Once there was a time when bands ruled supreme. Guitars, bass, and drums filled the airwaves as people swayed to the rhythm. Over the last few decades, we’ve seen the rise of electronic music. Artistic minds began to produce sounds that no instrument could replicate, giving birth to new waves of music and, with it, a new wave of fans. These two worlds seldom mixed, and many fans of each had difficulty accepting the artistry of the other. It wasn’t until the last decade that some electronic producers incorporated live instrumentation into their sets. Electronic heavyweights like Pretty Lights, Gramatik, GRiZ, Big Gigantic, and others grew to incorporate guitar, live drumming, and other instruments in their sets, helping bridge the gap between live and electronic music. It is at this crossroad where we meet Tommy Weeks and Henry and their brass-based project, damsun.
You may have seen Weeks playing sax for Connecticut’s Funky Dawgz Brass Band or jamming with Syracuse’s funk and hip-hop band Sophistafunk. Weeks has an impressive and diverse history of sit-ins, playing with the likes of Twiddle, Dispatch, Trombone Shorty, Lettuce, Vulfpeck, Aqueous, Manic Focus, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Sunsquabi, Maddy O’Neal, Andy Frasco & The U.N., Kung Fu, and many more.
His counterpart Henry is a classically trained trombonist with extensive experience performing in orchestral, jazz, brass band, and electronic settings. Having been introduced to electronic music through the likes of Amon Tobin and Pretty Lights, he started digging deeper into IDM, glitch-hop, and everything in between. By blending various electronic music influences with a classically informed compositional approach, Henry has begun to define his own sound. Always looking to incorporate seemingly disparate elements into new and exciting experiences, he blends a variety of indie, electronic, pop and experimental sounds into his vision with a special place for brass and other acoustic instruments in the process.
For now, the duo has two released songs that you can check out today. One of them is a remix of the infectiously fun “Back Pocket” by Vulfpeck and an original “In The Moment” that is sure to get you grooving! We got a chance to speak with the members of damsun about their new project. Read on below for more!
“Back Pocket” (damsun Remix)
“In The Moment”
L4LM: What made you want to start this project? Where do you want it to go?
damsun: There aren’t enough electronic artists who bring live instruments, much less brass instruments, into their sound, and we want that to change. We think that we can offer sounds and experiences that push the boundaries on what contemporary electronic-based music can be. We’re instrumentalists first—Tommy on tenor sax and Henry on trombone—but have both liked electronic music for years, so teaming up on this project felt very natural. Before this, we had been playing in bands and producing independently but hadn’t found a compelling way to bring production and live instruments together. When we first started working together, we realized we had similar taste in music and that our cumulative skill sets could lead to something new and exciting.
L4LM: Where do you draw your inspiration?
damsun: Although we definitely pull from many genres, damsun as a whole is most deeply rooted in a funk and hip-hop sound. You can also expect to hear influences from trap, house, glitch-hop, indie dance, synth-pop, and more. We have a ton of respect and appreciation for what more established acts have done for the scene. Artists like GRiZ, Big Gigantic, and Brasstracks really helped open our eyes to what an electronic-brass sound could be and gave us some perspective on what tends to work well when bringing the two spheres together—both in the studio and in live settings. But at the end of the day, our sound is distinctly different from these guys, and we plan to continue to evolve away from common comparisons and into something of our own.
L4LM: Why should people care about damsun? What makes you guys different?
damsun: First and foremost, we’re both horn players who happen to be making electronic music. As instrumentalists, we’re always trying to elevate the level of energy, dynamics, and human connection beyond what’s possible with a purely in-the-box approach. While we’re seeing a few more electronic artists bring traditional instruments into their studios and live acts, it’s still uncommon, and we think our approach sets us apart.
On top of this, our combined musical experiences and skills are really what make us unique. Tommy is a strong improvisational player with history of performing and arranging with hip-hop and brass bands, while Henry has conservatory-style classical training along with composition, orchestration, and production credits. Together, we have a lot of material and diversity to draw upon and we find that the results of these creative collisions are often surprising and unexpected.
L4LM: Is there anything else you want the people to know about damsun?
damsun: We actually met briefly when we were much younger but didn’t keep in touch. We both ended up studying music and reconnected after college. In our first ever session together we jammed for hours and ended up recording what has become a remix that we’ll be releasing soon.