The Trio Asesino live session – featuring Adrian Quesada, Joshy Soul and me – is out now! Catch us on our first European tour and Montreal Jazz Fest this summer (dates in the previous post). Enjoy and see ya out there!
After touring for a year (and recording our debut album at the same time), Trio Asesino dropped today! Mega salute to my trio funk brothers Adrian Quesada and Joshy Soul. And to Terin Ector, Minta Spencer, Keyon Harrold and all the killer guests. Salute to my fellow drum family member John Spiece (who plays on 3 of the cuts) and Will Grantham on the boards. Everyone involved! Out everywhere! Spotify, Apple Music, on wax…dig. Here’s “MF AF” (featuring Keyon Harrold and Minta Spencer):
Late to post, but I played drums on the new Gnarls Barkley record! The cut is called “I Amnesia”. The drums I played on “Lux Prima” (Karen O & Danger Mouse) were cut in the same session as these when Danger Mouse hit me up to play some grooves back in 2015 – very early on in my playing years. Dope to see where it all ended up. Shout to the fellas and to Dan Auerbach on the track too. Very cool to be a part of the final album in the Gnarls Barkley discography.
I’ve often complained about the a lack of funk platforms in the podcast world – and an over-proliferation of gossip/nostalgia podcasts, but that’s another post – so it’s very cool to be on the 40 Minutes of Funk Podcast! Hit that link or find it on Spotify, Apple Music, or wherever you get your podcasts. Here’s what it’s about:
“Jay Mumford and Pablo Martin from The Du-Rites team up to talk about 1970s cleaning companies, identifying hip-hop source records, drumming on pillows, blizzard jams, getting booed off stage, trolling gear heads, Danger Mouse’s keyboard collection, and African thumb pianos, plus they reveal why they’re the “Steely Dan of Funk…”
A lot of funny stories and behind the scenes Du-Rites stuff, as well as a deep dive on my now defunct Give the Drummer Some Podcast on Red Bull Music Academy some years back after Pablo had to run toward the end of the interview.
Enjoy!
February 26th ain’t the easiest day for me. Having the same birthday as my Dad was the greatest 1 in 365 odds, but since he passed…not having that call is jarring to say the least. So the new Du-Rites record drops the day after our birthday to honor him – this one’s for you, Pop. Thanks for being the best Dad and for the gift of music…and being indirectly responsible for the birth of The Du-Rites by putting that Sonor Safari drum set in the basement in 2011, a time when I needed to clear the cache and start over more than ever. He always knew me better than I knew myself, but that’s how Pisces do.
The Du-Rites’ Tenement EP is out everywhere today…all DSPs (Spotify, Apple Music, etc.) and on wax with Village Live Records. Both our Bandcamp and theirs, though ours is just about sold out of the vinyl. If we run out (and overseas folks as well), hit up Village Live! Thanks to my funk brother, Pablo Martin, Village Live for believing in the Du-Rites, Bruce, Seth and Sami for their contributions to the record and everyone who’s supported us over the last decade. (Yes, our debut dropped in 2016.) Time flew like a MF. Enjoy!
As anyone who knows me will tell you, I’m very weary of podcasts at this point, lol. But this was a lot of fun! I’m short on words these days, but one way to get me talking is to get into funk music and funk drumming / rhythm sections. Then, the coffee starts perking. Honored to be on the inaugural episode of Black Etc., a new podcast from Ian Yusef. It’s a long one, but a good one. Enjoy!
The History of Funk Drumming (w/ Jay Mumford) (site)
The Du-Rites send a shout out all yuh’s who pre-ordered the new 10” on Bandcamp – we tightened up on these tape guns and got your records out a month ahead of street date. We thoroughly appreciate you all for your ongoing support. Our 8th full length since 2016 is called Tenement. Here’s the latest single “In Du Time” with our extended funk fam Chef Seth on flute. We’re running low on stock but if you’d like to pick up a copy of the 10″ on vinyl, there’s some on our Bandcamp (U.S. orders only)
This is a collaboration with Village Live Records. All folks in the UK, EU and worldwide outside the U.S., hit up Village Live’s Bandcamp.
Tenement is out everywhere and on all streaming platforms on February 27.
The Du-Rites: “Tenement” 10″ EP vinyl/digital pre-order is now live on our Bandcamp page! And so is the second single, “5 on the Floor”. This one’s a special collaboration with Village Live Records (UK). 10″s are a specialty for the most part, but we went for it in 2021 for the Pressure EP and it seemed to be a good fit for The Du-Rites’ aesthetic. This one features an obi strip (a first for us) and comes in black wax and clear transparent as well. The latter is sold exclusively at the Village Live Bandcamp and we’ll have them at our live shows once it drops officially on February 27, 2026. Our Bandcamp has bundles of Tenement with our back catalog if you’re looking to catch up on our older stuff. Depending what you’re looking for and where you’re at in the world – saving on shipping is REAL – pick up your copy via our Bandcamp or Village Live’s…the choice is yours!
Check out “5 on the Floor” on Spotify or Apple Music (or Tidal, etc.). Here’s a bit about the new record:
NYC funk combo The Du-Rites – Jay Mumford (drums, keys, kalimba & percussion) and Pablo Martin (guitar, bass, keys & percussion) – cranked out seven funk albums in six years. After 2022’s Plug It In, they continued working, but chilled on releasing music for a bit. Jay worked as a session drummer (Gnarls Barkley, Kelly Finnigan, Just Blaze, etc.), was sampled by Vampire Weekend and toured with guitarist Adrian Quesada. Pablo toured as a guitarist with veteran UK singer-songwriter Belouis Some, producing and composing when not on the road. When not on stage and in studio with others, the pair maintained their weekly residency in NYC and released a handful of digital singles to keep ideas flowing. But after a three year hiatus from making albums, their new EP, Tenement (on UK-based Village Live Records), is a lean, mean funk machine.
Guest flautist Seth Hachen compliments the twists and turns of the abstract “In Du Time,” while the title track is meat and potatoes instrumental funk. “5 on the Floor” continues the experimentation with its featuring of a kalimba and heavily syncopated, off-kilter drumming, while “Bucky’s Groove” (featuring Bruce Martin of Tom Tom Club on synths) brings it back to basics with b-boy breakbeats. The Du-Rites’ use of guitar and synthesizer tones that are absent from the standard “retro funk” sound are what truly separates them (“Filibuster” and “Super Phunk”), but the dirtiness of the drums keeps things grounded in what funk is about. But above all, Tenement is an exercise in groove. Abstract groove, stank face groove, booty shake groove…it all makes an appearance in the EP’s just under 17 minute run time.
Back at it with Soul Supreme on keys, Skratch Bastid on turntables and me on drums. Switching time signatures and all! Salute to the great John Guerin on drums on the original. And all involved. Enjoy!