My inspirations...
James Chance
James Chance, sometimes called The White James Brown, has inspired my hobby in music heavily. Not in anything I've released though, yet, my current projects aside from "Seggito" are heavily inspired by his work. Some of the qualities inside of Chance's work really have stuck with me such as: his rhythmic basslines, his gravelly yells of pure angst, his free form way of playing the saxophone, his clever and catchy use of call & response within his atonal instrumentation, and his leadership within his multiple bands spanning different styles of this Punkish Free-Jazz Funk. One aspect I can admire about an artist is their respect to the genre of music they're trying to emulate and/or advance; James Chance has a ton of respect for the people that came before and after him. Referencing artists in interviews such as Fela Kuti, Melt Yourself Down (which is named after a James Chance song), James Brown, Talking Heads, and the list goes on. He's even done covers of Gil Scott-Heron, James Brown, and many more musicians that have clearly influenced his overall sound.
Defunkt
Defunkt is probably one of, if not the, most underrated jazz bands of all time. They're a perfect bridge between Funk, Soul, Jazz, and Punk. Bringing influence from their mentor James Chance (Defunkt was originally part of the live backing band during his James White and the Black phase), they were able to create some of the most fun and fucking badass Jazz Funk records of the 80s. Their first 3 albums are fucking masterpieces that deserve the listen of anyone who's ever shown an interest in Funk or Jazz. Their guitars fly at you while their brass section just fucking cuts you into pieces while the razor sharp bass grooves just keep on chugging. Its really insane how they're able to mix everything together and how all of the instruments compliment each other. Please listen to their albums: Defunkt, Thermonuclear Sweat, In America, and Crisis, you will NOT be disappointed.
Jagatara
Jagatara were probably one of the most funky and creative new wave bands of the 80s. They came out with blasting horns, fast tempos, funky-ass basslines and Afrobeat inspired grooves to create an awesome Japanese Afro-Funk sound. Some like to say they're the Japanese Talking Heads but in my opinion, Jagatara kind of captured the energy of Fela Kuti better than talking heads, although I guess you could argue Talking Heads were more authentic in terms of polyrhythms, Jagatara had the same feeling and groove as Afrika 70; Long songs, dancable percussion, and jazzy improvisation. I feel like Jagatara were far more original and had far more style than Talking Heads could ever dream to have.
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson
LITERALLY THE BEST JAZZ FUNK DUO OF THE 70S, GIL'S DEEP AND SOOTHING VOICE WITH HIS VERY POWERFUL LYRICS AND BRIAN JACKSONS FUNKY ASS SYNTHWORK AND COMPOSITION HAVE MADE ONE OF THE MOST CONSISTENT DISCOGRAPHIES KNOWN TO MAN KIND. I MEAN IT WHEN I SAY IT, THEY DO NOT HAVE A SINGLE BAD ALBUM. THEY TRUELY HAD THE MOST CREATIVE, FORWARD THINKING,AND SOULFUL MINDS OF THE 70S AND EVEN THE 80S. I WOULD BE VERY SURPRISED IF YOU HADN'T HEARD OF ANY MATERIAL THAT THEY'VE MADE BECAUSE EVERY SINGLE SONG OF THEIRS IS FUCKING AWESOME, THEY CAN MAKE SOMBER AND MELANCHOLIC TO FUNKY AS HELL WHILE STILL HAVING A VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE.