Tune #89: Invisible Rockers Crew - Electro Empire

I always wanted to provide a review for this group, but I postponed it for some reason. I guess that nostalgia reasons surfaced the today's post...

Back in 2006, 3 guys living in the suburbs of Athens form Invisible Rockers Crew, the first electro funk group in Greece (according to their claim). To be honest, I was not aware of any other local group focused on this music genre, so I believe that their assertion is truthful.

I happen to have known one of the guys since high school years, discussing about old school hip hop (later I got acquainted with all of them). I was not very familiar with the electro funk scene (only the big names like Afrika Bambaataa,  Egyptian Lover, Hashim & Jonzun Crew), only to discover a couple of years later the existence of IRC. Their sound is heavily influenced by old hip hop/electro, polished with a new touch aided by the contemporary hardware and software.

That was it! I was instantly hooked with their music. I remember as a personal favorite one of their first tracks called "We Will Prevail", which had been uploaded on their MySpace account. Unfortunately, it is not available in the Internet, to be posted here. Therefore, I will present a track taken from their only EP, released in 2010 by Vicious Freak Records (a one-off label of IRC).

INVISIBLE ROCKERS CREW - ELECTRO EMPIRE


For those who are not very fond of the "tribute" vocals, there is the dub version:

INVISIBLE ROCKERS CREW - DUB EMPIRE


Their sound was spread outside of Greek borders, appearing in compilation/mix CDs by various European labels (NoiZe Electro Hub, City Beat Records, Electro Avenue Records and the iconic Street Sounds). Additionally, the team has performed live along with masters of the genre (in 2009 with Egyptian Lover at BIOS and in 2011 with Afrika Bambaataa at Fuzz Club). I had the chance to attend the second event and I was amazed by their show (cannot say the same though for Bam, who was unfortunately very boring...).

The today's post is a thank you message to the guys:
- Truant the master (Andreas) *
- Devastator (Jorgan)
- Fres the freak (Giannis)

* Nowadays, Andreas is co-owner of Entropia Records, an online record store, specializing in obscure releases of various electronic music styles. Their base located in Athens is worth visiting for their hand-picked stock.

I hope that the guys will someday release some new material. However, I am certain for one thing: if the robots are going to be evolved in the future to perform all human operations, they would break dance to the sound of IRC!