Pressure - 10" Vinyl

Pressure is the D.O.A. of some and the D.N.A. of others. For The Du-Rites, it's the latter. Pressure ain’t nothin’ but potassium!

Jay Mumford f/k/a “J-Zone” (drums, keyboards, percussion) and Pablo Martin (guitar, bass, keyboards) used the feared ‘P’ as both the impetus behind and the title of their sixth and most musically adventurous release. Coming off 2020’s A Funky Bad Time LP, how would the NYC-based funk unit follow up in a world where music fans hope live shows have return (but not really), want songs instead of an avalanche of 60 second clips to scroll past (but not really) and a lapse back into lockdown never seems far off? And not only follow up, but not repeat? Add vinyl pressing plants offering turnaround as long as nine months and tour plans almost always in pencil, pressure for musicians to write and record almost impossibly fast or be doomed to the algorithm black hole is pumping. The odds are stacked, but Jay and Pablo somehow found a way, as those on the blue-collar side of the music business are always forced to.

Pressure is half the length but twice the density of its predecessors. Six tracks deep on wax (seven digitally), it’s more orchestrated, a bit more complex, but never, ever sacrificing the grease and groove for academia. The hip-hop-and-dub-meet-funk of their 2016 debut; the ‘60s soul nod of 2017’s Greasy Listening; the cinematic "cop show funk" of 2018’s Gamma Ray Jones and the darker psychedelia of A Funky Bad Time - none reappear on Pressure. A subtle jazz leaning The Du-Rites have yet to approach is prominent, but it’s busted and unrefined in a way only The Du-Rites would du. The title track and “Bird Brain” go there. Main single, “The Squeeze,” puts Italian Soundtrack-style vocals and strings in the mix with drippy guitar, reggae influence, Barry White-style ad-libbing and jazz-swung funk groove drumming for the most distinct and lush tune in the band’s catalog. “Brother Yizar” goes full-on park jam on a percussive, uptempo funk rampage and the closer, “Fly Swatter,” swings hard with whirling dervish Hammond organ and walking basslines. The mockingly-titled “Math Rock” is the closest thing to any previous Du-Rites, but the wild twists and turns are uncharted territory.

In an ever-uncertain musical landscape, Pressure is The Du-Rites finding a way. Like they always du. But du-in it differently.

10" vinyl track list:

A1 PRESSURE
A2 THE SQUEEZE
A3 BIRD BRAIN

B1 BROTHER YIZAR
B2 MATH ROCK
B3 FLY SWATTER