It’s no easy task to be a creator of throwback sounds in this modern era without sounding overly derivative, disingenuous, or worse yet, like a novelty act. But for the last few years, Pasadena-based Dam-Funk (pronounced “Dame-Funk”) has earned underground and critical acclaim doing just that.

Born Damon Riddick, the producer and vocalist has emerged with as sound that may best be described as modern funk—think George Clinton’s Parliament Funkadelic stripped down with layered synths and an emphasis on drums. He has a penchant for penning love songs with uplifting, anthemic lyrics.

It’s been a slow rise for Riddick, but his career is certainly on the upswing. From basement tapes on vintage gear in 2007 to a 2013 studio album with Snoop Dogg (7 Days of Funk), the gifted multi-instrumentalist has proudly toured the world a few times over.

“I learned how to play drums and read notes in junior high, but on keyboards, I was self-taught,” Dâm recounts in a recent interview with Rolling Stone. “I was afraid to unlearn what I learned. It was good I didn’t, as I created my own type of chords without a teacher. Maybe one day I’ll go learn how to read Bach, but it hasn’t hurt me yet.”

His 2015 release, Invite The Light, a mix of bouncy tracks with ethereal moments scattered throughout was positioned atop of several year-end “best of” lists. Even for Dâm, whose prolific creative streaks are widely known, this new album took six years from start to finish. The songs have washes of breathy, Prince-like vocals while others are hard-knocking, instrumental party joints. Dâm has garnered glowing acclaim from the likes NPR and The New York Times.

The new album, along with his previous projects—including a massive five-record box set compilation—have all been released on the L.A.-by-way-of-San Jose underground tastemaking label, Stones Throw.

Label founder Peanut Butter Wolf—a.k.a. Chris Manak, brother of Jonny of Jonny Manak and the Depressives—remains at the helm and has flouted convention for decades, with eclectic projects ranging from soul to vintage electro. It’s a fitting imprint for Dâm. The label has also pushed projects from hip-hop and soul oddballs like J Dilla, Mayer Hawthorne & Madlib.

Dâm is slated to perform a live DJ set at The Ritz on Friday—sharing the stage with electro-rap pioneer and 808 visionary Egyptian Lover, as well as modern synth producer Brian Ellis. It’s a show that promises more of an effusive party atmosphere than a neatly orchestrated performance.

The show marks Dâm-Funk’s first ever appearance in San Jose and serves as a benchmark for The Ritz’s expanding efforts to bring top-tier touring acts to the South Bay. Acts on Dâm’s level often skip over Silicon Valley—hopping from San Francisco or Oakland to Santa Cruz and vice versa.

Local record shop Needle To The Groove deserves some credit for helping to book the show. In addition to curating an eclectic catalog of vintage vinyl for sale, the shop also functions as a record label and entertainment company. The overarching goal of Needle to the Groove is sourcing quality acts and music for San Jose.

“We want to bring relevant independent music to the South Bay,” says Allen Johnson of Needle to the Groove. “Ultimately, we hope to see more national and local acts take the stage in San Jose, not just in our neighboring cities.”

Dâm-Funk plays on Feb 12, 8pm, $20-$25 at The Ritz, San Jose.

As part of the BVMO Crew, Shea Butter, along with Smoovgroovs and Dstrukt, are some of the hottest DJs in the South Bay right now. They specialize in spinning obscure soul, funk, hip-hop and electronic tracks, as well as doing some pretty innovative remixes. The trio also released the excellent mixtape Cupid’s Hangover this year.

Shea Butter broke down for us his favorite albums released this year, specifically ones he feels people will still be talking about in 20 years.

Mayer Hawthorne – Where Does This Door Go
Funk, rock, boogie, soul and hip hop are all blended together in Mr. Hawthorne’s musical crock pot, giving his growing fan base exactly what they need. Thank you Peanut Butter Wolf (the San Jose native, now in LA, releasing Hawthorne’s music on Stones Throw Records.

Pivotal Silicon Valley innovators and some of the biggest names in music will converge at San Jose’s C2SV Technology Conference and Music Festival, headlined by Iggy and The Stooges.

The festival, held at 12 downtown San Jose venues September 26-29, provides a new platform for sharing ideas, discovering new music and, of course, having a lot of fun in the heart of Silicon Valley. In addition to Iggy And The Stooges, 90s alt-rock pioneers The Lemonheads, electro-pop duo The Limousines, Oakland political band The Coup and modern funk pioneer Dam-Funk are among the 70 acts expected at the festival. Many more acts will be announced soon.

Robert Scoble, Jeff Stibel, Nolan Bushnell, Chris Anderson and Steve Kirsch are among the many speakers who will share new ideas during presentations and panels at the technology conference.

Early-bird tickets are on sale now HERE.

First wave of acts:
Iggy And The Stooges
The Lemonheads
The Coup
The Limousines
OFF!
DAM Funk
Black Milk
Clawhammer
Deafheaven
Fatso Jetson
**Many more to be announced

Scheduled Tech Conference Speakers:
Chris Anderson – CEO, 3D Robotics
Andre Haddad- CEO, RelayRides
Kare Anderson- CEO, Say It Better Center
Beth Rogozinski -Founder, Transmedia SF
Todd Wilms- Social Business Strategy for SAP
Lesley Mottla- EVP, ZipCar
Nolan Bushnell – CEO, Brainrush
Elisa Camahort Page – Co-founder and COO, BlogHer, Inc.
Dafina Toncheva- Partner, US Venture Partners
Ephraim Lindenbaum-Managing Director, Advance Ventures LLC
Joe Davis – CEO, Tocata
Nadav Gur – CEO, Desti
Brian Behlendorf- Compurter Scientist, Lawrence Livermore National Labortory
Robert Hawn- Attorney, Structure Law Group
Shel Israel – co-author, Age of Context
Steve Kirsch – Founder and CTO, OneID
Gary Kremen – Founder, Clean Power Finance, Sociogramics
Wedge Martin- CoFounder, GeoPapyrus
Matt Miesnieks – CEO, Dekko
Chuck Reed – Mayor, City of San Jose
Jeff Stibel- CEO, Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp
Scott Schreiman – CEO, Kerio Technologies, Inc.
Robert Scoble – Startup Liason Officer, Rackspace
Josh Silver – CEO, United Republic
Rich Skrenta – CEO, Blekko
Ralph King- Producer, Extreme By Design
Raj Singh – CEO/Founder, Tempo AI
Kim Walesh – Director of Economic Development, Chief Strategist, City of San Jose
Steve Westly-Founder, The Westly Gorup
Rujul Zaparde – CEO, FlightCar
Maya Zuckerman – Co-Founder, Transmedia SF
**More to be announced

Fore more information, visit the official website: http://c2sv.com/