DâM-Funk – Toeachizown [Stones Throw]

This is an epic collection of home made retro G-funk from long time LA musician DâM-Funk who’s been in the game for longer than we know, he may well have only just been picked up as a synth funk superstar of the underground and reached our/my radar via Mary Anne Hobbs showcases and Low End Theory hype or association with long time quality label Stones Throw and even a bit of hype from Animal Collective: but he was also one of the original session musicians for Dre-era G-funk workouts from the likes of Warren G and Nate Dogg to name but a few, which is a hell of a pedigree and one which you can hear ring through Toeachizown. This is a massive; mostly solo collection made on a big range of drum machines/drums, synths new and old and a bit of studio trickery. There is a really live freeform feel to it. There is that smooth machine funk sound that sounds so old it’s new, there is a retro futurism at work. Toeachizown is the laid back jus’ chillin’ cousin of Hudson Mohawke’s glitchy ADD funk or a loose sun drenched long lost hip-hop soul brother of Kraftwerk.

It’s the drum machine boogie that often draws me in and the opener is no exception, ‘Let’s Take Off (Far Away)’ starts with crunchy funk drums before really getting its groove on with deep synths, spiralling psychedelic melodies and treated vocoder vocals. The tracks start off sounding a little bit kitsch or overly retro at times but as soon as the grooves set in you really get swept up in it all and it becomes something way more exciting than an exercise in retro funk. The soulful twinkling melodies on ‘Mirrors’ are another highlight they bring a laid back sunshine vibe to even the coldest winter evening. The low-down blazed out funk of, ‘Brookside Park’ is such a killer track that I find myself keep coming back to time and time again, you can loose yourself in the spaced out sounds and lazy drum beats. ‘The Sky Is Ours’ comes on like a long lost 80s version of what Kanye West tried to achieve on 808s & Heartbreaks minus the auto-tune, that’s swapped for DâM-Funk’s sweet laid back subtle tones. For some reason ‘Searchin’ 4 Funk’s Future’ and ‘Fantasy’ make me think of old computer games, more specifically Out Run on the Saga Master System with it’s rolling beachscapes, palm trees and Ferrari where you just keep rolling on and on through sun blazing scene after scene. The first disc finishes on the melancholic funk of ‘Keep Looking 2 The Sky’, a hopeful synth ballad, where sweeping soundscapes meet crunchy groove beautifuly.

It’s more of the same on the second disc, ‘Toeachizown (D-f’s Theme)’ taking it in a smooth direction before the silky funk of ’10 West’ is so laid back and mesmerising that, the way the strings play off the dirty funk bass lines and electronic drums is a joy to hear. There is so much to digest in this two-disc set that sometimes parts wash over you, but on repeated listens you always find new interesting passages to get your ears around. Another gem has to be the three parter ‘A)Flying V Ride/B)Burn Straight Through U/C)Candy Dancin’ Ft. Mark De Clive-Lowe’ which seams to be spread over two or so tracks. It just flows into one big sweeping funk odyssey full of soul and boogie. The bumpin’ ‘Hood Past Intact’ is easily one of the highlights; the hard grooves and addictive melodies will make you move. ‘I Gots 2 Be Done Wit’ U’ drops in a similar vain, the skweee/8-bit funk really has space to breath on this one a similar feet is pulled of on the sublime ‘Spacecapdes’ too. The skippy drum patterns on closer ‘In Flight’ offset the lounge keys to make for a funky lilting listen to round off the collection.

There has been a trend this year for washed out lo-fi nostalgia, especially in indie circles with the whole hauntological pop or glo-fi/chill out thing (which kind of just reminds me of ministry of sound compilations played at the wrong speed with reverb and usually a boy singing something inane just out of earshot) but also in dance with italo being cool again again again… or people like Omar-S and Kyle Hall dropping some quality throwback house music, FaltyDL sounding like the ghost of NY and garage or Mordant Music being MM... Bar a few exceptions, like the ones noted above and maybe a few more its something I’ve not really been able to get on board with and its left swathes of indie blogs and websites left to rot on my rss feed until another trend kicks in. But DâM-Funk’s nostalgic funk has really got me addicted. Toeachizown might be over long for some but it just goes to show how prolific the man is, its an epic collection that you can just sink into a feel the loose laid back funk fly around you or make you want to get up and swagger.

