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Funk Instrumental Interviews

Video interview: High Pulp

The boys of High Pulp talk music, camaraderie, and the power of funk

Dan Ray April 10, 2019
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Video interview: High Pulp April 10, 2019

Raised by a single mother in the suburbs of Detroit, Dan discovered an early passion for singing, songwriting, and the arts as a whole. She got her BA in English and music at the University of Michigan, where she reported for the school’s paper, The Michigan Daily. She worked as a Senior News Reporter on the government beat, transitioned to arts writing, and eventually became the managing editor of the social media department. She moved to Seattle in 2017. After losing her job during the COVID-19 pandemic and discouraged about the lack of press surrounding Seattle’s music scene, Dan made the decision to turn Dan’s Tunes, a fully fledged music journalism website focused on showcasing the Seattle area’s musicians, into its own startup. There’s so much music happening in the city that spawned Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Jimi Hendrix — among others — and Dan’s Tunes is determined to find and expose those outstanding acts. The goal is to have satellites in every major US city, uplifting diverse and compelling voices and helping music communities thrive. In 2020, Dan was featured in the Seattle Times’s year-end music critic poll. Other than her musical endeavors (singing, playing ukulele, and auditioning for American Idol four times before the age of 24) Ray is passionate about food and education around the American food system, and she’s also a large proponent of eliminating the stigma around mental health. Ray loves cats, especially her own, who is named Macaulay Culkin (but she’s a lady).

High Pulp — an instrumental funk-fusion collective out of Seattle with a seven-piece core membership — has been all over the scene lately. Since forming in March 2017, the band has already staked a claim on local music, releasing its debut album, Bad Juice, in June of 2018 to rave reviews. The group is currently putting together its follow up to Bad Juice, expected to drop late 2019. High Pulp’s sophomore album dives darker than their debut and takes influence from acts such as Thundercat, Pharaoh Sanders, and Kamaal Williams.

After finishing recording on the new album, High Pulp got right back into the studio; these funky friends are also recording a collaborative EP with local r&b acts Jusmoni, Falon Sierra, and Shaina Shepherd (of Bear Axe). There’s no release date set for this project yet, but it’s sure to drop some killer funk on The Emerald City.

What’s more, on March 11th, the group was named Earshot Jazz’s 2018 Alternative Jazz Group of the Year.

On April 19th, High Pulp co-headlines at Nectar Lounge with Ghost Note — a sort of supergroup fronted by Snarky Puppy’s Robert “Sput” Searight and Nate Werth. On April 20th, they play a DIY show at Polaris Hall in Portland with Tribe Mars, WEEED, and Super Secret Band.

Dan’s Tunes interviewer Dave Sheridan sat down with High Pulp’s core seven members to chat about their upcoming releases, Bad Juice, and how they vibe as a group. Watch the video below, and then head over to Fremont (or down to Portland!) next week to see these guys live and get down with some funky pulp.

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Raised by a single mother in the suburbs of Detroit, Dan discovered an early passion for singing, songwriting, and the arts as a whole. She got her BA in English and music at the University of Michigan, where she reported for the school’s paper, The Michigan Daily. She worked as a Senior News Reporter on the government beat, transitioned to arts writing, and eventually became the managing editor of the social media department. She moved to Seattle in 2017. After losing her job during the COVID-19 pandemic and discouraged about the lack of press surrounding Seattle’s music scene, Dan made the decision to turn Dan’s Tunes, a fully fledged music journalism website focused on showcasing the Seattle area’s musicians, into its own startup. There’s so much music happening in the city that spawned Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Jimi Hendrix — among others — and Dan’s Tunes is determined to find and expose those outstanding acts. The goal is to have satellites in every major US city, uplifting diverse and compelling voices and helping music communities thrive. In 2020, Dan was featured in the Seattle Times’s year-end music critic poll. Other than her musical endeavors (singing, playing ukulele, and auditioning for American Idol four times before the age of 24) Ray is passionate about food and education around the American food system, and she’s also a large proponent of eliminating the stigma around mental health. Ray loves cats, especially her own, who is named Macaulay Culkin (but she’s a lady).