Biography
Damon Riddick operates as the solo performer, studio craftsman, and turntablist who brands himself Dâm-Funk, a self-described “modern funk” creator. Working entirely on his own material from adolescence onward, he entered the realm of behind-the-scenes session labor during the 1990s before emerging in the following decade as a singular voice within underground R&B through the five-disc set Toeachizown (2009) issued by Stones Throw. Although he waited six years to deliver the more collaborative triple album Invite the Light (2015), his catalog remains equally defined by an array of lone and joint endeavors involving a wide circle of partners such as Steve Arrington, Snoop Dogg, Nite Jewel, Ariel Pink, and Christine and the Queens. While serving as a primary force in funk’s evolution after 2000, Riddick has also pursued atmospheric textures via the three Private Life albums released under his middle name Garrett. In addition, he has paid tribute to deep-house leanings through projects such as the 2021 album Above the Fray and has entered video-game scoring with the 2023 collection Dâm-Funk Presents the Music of Grand Theft Auto Online Original Score.
Raised as an only child in Pasadena, California, Damon Garrett Riddick absorbed an eclectic mix of sounds during his early years, encompassing heavy progressive rock, synth pop, and funk. He gravitated most strongly toward synthesizers and began committing homemade pieces to tape while still in high school. Soon after finishing his studies, Riddick became a regular presence in Los Angeles studios, beginning with Double Action Theatre, the new jack swing outfit overseen by producer and guide Leon Sylvers III (the Sylvers, Solar Records). Throughout most of the ensuing decade his session contributions appeared chiefly on rap releases, among them AllFrumTha I’s self-titled album, Master P’s I Got the Hook Up, and MC Eiht’s Tha8t’z Gangsta, the last of which listed his production and instrumental work under the name Dam.funk.
Riddick stepped into public view as Dâm-Funk in 2007 by remixing Baron Zen’s version of the Gap Band’s “Burn Rubber,” an act that established ties with Peanut Butter Wolf’s Stones Throw imprint. Within weeks he also appeared on the label’s 2K8: BBall Zombie War compilation for 2KSports. The 2008 12-inch “Burgundy City” crystallized his approach: largely instrumental synth-funk that applied a contemporary, idiosyncratic lens to late-’70s and early-’80s funk and post-disco figures including Junie Morrison (Ohio Players, Parliament, solo), Roger Troutman (Zapp, solo), Mtume (the band), and Prince. He openly acknowledged these touchstones; while DJing his Funkmosphere club night in the Los Angeles area, he routinely identified the records he played, deliberately diverging from the usual practice of withholding such information. After amassing hours of self-recorded material in his garage facility, he assembled Toeachizown, a five-part series that surfaced throughout 2009 and was condensed into a two-CD edition that October. By then he had also attracted indie-rock listeners via a remix of Animal Collective’s “Summertime Clothes” and had issued a self-released 7-inch under the name Wavelength. Tracks cut between 1988 and 1992 but never previously issued were gathered in 2010 on the Stones Throw release Adolescent Funk.
Though several years elapsed before a proper successor to his debut album, Riddick remained active with remixes, EPs, and singles—among them a version of Donnie and Joe Emerson’s “Baby” cut with Ariel Pink and the track “I Don’t Wanna Be a Star!”—alongside numerous joint efforts. In late 2013 alone, full-length collaborations with funk veteran Steve Arrington and rap mainstay Snoop Dogg (billed as Snoopzilla) appeared as Higher and 7 Days of Funk. During spring 2015 he supported another longstanding influence, Todd Rundgren, on a U.S. tour promoting the album Global. As those dates concluded in June, the four-track instrumental EP STFU preceded his second album. Invite the Light, a three-disc set, arrived that September and featured Junie Morrison, Leon Sylvers III, Jody Watley, Flea, Q-Tip, and Snoop among its guests. Less than nine months afterward, the !K7 label presented Riddick’s first commercially released mix within its DJ-Kicks series.
Before the dust had settled on DJ-Kicks, Riddick reactivated his Glydezone imprint with the Nite-Funk EP, a joint effort alongside Nite Jewel. That project, the Architecture EP, and a 12-inch pairing with the left-field U.K. pop duo Ekkah all surfaced before 2016 ended. Studio work over the next couple of years yielded two additional Private Life ambient albums under the Garrett moniker (vinyl editions issued by Music from Memory), the EPs Architecture II and Fresh Air (the latter recorded with DJ Spinna), and a 12-inch edition of European Nights (earlier available only as a gig-exclusive CD-R). He also appeared on Christine and the Queens’ “Girlfriend” and Mac Miller’s “What’s the Use?” The seven-track STFU II arrived in 2019 while Riddick persisted in his worldwide role as a funk ambassador through his selections. Private Life III closed out 2020.
