Staying true to his name, Defunk is a serial-sampler of funk and soul, frequently imbuing the styles into his heavier bass productions. This time around, the Calgary-based artist takes his familiar inspirations into a new direction with his foray into tech house, “Jump.”

In addition to the tech aspects, “Jump” draws heavily on bass house influences to help give it an extra bite. Meanwhile, an abundance of samples keeps things light amidst the groovy hits interwoven throughout. Dancing Astronaut caught up with Defunk to chat about his personal genre exploration, the timelessness of funk, and his upcoming plans.

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You’re no stranger to funk, but you usually don’t utilize it in such a tech-house style. What inspired the track?

Defunk: “My girlfriend has been getting me into house music in a big way, and opened my eyes to the variety of genres within the house name. The last few years I have been adding a little section of house music into my sets as I move through the tempos during a performance, so it only made sense that I would want to experiment with a song or two to add to my discography and to be able to play out live. Tech-house was something that really caught my attention with the way the basslines were created and the subtle, more nuanced sounds involved.”

“Jump” is absolutely stuffed with samples, do you have a process for selecting what goes into your tracks? Or is it more of a free-flow style?

Defunk: “While it may seem like more of a free-flow process, I actually spend hours combing over samples for the right fit. The vibe and sound of the sample needs to fit and emphasize everything else around it when placed in the song, and not just feel like a needless addition.”

What is it about funk and soul samples and sounds that lends itself to so many genres? 

Defunk: “They have a timeless, classic feel to them, and on top of this they always have an uplifting, fun nature. This lends itself really well to party music, where the music is just about having fun at the end of the day. Funk and soul samples have also been used relentlessly throughout the development of the hip hop genre, and hip hop has influenced many parts of the electronic music scene.” 

You wrote “the song is not meant to be subtle, it’s meant to make you jump.” What’s your all-time favorite jumping-themed song?

Defunk: “Of the last few years, Cazztek – ‘Came to Get Funky.'”

You’ve released plenty of tracks already this year, do you have plans to squeeze any more into 2020? What’s on deck for you coming up? 

Defunk: “I have multiple singles that I am sitting on, a few collaborations in the making, plus an EP in the works. I’m trying to line up something before the year’s end, even with COVID-19 disrupting so many plans and altering the music industry in a huge way. People need that music to continue!”

Featured image: Defunk/FB

Tags: defunk, jump, Q&A, westwood recordings

Categories: Features, Music