I know we’ve talked about him more than enough considering how few records he has released, but this new 7″ by Dam-Funk under his Wavelength alias is his best release so far. Dropping on a sublabel of Peoples Potential Unlimited (a great boogie reissue label whose catalog includes the fantastic “Danger Zone” by Midnight Express amongst many other gems), this small-hole 45 is full of lush synthetic funk that is a throwback to 80’s sleazy G-funk but stays current with it’s abstracted offkilter rhythm. It seems like with every release he gets better and better at this sound; I definitely prefer these downtempo joints to some of the uptempo ones on the excellent “Rhythm Trax Vol. IV” EP. This 45 is also supposedly limited to 1000 copies, so if you’re a big Dam-Funk fan you need to get hunting now!
I really can’t wait for his album to drop sometime this year. This promo video in a retro 80’s style has got me so pumped it’s unbelievable.
He also has a alternate cut of that video for the album cut “Mobbin’ Thru Busters”…
The promo video for his club night in LA is pretty much golden as well:
Can he do wrong?!?! It doesn’t seem possible so far. The real question is why he isn’t playing DEMF this year?!?!?!?!??! It looks like a new 12″ on Stone’s Throw is about to drop as well. His cameo appearance in the official video for Mayer Hawthorne’s already classic “Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out” is pretty hilarious, definitely check it out!
i really love the man’s productions, but the last time i saw him DJ– twice in two days, unbelievably– he was so spotty….really on and with it the first night, dropping some real ass-shakers in a smooth groovin way, but the next night, it either seemed like he was stupid drunk or tired– and in any case, if you’re not up for beat-matching, then just play the records!!! don’t try to beat-match and fuckin flop all over the place because it really sounds like shit, especially if the system is any good.
anyway, thanks for pointing out some of this stuff. really diggin.
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pipecock reply on May 6th, 2009 11:20 pm:
i’ve never seen him deejay, but i’ve generally heard good reports. i really like most of the music he talked about in the Wax Poetics issue last year, and all the tracks on his night’s promo video are hot to death! the only one i can ID from that is the first one, it’s “All I Need is You” by Starshine on Prelude.
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lennox reply on May 7th, 2009 3:23 am:
I saw him in Baltimore and it was an awesome set. Dude is mad cool! As far as the beat-matching thing “trees”, the guys been on tour for the last 2 months! Give the dude a break. He’s not a turntablist; he’s a selector. Fuck it! He plays the dopest jams right now and even tells the audience the name, year & label that he’s spinning! Come on, who else is doing that? Props to Dam Funk. He’s been putting in work! Thank God for someone doing that. His new songs he dropped are blazin!
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His best set was probably deviation in london, which is run by Benji b, you can download that on his myspace. Dude smashed it there, with some very onpoint mixing. Also his whole ethos and style of production is admirable as well as his great music. Live analog drum machines, and a roland keyboard.
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Dam-Funk is shit hot right now, bringing the funk back!!
and that Peoples Potential Unlimited label is seriously good, there’s an interview with the main chap here, I should’ve linked to it when I posted the Dam-Funk interview the other week
http://ondasonora.be/index.php?interview=2
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I’m a big fan
Dam Funk Stussy mix here
http://www.stussy.com/april_feature_damfunk.html
Live at Benji B’s night Deviation here
http://deviationmusic.net/blog/?p=473
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this motherfucker is on fire right now. his LP is going to be PURE GOLD from the sounds of this shit.
DILLA LIVES FOREVER IN OUR MUSIC
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lennox, maybe you can’t read or something, but i praised his productions and the first time i saw him spin. (he didn’t shout the names or labels out either time, by the way).
i’m fine with selecting– in fact, i dig it a lot more than seamless shit most of the time– but what i said was that he shouldn’t have been trying to mix seamless if he didn’t feel up to it! that’s a perfectly reasonable request, and if you don’t think it is, then you’re an idiot.
(also, this was in 2008, and if i remember his schedule, he was mostly in Cali around the time i saw him. so…)
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Im gonna take my time mmime!
