Dâm-Funk: "Free"
In his recent RBMA lecture, funk godfather George Clinton dropped a nugget of insight when defining the sound: “Funk is anything you need it to be to save your life at that time.” His interpretation seemed to get straight at the heart of the music and its followers. If funk is also a way of life or a state of mind, then it is ultimately a holistic perspective, capable of empowering anyone who is open to its liberating soul.
Who better to carry that torch than L.A. funk guru Damon Riddick, the vibe-spreading ambassador of positivity behind Dâm-Funk? When he interviewed Clinton for the L.A. Record, they bonded over the healing properties of “groove music” and shared beliefs in “a higher power.” Maybe Riddick’s 2009 boogie-funk opus, Toeachizown—or his collaborations with Steve Arrington and Snoop Dogg, for that matter—never quite touched the same cosmic levels as Mothership, but the man has painted himself as a stargazer, no doubt.
Save for SoundCloud demos, a digital EP, and an archival collection, Riddick hasn’t released much solo material since his debut album dropped nearly six years ago. So his STFU EP was a welcome surprise when it surfaced on the Stones Throw website last week, announcing the imminent arrival of his second full-length, Invite the Light. And nestled at the end of that four-tracker was “Free”, an eight-minute synth-funk glider and one of the best Dâm-Funk tunes in recent memory. Its featherlight bed of astral tones, sumptuous hardware groove, and soaring guitar solo expands on Toeachizown‘s G-funk brilliance, but it also plays like Riddick’s latest theme song. “Free” distills his daily inspirational thoughts into a breezy, sun-kissed glow, delivered with his usual cool sincerity. Of course, the style is purely West Coast, but the message is universal: funk is freedom. And in Dâm’s world, funk is the future.
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