Max Graef and Julius Conrad, of Acoustic Funk, will release their new album as Ratgrave, titled Rock.

Rock is the duo’s second LP, following their 2018 debut on Funkineven’s Apron. The duo’s sound palette draws inspiration from ’80s funk, soul, rock, and electronic but through a contemporary lens.

Rock is described by the duo as “the essence of energy and vibration we felt in different styles of music, almost like a parallel component connecting all things we like.” In the process of recording the album, they kept coming back to this essence no matter what style the original idea was. They were influenced by the brutal energy of jazz-rock, video games, and quieter pop and psychedelic passages.

Among other things, they also absorbed a lot of heavy music during the time of the recording, like Blue Cheer, Black Sabbath, Frank Zappa, and Jimi Hendrix, and they realized while writing their own music how much impact they had even on quieter songs.

“This is why Rock felt like the perfect title although the music ranges from P-Funk and spiritual jazz to various styles of pop and beyond,” they explain.

Both artists have previously released on Tartelet and this marks the fourth official LP on Black Focus, a London label founded by Kamaal Williams.

Tracklisting

01. Escobar
02. Theme From Metronome
03. World Aid
04. Instant Toothpaste
05. Eternal Breeze
06. Yurok
07. 4 Benz
08. Dibidai
09. Rock
10. Bleeding To Death
11. Sturf
12. Alright
13. Mutti Hat Gekocht

Rock LP is out March 20 on Black Focus with pre-order here. Meanwhile, you can stream “Instant Toothpaste” and “Theme From Metronome” in full below.