The Du-Rites Pressure

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 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 odds make us turn corners.



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 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 is there, 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 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 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. Live and/or on wax, The Du-Rites have played alongside the likes of Eddie Palmieri, Robert Glasper, Ghostface Killah, Wax Tailor, The Skatalites and members of Sun Ra Arkestra. Individually, Jay and Pablo, as drummer and guitarist, respectively, have worked with Danger Mouse, Lord Finesse, Madlib, Tom Tom Club, Broken Bells, Soul Supreme, Ben Pirani and many more.