New Music

Cosmic Residue and Gritty Grooves: Tom Funk’s ‘What’s It Gonna Be?’

          By Crate Digger

          May 11, 2026

New Music · Soul · Funk

The London jazz and funk renaissance has spent the last few years branching into increasingly complex, often academic territories. Amidst this technical flurry, producer and multi-instrumentalist Tom Funk has emerged as a vital counterbalance, prioritizing the “feel” over the “flourish.” His latest release, What’s It Gonna Be?, is a masterclass in atmospheric restraint. Recorded at his own Lazy Robot Studio, the album feels like a transmission from a late-70s basement session that has been carefully polished with modern neo-soul sensibilities. It is an album that doesn’t just pay homage to the giants like Lonnie Liston Smith and Marvin Gaye; it inhabits their spirit while carving out a distinct, smoke-filled corner of the 2026 musical landscape.

What’s It Gonna Be? is an exercise in texture. Collaborating with co-producer Ozan Nidayi, Tom Funk has managed to capture a specific type of analog warmth that feels increasingly rare in an era of clinical digital precision. The album is thick with “Lazy Robot” character—saturated tape sounds, rounded bass frequencies, and a rhythmic looseness that suggests a band breathing in unison.

CHECK OUT TOM FUNK ON BANDCAMP →

The Cosmic Soul Heritage

The standout quality of this record is its “cosmic” DNA. Tracks like the opener lean heavily into the celestial jazz-funk pioneered by the likes of Roy Ayers. The Rhodes piano doesn’t just play chords; it provides a shimmering, ethereal bedding for the more grounded, syncopated drum patterns. There is a sense of weightlessness here, as if the music is floating just a few inches off the floor. This isn’t “background” music; it is immersive world-building that rewards the listener who chooses to sit between the speakers and catch every subtle harmonic shift.

The influences shifted accordingly. Fleetwood Mac, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and John Martyn replace the J Dilla and jazz guitar touchstones of his earlier years — a folk-flecked palette that initially sounds like a departure but gradually reveals itself as something more like a homecoming. He worked closely with co-writer Matt Maltese, developed material in Nashville with producer Ian Fitchuk, and made the record across four locations: London, Cornwall, Portugal, and Nashville. Each contributed something to the texture of the finished work.

Neo-Soul with a Hip-Hop Pulse

While the soul influences are overt, the rhythmic backbone of What’s It Gonna Be? is undeniably rooted in the Golden Era of hip-hop production. The swing on the drums is tight but never rigid, nodding to the J Dilla and Questlove school of “humanized” digital percussion. Tom Funk’s multi-instrumentalist background shines here, as he layers gritty basslines that push and pull against the beat. This creates a tension that makes the smoother neo-soul vocal arrangements feel earned rather than saccharine. It’s a gritty, street-level soul that remembers where it came from while looking toward the stars.

Final Thoughts

With What’s It Gonna Be?, Tom Funk has delivered a record that feels like a vital piece of the London underground puzzle. It is an album that values the “space between the notes” as much as the notes themselves, resulting in a listening experience that is both hypnotic and deeply human. In a world of high-speed streaming and disposable singles, this is a record designed for the long-haul—a timeless addition to any serious soul or jazz-funk collection that reminds us why we fell in love with the groove in the first place.