In 2021 Riddick issued Destination: Known/Paradise, comprising two roughly fifteen-minute pieces, plus the Architecture III EP for the Spanish deep-house label Saft; the uplifting synth-funk and house album Above the Fray followed on his own Glydezone Recordings. During 2023 he contributed to David Zylberman’s single “Welcome to L.A.” and unveiled the seasonal track “Tis the Season.” He also released Dâm-Funk Presents the Music of Grand Theft Auto Online Original Score, which includes joint efforts with Soulwax, Oh No, HEALTH, Show Me the Body, and additional artists.
Raised as an only child in Pasadena, California, Damon Garrett Riddick absorbed an eclectic mix of sounds during his early years, encompassing heavy progressive rock, synth pop, and funk. He gravitated most strongly toward synthesizers and began committing homemade pieces to tape while still in high school. Soon after finishing his studies, Riddick became a regular presence in Los Angeles studios, beginning with Double Action Theatre, the new jack swing outfit overseen by producer and guide Leon Sylvers III (the Sylvers, Solar Records). Throughout most of the ensuing decade his session contributions appeared chiefly on rap releases, among them AllFrumTha I’s self-titled album, Master P’s I Got the Hook Up, and MC Eiht’s Tha8t’z Gangsta, the last of which listed his production and instrumental work under the name Dam.funk.
Riddick stepped into public view as Dâm-Funk in 2007 by remixing Baron Zen’s version of the Gap Band’s “Burn Rubber,” an act that established ties with Peanut Butter Wolf’s Stones Throw imprint. Within weeks he also appeared on the label’s 2K8: BBall Zombie War compilation for 2KSports. The 2008 12-inch “Burgundy City” crystallized his approach: largely instrumental synth-funk that applied a contemporary, idiosyncratic lens to late-’70s and early-’80s funk and post-disco figures including Junie Morrison (Ohio Players, Parliament, solo), Roger Troutman (Zapp, solo), Mtume (the band), and Prince. He openly acknowledged these touchstones; while DJing his Funkmosphere club night in the Los Angeles area, he routinely identified the records he played, deliberately diverging from the usual practice of withholding such information. After amassing hours of self-recorded material in his garage facility, he assembled Toeachizown, a five-part series that surfaced throughout 2009 and was condensed into a two-CD edition that October. By then he had also attracted indie-rock listeners via a remix of Animal Collective’s “Summertime Clothes” and had issued a self-released 7-inch under the name Wavelength. Tracks cut between 1988 and 1992 but never previously issued were gathered in 2010 on the Stones Throw release Adolescent Funk.
Though several years elapsed before a proper successor to his debut album, Riddick remained active with remixes, EPs, and singles—among them a version of Donnie and Joe Emerson’s “Baby” cut with Ariel Pink and the track “I Don’t Wanna Be a Star!”—alongside numerous joint efforts. In late 2013 alone, full-length collaborations with funk veteran Steve Arrington and rap mainstay Snoop Dogg (billed as Snoopzilla) appeared as Higher and 7 Days of Funk. During spring 2015 he supported another longstanding influence, Todd Rundgren, on a U.S. tour promoting the album Global. As those dates concluded in June, the four-track instrumental EP STFU preceded his second album. Invite the Light, a three-disc set, arrived that September and featured Junie Morrison, Leon Sylvers III, Jody Watley, Flea, Q-Tip, and Snoop among its guests. Less than nine months afterward, the !K7 label presented Riddick’s first commercially released mix within its DJ-Kicks series.
Before the dust had settled on DJ-Kicks, Riddick reactivated his Glydezone imprint with the Nite-Funk EP, a joint effort alongside Nite Jewel. That project, the Architecture EP, and a 12-inch pairing with the left-field U.K. pop duo Ekkah all surfaced before 2016 ended. Studio work over the next couple of years yielded two additional Private Life ambient albums under the Garrett moniker (vinyl editions issued by Music from Memory), the EPs Architecture II and Fresh Air (the latter recorded with DJ Spinna), and a 12-inch edition of European Nights (earlier available only as a gig-exclusive CD-R). He also appeared on Christine and the Queens’ “Girlfriend” and Mac Miller’s “What’s the Use?” The seven-track STFU II arrived in 2019 while Riddick persisted in his worldwide role as a funk ambassador through his selections. Private Life III closed out 2020.
In 2021 Riddick issued Destination: Known/Paradise, comprising two roughly fifteen-minute pieces, plus the Architecture III EP for the Spanish deep-house label Saft; the uplifting synth-funk and house album Above the Fray followed on his own Glydezone Recordings. During 2023 he contributed to David Zylberman’s single “Welcome to L.A.” and unveiled the seasonal track “Tis the Season.” He also released Dâm-Funk Presents the Music of Grand Theft Auto Online Original Score, which includes joint efforts with Soulwax, Oh No, HEALTH, Show Me the Body, and additional artists.
Albums
Singles
