By: Jacki Horne

Brian Gustafson is a budding Austin producer who has a knack for seamlessly blending funk, hip-hop, and glitch. The future funk creator’s latest release is a five track EP entitled A Brighter Tomorrow. More like a funkier tomorrow, the new Blunt Force album heavily doses the listener with glitchy hip-hop samples and groovy bass whomps to create a genre-bending journey.

The EP immediately lays down heavy funk with its title track, sampling Mobb Deep’s “Survival of the Fittest” and Common’s “The Light.” The deep bass wurbbles and hip-hop samples in the opener build off each other to create an enticing reciprocal relationship.

“Difference” keeps the deep funk going, and is destined to make the listener feel like the embodiment of a true badass with its incorporation of glitchy bass and sexy guitar solos in Jay Z’s “03 Bonnie & Clyde.” The track may even make you want to find a sexy partner in crime and conquer the world.

“Changing Times” switches things up and adventures to a darker side through low octaves and samples “Gangsta” by Bun B. The track possesses less funk than the rest of the EP, but does incorporate an alluring sax solo that radiates brightness through its juxtaposition in the overall darkness of the track. “Changing Times (Funktastic Remix)” starts out with the same dark octaves, but as the remix title suggests it incorporates some seriously funky guitar whomps in with the “Gangsta” sample. The placement of the original “Changing Times” and it “Funktastic Remix” demonstrate just how much a little bit of funk can brighten things up.

“Funkadelic Frequencies” wraps the EP up with a soaring adventure of full-throttle funk, hyphey tempo and a sample of Big Kuntry King ft. Trey Songz “The Baddest.” Give this full EP a listen and enjoy Blunt Force’s carefully crafted future-funk music and refined taste in hip-hop.