Andrew Veeder on January 6th, 2014

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Producer-singer-songwriter triple-threat Seven Davis Jr. displays a wonderful ability to fuse the force of house music and the flavor of funk yet distill it down to a lo-fi dance concoction. The title track of the Houston-born, Los Angeles-based artist’s recent solo release, the “One” EP, is an infectious slow-burning house cut, the kind of song you feel in your hips and seeps into your shoulders, propelled by a minimalist beat garnished with electro-funk touches and lofted with his smoky and soulful voice. His first effort, 2012’s “Lo-Fi Vantage,” is a rag-tag collection of largely instrumental tracks of his experimental lo-fi funk sound, full of interesting moments and textures across its eight songs. “World” rolls out with a deep synth before an onslaught of bleeps, bloops and booms lead to a smooth groove and a cut-up vocal sample, and ping pongs between Dam-Funk and Flying Lotus for the rest of the track. He also just released a cover of Prince’s “Controversy,” a foggier version that rattles with rhythmic metallic shakers and surges with bright bursts of synth as the muffled electric bass guitar dances up and down the track. And with the forthcoming “P.A.R.T.Y” EP due out in March, it looks like he’s only getting started.

||| Stream: “One,” “World” and “Controversy”

Photo by Eric Coleman