Carrying the torch of the funk heroes of the past, Troy Jagan seeks to create a new history of rhythm with his funk-electric hybrid, The Jungle. Taking cues from new age pop contemporaries like Toro y Moi and Miguel, Troy blends an ever changing mix of thick basses, heavy drums, ambient melodies and harmonized vocals that congeal to give an essence of what has come before and a glimpse at what the future holds for funk.  Once graduated from high school, Troy relocated from Sacramento to Seattle, looking to find his beginnings in the Emerald city’s fertile music scene.  Troy got his start in the rock/funk outfit NorthSound, which later turned into a funk/jazz fusion band called Hi-Fi Reset. After playing nearly 90 shows throughout the Pacific Northwest, Troy left this group in search of his next musical venture.  It was a chance re-reading of Upton Sinclair’s book, *The Jungle*, where Troy began to formulate the idea of why *The Jungle* plays such a big role in their music. Wanting to echo the spirit of Sinclair’s vast and moving portrait of a city in transition and crisis, Troy looks to the original godfather of soul, James Brown for continued inspiration on where the band should go next. Troy states “James is Funk. We want to bring people that same energy because as long as we’re committed to the sound, James and funk will never die.”

The Jungle
Wild Things, Vol. 2

July 1, 2014