The Tibbs

Formed during 2012 in Amsterdam, the Tibbs arrived as one of the final entrants in a European soul and funk resurgence that had already been running alongside the American movement anchored by Daptone Records and similar imprints since the early 2000s. The group was fronted by powerful vocalist Elsa Bekman and comprised Northern soul and funk enthusiasts Henk Kemkes on guitar, Michael Willemsen on bass, Paul Jonker on organ, Berd Ruttenberg on baritone sax, Coen de Vries on tenor sax, Siebe Posthuma de Boer on trumpet, and Bas de Vries on drums.

The Tibbs issued their four-track EP Cleaned Out in July 2014, containing four original compositions plus two covers—one of them ? & the Mysterians’ “96 Tears.” A few months afterward came the single Footprints in the Sand, put out by the Munich-based soul and funk imprint Tramp Records. The octet’s first full-length album, Takin’ Over, appeared in 2016 via Record Kicks; it was produced by Paul Willemsen of Zuco 103 and fellow Dutch funk outfit Lefties Soul Connection. The record included a version of Ike & Tina’s “Cussin’ Cryin’ and Carryin’ On” and was succeeded in July 2016 by the single Dog Days.