Interview with Damu the Fudgemunk

Brief Interview with Damu the Fudgemunk, conducted via e-mail. (Oct 2007)
By: Saif Khan

Damu the Fudgemunk is the true-school producer/DJ of hip-hop duo “Y Society”; comprised of himself and Boston-based MC, Insight. Having garnered critical acclaim as the DJ for Panacea and benefited from the ability to broadcast his skills on the cyber highway that is Youtube; his music was finally released for all to hear in the autumn of 2007. His warm, dusty production style is merged with the narrative wit of Insight on “Travel At Your Own Pace”.

S.KHAN:
What’s up man, much respect for all the great beats & thank you for giving me chance to interview you.
First of all, Id like to ask what order these came in : Damu the
DJ, Damu the Producer and Damu the record digger.

DAMU:
Well I guess the "record digger" came first before beats and djing. I inherited a lot of records as a young teen. My first trial at hip- hop was emceeing honestly. I had a partner in Jr. High School and we would rhyme and rhyme...Freestyling non-stop! Hahah!!
Then we realized we needed beats so I decided to buy a turntable and listen to my records. I had no idea I wanted to produce and I would become a nerd! I wanted to rhyme! After having a record collection, it led to me buying a DJ setup at 16 and then at 17 I bought my first sampler. I later bought the MPC at 19 and I’m 23 now. Believe it or not, I'm a MC first! (Not something I brag about though…) I didn't really find out what I wanted to do until around 18. Making beats… Aw yeah!

S.KHAN:
As a producer and a drummer, I take my inspiration from both
producers & drummers I look up to. Questlove from the Roots stated that one of his biggest drumming influences was the late, great Jay Dee. He said that Jay’s manner of chopping, programming & sampling drums made him re-think the way in which the drums could be played.
Would you say your production methods are influenced by
musicians/instrumentalists as well as producers; and if so, who are they?

DAMU:
Great question. I can relate to Questlove's statement because I play drums. I've been exposed to musicians all my life; my pops was a drummer. Being that this is an electronic form of music, certain producers aim for a level of organics. Machines often emulate, but are not the greatest substitutes for real instruments, which is why we sample. I can say, the more I analyze the dynamics of a musicians playing, the more I'm inspired to carry that same ethic over to the MPC. Now I look at my machine as more of an instrument; and that's where it gets fun.

You feel like you're making music and not ‘just’ beats. As for musicians, I love Bill Bruford, Phill Collins, Ron Carter, Jeff Berlin, Jaco, Zappa, James Brown... I could go forever and ever.


S.KHAN: A lot of people have been inclined to say that your production style is reminiscent of legendary Pete Rock and Diamond D. While I think the resemblance is clear, your style definitely carries an element of originality and I feel your samples come from a wider variety of sources. Do you have any particular method to
your sampling or does it usually depend on what kind of track you are
looking to create?


DAMU:
Yeah, I get those comparisons all day and its because I'm the SUC-cessor and they're the PRE-decessors. They taught and inspired me to do what they were doing. By the time I was able to make beats, my heroes had already been producing for over a decade. Everything I do, is a result of their influence. I appreciate you noticing my originality. Word, I do sample mad records of many genre's and styles. I go through phases of different vibes… It also depends on the record I pull…
Sonically I have a nice array of beats.
Jazzy is my favourite, but yo I have 1000's of beats!! Haha! One day I'll leak my instrumental LP's and you'll hear for yourself.


S.KHAN: I look forward to it, thanks very much for your time Damu.
DAMU: Thanks, Saif.