Freestyle was a Miami based electro funk outfit which released their seminal “Don´t Stop The Rock” in 1985. The track was produced by Pretty Tony, one of the most prolific 1980´s electro producers. He build the electro legacy which would give birth to the sound of Miami Bass and Freestyle (and consequently, Baile Funk). In the later 1980s he produced Debbie Deb´s “Look Out Weekend” and Shannon. Both Autechre as well as Chemical Brothers cite “Don´t Stop The Rock” as their main musical influence.

Download the Daniel Haaksman Baile Funk Remix of “Don´t Stop The Rock” here – or cop it in high res super sound on the “Rio Baile Funk Breaks” vinyl:

FREESTYLE “DON´T STOP THE ROCK – DANIEL HAAKSMAN BAILE FUNK REMIX”

If you are looking for more tracks that set the musical base for baile funk, check this Brazilian blog – with tons of MP3s – entirely dedicated to the roots of Rio funk:

CLASSICOS DO FUNK

The German New Wave had many effects on the emergence of electro funk in the U.S. and DAF´s “Der Räuber Und Der Prinz” illustrates why. The song hasnt got a real funky beat, but when released in 1981 people considered it perfect for the dancefloor. In opposition to the electronic beats of Kraftwerk, DAF used a heavy, live drum beat that sounded like minimalist rock, combined with a set of spare electronic sounds. When surfacing, “Der Räuber Und Der Prinz” sounded so alien, it was considered music from the 21st century. Besides it´s heavy popularity on post-disco dancefloors across Europe (e.g. Cosmic Disco in Northern Italy) it became big in the NY downtown scene. Thus not only NY electro funk was largely influenced by “Der Räuber Und Der Prinz” (”The robber and the prince”). Also visually the song had a huge impact: The video featuring mechanical toy puppets (in lack of budget and robots) was quite possibly the main inspiration for Herbie Hancock´s legendary clip of “Rockit” from 1983.
Until today DAF are considered Germany´s prime influence for electro pop across the world and the later emergence of techno and late 90s electro – right next to Kraftwerk. P.S. Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft = German American Friendship (a much used Cold War term in West Germany)

See Herbie Hancock´s “Rockit” video here: