The Impellers draw from the heavy funk and soul of the late 1960s and early 1970s while folding in Afrobeat and Latin flavors. Originally operating as Ed Meme & the Forms, the ten-piece Brighton, U.K., outfit—“Lady” Clair Witcher, Glenn Fallows (aka Ed Meme), Ed Breaker, Barry Lalanne, Tom Henderson, Joel Essex, Chris Evans-Roberts, Darren Smith, Emma Black, and Mark Yexley—came together in 2007. Their first long-player, Robot Legs, appeared on the Freestyle label in 2009 and included a funked-up version of Jimi Hendrix’s “Fire”; actor and BBC 6 Music presenter Craig Charles became an early supporter. Legendary U.K. Latin DJ and musician Snowboy also aligned with the group and appeared on the track “Tastes Like Chicken.”
Later recordings came out through the Hamburg-based Mocambo/Legere imprint. On the 2012 follow-up This Is Not a Drill the band reworked the Ting Tings’ “That’s Not My Name” in their own groove-oriented style. Credited to the Impellers feat. Clair Witcher, 2014’s My Certainty marked a move toward song-centered material while retaining the ensemble’s signature beefed-up funk. A set of remixes and instrumental versions from that album surfaced in early 2015. That same year Witcher served as guest vocalist on U.K. reggae artist Ed Rome’s “Allnighter Blues” single.
