed the Chicken” by Michael B. Nelson and Stefan Redtenbacher. String arrangement for “Cool Beans” by Pete Whitfield. Mixed and digitally mastered by Rupert Christie. Vinyl mastered by Barry Grint at Alchemy Mastering at AIR. Recording engineers: James Welch, Stefan Redtenbacher, Lewis Chapman, Michael Whittaker, Joe Steward and Michael B. Nelson. Artwork by Angus MacKinnon.Graphic design by Stefan Redtenbacher. Released by RSB Records on 30 April 2021.Catalogue number: RSB73700.
£20.00
The Vinyl Collection | Limited-Edition Black Vinyl LP | Redtenbacher's Funkestra
THE VINYL COLLECTION Eight selected Redtenbacher’s Funkestra tracks, brought together on vinyl for the first time. Drawn from The Time Thief, Dr Hypenstein, Hausmusik and The Cooker, the collection combines some of the Funkestra’s most popular recordings with personal favourites selected by bassist, composer and producer Stefan Redtenbacher. Featured musicians include legendary James Brown trombonist Fred Wesley and saxophonist Rick Margitza. LISTEN TO THE ALBUM The Vinyl Collection by Funkestra THE VINYL EDITION The tracks were specially mastered for vinyl, giving these previously digital releases a focused, punchy presentation created specifically for the format. Limited-edition black 12-inch vinyl LP Approximately 140g pressing Full-colour 300gsm outer sleeve White inner sleeve Supplied shrink-wrapped Eight specially prepared vinyl masters Original vinyl mastering by Mike March at The Exchange. TRACKLISTING Side A 1. Royal Rooster (vinyl master) 2. Funktionality (vinyl master) 3. The Return of the Manbag (vinyl master) 4. Mr Goyle (vinyl master) Side B 1. Fred's Haus [ft. Fred Wesley] vinyl master 2. Dr Hypenstein (vinyl master) 3. Bow Wow (vinyl master) 4. Funky Barbarella (vinyl master) INFO Find our more about the Redtenbacher's Funkestra HERE.
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