Ida Nielsen & The Funkbots - Live 2026
Ida Nielsen released her sixth album "More Sauce, Please!" on June 16, 2023, with the German label Leopard Records.
The unflinchingly funky and versatile Danish bassist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader Ida Nielsen – a former member of two of Prince's backing bands, the New Power Generation and the four-member rock project 3rd Eye Girl – presents her sixth album as a solo artist and her fourth since the death of her mentor in April 2016. With her signature 4-string Sandberg California electric bass, she plays with her usual authority, takes on all vocal parts, delivers numerous keyboard tracks, and blends driving funk beats, virtuosic slap bass playing, fluid rap passages, catchy pop hooks, and plenty of attitude on More Sauce, Please!
From the energetic opener "Been Trying," featuring scratches from Congolese DJ Amazulu Nanga and a burning alto saxophone solo from her compatriot Jakob Elvstrøm, to the orchestral pop-rap finale "Give Me A Bit Of…," More Sauce, Please! pulses with energy and shines with impressive musicianship. The mix is complemented by the raps of Son of Light in the heavily grooving "Bounce Like a Grandma," the playful call-and-response between Ida and Finnish beatboxer/scratch master Felix Zenger in the rock-funk piece "Ninja," the infectious disco-style "Glorious Disco" with a 70s flair, and the slap and tapping demonstration "Slappadibopbop."
Ida also showcases her own rap skills with fast rhymes in "Kuku Put Some Sauce On It" and delivers layered vocal harmonies in the hypnotic "More People Like You." Her reflection on lost love "It’s Gone" features poignant lines from rapper Victor Danos, while her call to "plug into emancipation" in "Shake It Off" sounds like an optimistic anthem for funk fans:
"If your life sucks, whatcha gonna do? (Shake it off!) / If your heart breaks, whatcha gonna do? (Shake it off!) / If you’re stress level’s going through the roof, whatcha gonna do? (Shake it off!)."
With the Minneapolis funk piece "Bounce Back," Nielsen also pays tribute to Prince – using falsetto vocals reminiscent of "Kiss" or "Cindy C" and delivering a furious slap bass solo. "I learned so much from Prince that it's hard to summarize in a few sentences," she explains. "But what I usually say is that it was a huge gift and the most magical musical journey ever – and a lasting learning experience beyond all imagination." Her album TurnItUp from 2016 was already dedicated to her late mentor. "The most important thing Prince taught me was: Always play with your heart!"
In August 2010, the Danish bassist received a call at her apartment in Copenhagen from the Purple One himself to jam with him at Paisley Park – an unofficial audition that she passed with flying colors. "His then-manager told me Prince saw my Myspace profile and wanted to jam with me. Then they said they would call me back. After two weeks with no news, I really thought it was a joke. My friends all knew that it was my biggest dream to play with Prince, so I could hardly believe it. But eventually, the call came back. And of course, this whole journey was life-changing in many ways."
She adds, "I was an all-around bassist before I joined Prince in 2010, but my heart always belonged to funk. I love it so much. And I believe that’s exactly what got me the NPG job."
Besides Prince, with whom she toured until his early death in 2016, Nielsen cites bassists like Marcus Miller, Mark King, Larry Graham, Bootsy Collins, and Victor Wooten as influences in slap playing – influences that are clearly audible in her powerful bass style on More Sauce, Please! "All my albums are bass-heavy, old-school funk with influences from hip-hop, reggae, neo-soul, and world music," she explains. "My last album 02022020 was more lo-fi, dreamy, and loungy because I just felt like it. Many of my fans, however, were disappointed that it didn't have the typical punchy funk. That’s why I'm back on the old-school funk track now – and I've even created pseudonyms to explore my ideas in other genres."
Born in the small Danish town of Aarhus, Ida initially started singing in the school choir before picking up the bass at the age of 16. In the 1990s, she studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, played in various bands, and later toured Europe with the Belgian pop group Michael Learns To Rock. After that, she worked as a tour bassist for the Belgian-African band Zap Mama, founded by singer Marie Daulne from Zaire. Nielsen released her debut album as a bandleader in 2008 under the name Bassida: the groove-infused Marmalade. This was followed by Sometimes a Girl Needs Some Sugar Too (2011), TurnItUp (2016), Time 2 Stop Worrying (2019), and 02022020 (2020).
In 2014, Nielsen played with Prince, guitarist Donna Grantis, and drummer Hannah Welton on the 3rd-Eye-Girl album PlectrumElectrum. Her last concert with Prince took place at an exclusive New Year's Eve party on January 1, 2016, in St. Barts, hosted by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. In an interview with MusicRadar, she said: "I realize that there are many Prince fans who want to support me. I really appreciate that – and I also really appreciate that they still love funk."
And for funk fans, there is more than enough to enjoy on Ida's current album More Sauce, Please!
Ida was voted among the top 10 bass players in the world.
Doors open: 7:00 PM
Hallo, ich bin Maya.
