Dam so Funky he can’t sleep with himself!

I first saw Dam-Funk at Funkmosphere, his boogie night on Mondays at club Carbon on Venice Blvd. Dam was gettin’ busy behind the decks while blood-red lights cast low shadows of sweaty figures on the pros-only dancefloor. Salty droplets beaded on the walls, dripped onto the rims of drinks, and ran down the tiny TV screens that flickered with early 80’s music videos as chosen by Stones Throw honcho, Peanut Butter Wolf. The place was flames but there was Dam, cuing up a record, cool as a fan.

Dam’s debut album, Toeachizown is out now on Stones Throw and “if you’ve an interest in the rubbery bounce of Zapp, the synthesized sexual obsession of early Prince, the re-evaluation of the G-Funk Era, LA’s nascent “bedroom funk” scene epitomized by Nite Jewel, or LA’s throwback-soul movement figureheaded by still-working-on-it crooner Mayer Hawthorne… Toeachizown is the first, uh, “project” with the grapes to even try to condense it all, and go one or two further.” Dusted Magazine.

Dam did a mix for my fave shoe company, Clae, and it hits.

Beautiful Music 4 Beautiful People via Pitchfork

Hit the jump for the tracklisting to this mix, Dam’s uber eloquent explanation of what Boogie actually is, and 2 more mixes: one for Lucky Me and another for Benji B and the BBC.

Hood Pass Intact

TRACKLISTING ———>

Dam’s explanation of Boogie via this interview with Jeff Weiss for the LA Times

“First of all, the name was created in the United Kingdom by cats like Norman Jay in the 1980s, right before the Soul II Soul era of the late ’80s. Most of it was put out on labels like Prelude and Brunswick Records — that West End-style soul. It’s a type of music that never fails to move a crowd. I think of it as post-disco, sandwiched in between funk and disco, not P-Funk but not the Bee Gees. Sometimes, it has the 4/4 beat and the 2/2. A song like “Bounce, Rock, Skate,” is a perfect example of a boogie song.”

Dam-Funk on Deviation/Soulful Beats with Benji B (10/25/09)

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