State In The Real – Penn State Music Scene

Keegan Tawa Releases Funkified Track, Full Circle

Keegan Tawa is making waves in some foreign waters with Full Circle, a new sax-filled, new funk/disco track that he released this past Friday. The piece is a pretty big step away from what we’ve heard from Keegan in the past, but its definitely no step in the wrong direction. Right from the onset of the jazzy wah-pedal infused guitar lick you know you’re in for something different, but Keegan incorporates some signature structural components that remind you what producer you’re listening to.

The futuristic masked duo, Daft Punk, recently took a (somewhat ill-received) turn down a similar road with their new album, Random Access Memories. When asked if moving into this new genre was inspired by the repositioning of Daft Punk, Keegan mentioned that he actually drew more inspiration from Yuksek.

“Sure, I was inspired in part by it, but I’ve actually been getting really into disco /disco house for about a year now. It was primarily by listening to artists like Yuksek that I realized I wanted to begin working in a new direction. Once I began, all of my old jazz chops started coming back to life and the piece kind of wound up writing itself, really. I think the piece is really very different from Get Lucky, for example, if you really listen deeply to it. For one, its much more similar to house, with an emphasis on 4 on the floor, kick and snare. Second, the piece is really rooted in jazz, rock and funk, especially when the solos kick in. So yes, it was marginally inspired by daft punk, but it was nowhere near an attempt at emulation. If I had to tell you one artist that provided primary inspiration it’d probably be Yuksek.” – Keegan

When I inquired as to whether or not he would continue producing in this genre, Keegan said that working on the track made him  “realize how much of my musical person I’ve been neglecting in my previous compositions. And don’t get me wrong, I still love electro/progressive house and will probably still write it, but this is certainly not a vector I am going to abandon.”

Everyone knows that I’m no Chris Will when it comes to reviewing music, so I’m going to go ahead and settle for telling you it makes me feel like doing this.

(Gif Obvi from BuzzFeed)

Take a listen and let us know if you agree!