She gon’ get hers before I…
Im gonna take it slow..ow..oo..ow,
Im not gonna rush to stroll, so she can get a…
Sensual seduction-duction so I can get a..
Sensual seduction-duction ooh whoa!
So we can get a sensual seduction-duction duction
Sensual seduction-duction ooh whoa!
(Snoop-dogg)
She might be with him, but shes thinking bout me, me, meee,
We don’t go to the mall, we don’t go out to eat, eat, eeeeat,
And all that we ever do is play in the sheets,sheets sheeets,
Smoke us a cigarette, and go back to sleep, sleep, sleep, so we can get a!
(chorus)
Sensual seduction-duction
Sensual seduction-duction ooh whoa! ooh whoa!
Sensual seduction-duction duction
Sensual seduction-duction ooh whoa!
Im gonna take my time mmime!
She gon’ get hers before I…
Im gonna take it slow..ow..oo..ow,
Im not gonna rush to stroll,
(snoop-dogg)
If ya dont know by know, doggy-dog is a freak,freak,freak!
I keep a bad bitch with me seven days of the week, week, week!
And all that we ever do is play in the sheets,sheets,sheeets,
Smoke us a cigarette, and go back to sleep, sleep, sleep, so we can get a!
(chorus)
Sensual seduction-duction
Sensual seduction-duction ooh whoa! ooh whoa!
Sensual seduction-duction duction
Sensual seduction-duction ooh whoa!
(snoop-dogg rap)
I was all in da clup sippin some jin,smokin on a benadrome when I
Peeped this little hoe out, I was all in a bum and drifter, shorty then
Came, then she hit da floor know, with a see through dress long hair
Light broen eyes lookin like ms.Bo Peep, and a nigga know if I take her
Home with dem wide ass hips and you damn right im gon’ be, so
Hot-uh!
Goes da chick with da real pretty face, big ass booty and ity-bity
Waist I whispered in her ear little mama what you drink? I know you a
Freak, but you know I aint gon’ say shit, see my game is
Outrageous, I got it tippin crippin exchange and fuck faces, but it
Aint no use to rush da bus
Cause I wouldnt want to have her to rush!
(chorus)
Sensual seduction-duction
Sensual seduction-duction ooh whoa! ooh whoa!
Sensual seduction-duction duction
Sensual seduction-duction ooh whoa
{Fade} We gone get a SENSUAL SEDUCTION….
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you can also check his great dublab mix here:
http://themixsuite.blogspot.com/2009/04/dam-funk-x3.html
pure funk beats!
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“trees”, it’s obvious that you’re picking the guy apart. The question is WHY?? Your dissecting, especially using something that may have taken place as you say sometime back in 2008 is way off of the topic of the Wavelength 7″ inch single that the post was mainly about. So, just wondering “trees” what’s really up??
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lennox, i’m not going to bother dealing with your poor interpretation of my posts. if criticizing an artist slightly whilst simultaneously praising the majority of the artist’s work is ‘picking him apart,’ then you must have problems with reading any music criticism at all.
for example, i’m not too keen on Omar-S’s Fabric mix, for the most part. but he’s the artist that i listen to most, and i adore most everything else he’s ever done. does that mean that i’m ‘picking him apart’? NO. it simply means that i don’t like one release of his. similarly, i found one Dam Funk DJ set rather poor one night– i was simply raising this point, along with commenting on the UTMOST QUALITY of his productions, both new and old.
so, lennox, that’s what’s up. if you can’t deal with a little bit of criticism of an artist that you like, then maybe you should stay away from this site….hell, maybe you should stay away from the internet in general!
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Addendum: Scratch the first sentence of my last post.
And finally: the Dublab mix is excellent! They’re always doing good stuff at Dublab.
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Yeah Dam Funk is on fire…I think ‘Indigo’ on Rhythm Trax is his best piece to date but I’ll definitely be picking up this release…thanks for putting it up!
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pipecock reply on May 11th, 2009 9:23 am:
i got the new Stone’s Throw 12″ by Dam-Funk over the weekend, really really good shit on there as well. the jam “LAtrifying” is really really dope.
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big time looking forward to the forthcoming album
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