Showing posts with label Damu the Fudgemunk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Damu the Fudgemunk. Show all posts

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Damu and Buff1

Okay, so maybe you don't relish the challenge of obtaining a commercially unreleased single. Or maybe instrumental releases just don't hold your interest. That's okay, I've still got a Damu the Fudgemunk limited 7" single for you.

"When Winter Comes" is brought to us by our friends, Diggers With Gratitude. If the title sounds familiar, that's because an unfinished version's been public via mp3 since 2009. It's another killer production by Damu with brilliant, crunchy drums, killer piano samples and a vintage Wu-Tangy female vocal cue for a loop. And there's cuts as well. It's definitely more classically boom-bap than a lot of Damu's stuff. And on the vocals is Buff1, a Detroit MC from The Athletic Mic League, who should seek out more beats like this, because he sounds better than he usually does here.

But Damu just threw the song out there, because unfortunately the engineer accidentally wiped the vocal track, so it could never be properly mastered and released. But because everybody was feeling the mp3 so much, DWG got Damu and Buff back into the studio to rerecord it, as well as an all-new B-side, "Truly Get Yours."

"Truly Get Yours" is smoother and slower, but just as tight. The scratching sounds even more on point. There's another vocal sample looped on this one, and I feel like I've heard it used before, at a different pitch, but I can't place it. Then there's an amazing horn sample on the hook, it's like peak-era Pete Rock. At the end of the day, I think this is even stronger than "Winter," it's got such an addictive vibe.

So, this one's limited, but not too limited... There are 200 pressed on blue vinyl, and another 650 on standard black. And DWG releases are showing up in more and more hip-hop shops (like ughh), so this one isn't hard to find at all, and it's got a pretty close to regular price at $10. Just check out the soundclips here, especially the second half, and I'm sure you'll be sold. And check out the funky, stamped sleeves!

Friday, April 22, 2011

Private Damu

My mind is full of things I would do if I were super rich. You know: army of robot servants, invisible airplanes, decent health care... those sort of silly, impossible flights of fancy. But there's one idea that always sticks out as being slightly less impossible. You know how lots of dope MCs like Craig G, Young Zee, etc, will post on their myspaces or twitter accounts about how they're available for collabos for a fee? So how awesome would it be, just as a fan, to hire your favorite artist and commission your own new favorite song? Like, whatever your tastes are... if you're a frat kid, you could go to the next kegger and say, "I'm tried of 'Jump Around.' Let's put on my exclusive 'Jump Around part 2' that House of Pain created just for me!"

Well, I don't know if Spice is rich or if he just decided life is too short, but he's gone and done it.

Now, do you guys know who Damu the Fudgemunk is? If not, you should, and it'll be my honor to introduce him to you. He's a producer who's been putting out a ton of instrumental records on his own label, Redefinition, to heaps of acclaim. And unlike all these other dudes who keep getting attention and "buzz" online, dude actually deserves it. I actually held off checking out Damu's first couple releases, because it just raised all my "contemporary, overhyped mediocrity" red flags. But no, for once, believe the hype:

“Very refreshing to hear a young cat with that much soul. Exactly what’s been missing from the game … soul.” - Marley Marl

It's 100% sample-based production. It's really rich and layered... which means, essentially, a bunch of combined samples, as opposed to a basic loop with frills. Like if DJ Shadow kept progressing after Entroducing, instead of drifting off into dubstep or whatever the heck he does now (he still wins at random rap mixCDs, though), and had substantially more R&B in his collection.

So what we've got here is a 7" single by Damu, commissioned by Spice to celebrate the birth of his daughter. Spice had the concept ("a reworking of the Ramsey Lewis and Minnie Ripperton versions of the Charles Stepney classic, Les Fleurs") and even some of the samples picked out. He gave it to Damu, who handed him back the excellent "Brooklyn Flower" (plus a hot B-side called "Yes We Can"). And Spice printed up this up in a limited run, never to be released commercially.

...Which means, no, you can't really buy it anywhere. The songs have been (officially) leaked online, so you can listen to the music for free... they're on Youtube and have been posted on the best blogs already. But vinyl heads, yes, there is an actual record. It's a private run of 500 copies, number-stamped (mine's #133), in a cool picture cover on white[white] vinyl. So, happy digging, guys!