BlueFunk District presents Dâm Funk from eckelwood on Vimeo.

http://www.myspace.com/damfunk

Hudson Mohawke – Butter [Warp]

The debut album from genre-skewing hip-hop producer Hudson Mohawke was always going to be a mad one. His first beat tape Hudson’s Heaters hinted at him being a madcap party starter that fused strange and sometimes goofy samples with hip-hop sensibilities to create something all together different. A vision of hip-hop that has a lineage with people like Madlib and J Dilla where the beats do the talking. But it’s more than just a look back at those producers things are being pushed forward. A slew of young artists are taking inspiration from all over the place whether it be the slick R&B of Brandy, Timberland and so many US chart hits or the hip-hop underground via the vibrant bass sounds of dubstep and the off-kilter smeared synth sounds of Skweee/Chip-tune or the LA/Glasgow beat scene. With all that and more in the pot a whole new dance sound is coming to the fore, one that’s been bubbling under for some time.

With Butter HudMo picks up where he left off with the Polyfolk Dance EP earlier in the year, that was full of colourful cartoon-like playful beats with so much energy it came on like a sugar rush. Butter takes the goofy cartoon style even further but manages to keep things the right side of cheesy/fun by setting it against some seriously well-crafted tracks with a shimmering, highly polished mutated party sound.

The hair-metal meets grimy hip-hop opener that flows into ‘Gluetooth’ with its bright and glitchy bounce and buzzing low-end bass funk getting things off to a rip roaring start and sets the tone for the more instrumental beat based tracks perfectly. He comes on like instrumental Outkast at their most insane and follows in the hip-hop tradition of silly skits with the lead into the supper sugary ‘Joy Fantastic’ with the vocal tones of Olivier Daysoul that gives a good performance on a track that straddles the fine line between cheese and brilliance. A trick that’s pulled off to better effect on the prince-like ‘Just Decided’, which might not be as insanely ear worm inducing but it hits the spot for me.

But where he really shines on Butter for my money is on the super shiney glitch addled instrumentals like the skippy chipmunk soul and synth funk of ‘3.30’ or the broken beat twisted horn action of ‘Trykk’ and the skipping high-hat funk of ‘Velvet Peel’. These tracks make you want to sing along even though they have no words, you can almost hear Andre 3000 letting rip without him actually being present and to me that’s more powerful than much of the vocal contributions on offer here, which do show potential and work a treat but get trumped by the power of the productions.

The beat boxing, bleeped out ‘ZOo00OOm’ is another highlight for sure the flowing bass drones and SNES bleeps come on like Timberland with an eye on the dance floor, its future funk at it’s best. ‘Rising 5’ pulls off a similar trick but comes off as a more laid back smooth groove, the twinkling soul vibes snapping drums and Rhodes keys give it a poppy Dre-era vibe, which brings us nicely onto: ‘Tell Me What You Want From Me’ with Lo-Fi-G-Funk maestro DâM-Funk which is a vocal highlight that meets somewhere between the pure computer game synth funk of his own productions and the glitchy soul of HudMo’s there is a sweet, smooth flow to it with a healthy air of cheese. Nadsroic’s contribution on ‘Allhot’ works well too she comes across like a robo-songstress over the big beats.

The track that was almost vocaled by R&B superstar Rihanna, ‘FUSE’ is brilliant you can only imagine what it could have been like with such a vocal on top, there is melody a plenty and so much slick shine. The charts need a bit more fun injected into them with a bit more freaky, interesting yet insanely addictive instantly enjoyable beats and going by this effort HudMo could well be the UK’s answer to the R&B super producers and deliver on that. It sure would cut through the vapid auto-pilot pop that comes off like background music for fashion show or the soulless/sexless teen-bop/auto-tune R&B imported form the US and imitated here by TV show contestants or people chasing the money sound all of which lacks so much funk and fun that its depressing or the coffee table indie anthems by numbers of so much more joyless chart fodder… I can dream can’t I? Sure keep it slick, fun and shallow with loads of up front pantomime and bring on the show but a little more twinkle in the beats a big more fun experimentation with personality would go a long way.

And that’s what he’s got, there is so much personality to Hudson Mohawke’s music its full of life, energy and humour; Butter is one of the most fun albums I’ve heard for a little while, sure it’s a bit goofy and fly’s all over the place skitting from idea to idea and back again but its all the better for the playful nature of it. The super shiny and bright production gives everything a brilliant glow that just demands attention and attention is what he’s got with rumours a plenty of him executive producing for big names such as Rihanna and Erykah Badu, which could be very exciting indeed. Butter is a solid debut album from an interesting, diverse producer with some serious potential that most importantly puts a smile on your face.

http://www.myspace.com/hudsonmo

Play: Butter Star Galactica

http://hudsonmohawke.com/butterstargalactica