DāM-FunK has been enchanting listeners for over a decade with his highly filthy but musical synth funk-infused jams. Mostly releasing with Stones Throw, his solo albums Toeachizown and Invite the Light, as well as an anthology of early productions, have joining a number of collaborative projects including with Steve Arrington, Snoop Dogg and Nite Jewel.
His lesser known introspective side project Garrett reaches its third and final album with the release of the episodically titled Private Life III on Music For Memory. As with the previous instalments, it explores instrumental, free-structured, soulful machine funk and ambient music using a minimal palette of home-recorded synths and drum machines.
During 2020-21 the home recorded nature of the Private Life project takes on a more enforced aspect. The album’s artwork puts the creator behind closed blinds, the outside world reflecting back from the point of the viewer while the introverted origins of the tracks unveils music that, while undeniably still Funk, highlight more delicate, emotive layers.
While all drawing on the same bank of sounds, there’s plenty on offer. The meandering squelch bass stroll of “Chasing The Clouds Away” is a horizontally aligned warm up for an esoteric workout on lost OutRun radio station “Hang Glyde”. You can slow-jam the day away on “Room With a View” before soaring with eagles in your head on ambient x guitar axe solo “Memories”.
Taken on its own, this third installment is an intriguing listen, but included with its predecessors as a Private Life trilogy it’s an especially captivating sonic world that’s made to be repeatedly explored.
Garrett Private Life III is available on vinyl now on Music From Memory.
