Candy Dulfer's identity as a contemporary jazz musician has not wavered since she entered the professional music arena. A sex kitten on the outside and a very talented alto saxophonist whose sound is directly derived from David Sanborn 30 years past tense, the image-driven Dulfer continues on her path toward making music that is less substantive than it is consistent, and at the very least competent. Individualism or a sense of exploration has never mattered much, but playing party music and formulaic beat-oriented tunes has pocketed her a certain fan base and some money. Funked Up! does not stray at all from the more R&B-infused sound she unashamedly employs, and there are distinct futuristic Euro-dance elements like robotic voices, space soul, and drum machines that up the ante into making this music sound more advanced than it actually is. Dulfer employs a big-band sound with handclaps during "First in Line," while a much hipper chart for the horns crops up on the authentic R&B-flavored "Be Cool." The introductory lyric line of "My Funk" (emphasizing "it's not your funk") talks self-indulgently about creatin' when it's really all about producin'. The remainder of the music ranges from upbeat Euro-disco to Latin dance on "Step Up," the deliberate mechanical rhythms of "Don't Go," the retro party tune "Finger Poppin'," and the spaced-out rave-up "Roppongi Panic." The slow funk of "Bliss 2 This" features an intimate vocal late-night foreplay sex tape, while the straight funk-pop tune "CD 101.9" samples a radio DJ from the station calling Dulfer dynamic on-air. Wonder how much he got paid? The band does stretch a bit on the slowed lovers reggae "True & Tender" and the deeper bass and rhythm-infused "Still I Love You." Apparently some mogul insists Dulfer's music is in some way, shape, or form appealing, but as the years go by, it gets more insular, uninteresting, and ultimately predictable to a fault.
© Michael G. Nastos /TiVo