The Funk Royale is one of the very few local bands focused on producing funk music that gets people’s feet tapping along to a good beat.
Frontman and lead guitarist Henry Charles has been a lover of music his whole life, experimenting with rock, jazz and funk.
Although his interest in music was diverse, funk music always had a special place in his heart.
"I always kind of liked funk music growing up," he said.
"Just the way it makes me feel when I listen to it ... it’s energising."
When Mr Charles moved to Wānaka from Christchurch to work as a structural engineer, he did not give up on his passion for music and continued playing with bands at weddings and gigs.
However, his immersion into making funk music did not fully start until about two years ago.
"I started recording songs maybe one to two years ago," he said.
"Basically, in the evenings at my house with me playing guitar parts and bass guitar parts."
After producing his solo album, Funk Royale, he put it out on the Wānaka musicians Facebook group page with the sole intention of sharing his music without considering the possibility of recruiting band members.
It was a delightful surprise when local musicians approached him with an interest in joining his funk journey, he said.
Gavin Lang, was the first to reach out and offer his expertise as a drummer. As the word got out, 18-year-old bass player Axel Macdougall hopped on board.
The last members to be recruited were Peter Mitchell and Beni Rae on keyboards.
The full band had their first roper gig last week at Rhyme x Reason but before their debut performance, they gave locals a taster of their talents at the monthly Creative Juices open mic night.
It may be early days for the band, but Mr Charles had strong ambitions of bringing the joys of funk music to the community.
Given that The Funk Royale music was instrumental, their aim was not to necessarily get the audience moving around too much and instead wanted to create a fun, upbeat mood for people enjoying their evening.
"I’m not trying to completely steal attention from people that are, catching up with their friends or whatever at the bar," Mr Charles said.
"But I’d like to see their feet tapping and just uplifting their mood a little bit."
He wanted the band’s live performances to be something their crowds could connect with while they unwound.
The next steps for the band were still in the making with a potential live performance at Beerfest in December and a local gig in September.
Mr Charles also hinted that creating an album was another goal for the band but for now they were focused on their weekly rehearsals and perfecting their sound.
