If you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the last couple of years, you will likely be very familiar with producer, composer, multi-instrumentalist Dam-Funk. Over the past couple of years, the Stones Throw Records artist has seen his profile grow exponentially for a sound that simultaneously channels late Parliament/George Clinton solo work, 80s synth-based funk and R&B, and Parliament-inspired G funk and for his collaborations with Slave’s Steve Arrington and Snoop Dogg, best known as 7 Days of Funk. Additionally, Dam Funk has been incredibly prolific. At the end of last year, he and Snoop Dogg released a surprise 7 inch single “N My System”/”It’s Not A Secret” as a teaser for the duo’s forthcoming sophomore full-length effort. He has since followed that up with a four song instrumental EP, STFU which he recorded and wrote in between stints touring with Todd Rundgren. And September will mark the release of Dam Funk’s long-awaited and much-anticipated sophomore effort, Invite the Light.

Along with the recently released STFU, the forthcoming Invite the Light will cement Dam Funk’s reputation for crafting slick. synth-based, swaggering yet bourbon-like smooth, funk. Interestingly, “We Continue,” the first single off Invite the Light manages to channel 80s synth and funk-based R&B – in particular, I’m reminded of a couple of songs I’ve mentioned on this site a number of times on this site, The Whispers’ “Rock Steady,” “And The Beat Goes On” and “It’s a Love Thing,” all of Cameo’s 80s output and several other period specific songs, complete with an uplifting “you can do it, y’all/don’t ever give up” message. And although a number of producers and artists have drawn from the 80s – i.e., St. Lucia, Blood Orange, and a long list of others, few of Dam-Funk’s contemporaries sound exactly like him as his work swaggers and saunters with a gangsta lean – and manages to be as sincere and soulful.