The neon music that soundtracked the late-aughts Los Angeles club scene has become a global force. But while luminaries like Flying Lotus and Thundercat are recognized for influencing rap and jazz, the maestro of the Funkmosphere party in Culver City, Damon Riddick, gets less credit for bringing the synthesized sounds of the late ’70s and ’80s back to popular music. Years before Daft Punk made “Moroder,” Dâm-Funk was spinning tributes to the Troutman family, helping to make Afrofuturism the future once again.
Toeachizown, Dâm-Funk’s five-LP opus, is now a decade old; it’s been four years since the triple album Invite the Light. Riddick has pivoted from prolificacy to restraint, appropriate for a musician in the latter half of his 40s. These days, he often speaks through others, working with fellow Angelenos like Nite Jewel or arranging tasteful setlists like that of his strong DJ-Kicks entry. Even his new record, STFU II, 38 minutes of new music, gets modest billing: It’s an EP, not an LP, and a sequel to boot.
And it’s a modest release, as Dâm eases into cruise-control over the course of six five-minute-plus tracks (and one 54-second interlude called “Inhale, Exhale”). Moreso than the free EP STFU, STFU II picks up where DJ-Kicks left off: Its pleasures, are in steady, buoyant build; peace and love through body-rock. Nothing is too frantic or heavy, and when the bass appears, it’s as soothing as it is booming.
| A1 | The Flow | 5:19 |
| A2 | Compos Mentis | 5:54 |
| A3 | Hood Biz | 4:39 |
| A4 | Inhale, Exhale (Interlude) | 0:54 |
| B1 | Deeper | 8:48 |
| B2 | Ladera Heights | 5:46 |
| B3 | On Code | 6:46 |
