Dâm-Funk

Toeachizown presents modern funk pulled off by L.A. artist Dâm-Funk, whose music has drawn comparisons to the synth-based '80s funk sound known as boogie. (That's the mid-tempo, groovy genre that led musicians musically and chronologically from disco to house.) Calming and motivating, drifting and sliding, with thoughtful tweaks and lyrical solidity, this album may lead us into a new year of space funk. Full-on musical flavours like those from records never revealed to mainstream radio, but thick in their influence of it, this is music the whole family can chill with. Gorgeous ballad "One Less Day" paints a jewelled, loving soundscape with sincere vocals and synthesizer depth. Reported in XLR8R, "Brookside Park" is about a place and time when Dam was a teenager witnessing a well-seen UFO sighting at a park in Pasadena. The tune thoughtfully reverberates with the musical sounds that were current at the time of that event, in a weird, echo-y way. "The Sky Is Ours" (and the rest of the songs on Toeachizown) would shine across the dance floor for any soul-driven house DJ.