D-Funk

Forward-thinking, funk focused music. Studio wizard, DJ & Producer. Co-owner of Grits N Gravy label.

Sydney-based, British born DJ, D-Funk has amassed a fair few achievements in his 25-years on the decks. Making his club debut at The Depot in Bristol in 1995 (I was so nervous I thought I’d never do it again!” he remembers), he’s gone on to DJ all over the world, playing notable sets at Space Ibiza and Ministry Of Sound and released on labels including Sunday Best and Bombstrikes. Getting his firs

t set of decks at 14, Doug initially fell for the sounds of jungle and techno before a night dancing to house icon Tony De Vit in 1997 turned him towards the slinkier sounds of house music.

“The energy in the crowd that night was like nothing I’d been part of before,” he remembers fondly. “Every beat, every clap, every build up was just so inspiring and euphoric. I’d always been fascinated by the art of mixing but suddenly it just all made sense.”

His DJ career began to take off during his time at university in Wolverhampton where he started to pick up gigs at the Canal Club and Mezzanine, playing alongside DJs including Joey Negro, Mr Fingers, Scott Bond and Lisa Lashes, before a move to the South-Coast town of Bournemouth led him to eventually start his own night ‘Break Da House’ in 2004. “I was playing mainly house nights at the time,” he explains. “But started to get bored as I wanted to play a mixture of house and breaks as well as the funk, soul, disco and hip-hop stuff I was really into too.”

The night took off, attracting big names including The Stanton Warriors and Plump DJs and eventually led to D-Funk’s first release, the ‘Electrotek’ EP after Dub Pistols headlined one night and Barry Ashworth from the band decided to release Doug’s music on his Westway label. The track found its way onto a TV ad in Portugal, as well as becoming a mainstay on Kiss FM’s breakbeat chart and gave Doug the confidence to pursue a career as a producer as well as a DJ, eventually leading to releases on Adapted Records and Ghetto Funk among countless other labels over the next 15 years. Moving to Sydney Australia in 2009, Doug started his label Upstart Music, releasing his own productions alongside tracks from the likes of Crackerz & Jam, Niko & Lyall and Rogue Robot and later started the funk label Grits N Gravy alongside friend and funk producer Philly Blunt, with the label winning the ‘Best Label’ award at Perth Dance Music Awards in 2010. Since living in Sydney, Doug has held down residencies at The World Bar and The Standard for the best part of a decade, as well as regular slots at Sash, Ivy and Hugos. But there was still demand for him back on the side of the world and he regularly returned to Europe to play at Space Ibiza (including a set at the penultimate night of Carl Cox’s Revolution party) as well as touring in the UK, Europe and Canada.

“The music scene here in Australia is very different to U.K and has definitely influenced what I make and play,” he tells us. “It’s generally more hip hop based and that cut and paste ethic has really suited me and fed into the early funky breaks stuff I did a lot.”

Now 25 years into his career, Doug is about to mark the 10th anniversary of his label Grits ‘N’ Gravy, with a compilation due this year mixed by himself and Philly Blunt, and has been busy producing house, hip hop and nu-disco with his current production partner Mr Doris with the pairs projects being picked up by legendary UK label Jalapeño Records!

10/09/2024

New Logic update!

Anyone used it yet? What are people thoughts?

10/09/2024

New free download! Grimy bassline funk 🔊 My Nikes is a free download from my Soundcloud & Bandcamp (link to both in comments)

08/09/2024

Free tune Friday has been put back to early next week.

Too much fiddling with compressor settings & new toys 😂

06/09/2024

On the 45s at The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre tonight from 8.30-11.30pm. Handy as it’s only 3 streets away from my house. Result

05/09/2024

Tomorrow (that’s Friday) I’ll be dropping a grimey bassline banger!

04/09/2024

New free music coming on Friday!

It's been a while...

03/09/2024

Pretty stoked that in the past 28 days over 1.5k different people have listened to my music on Spotify with over 700 of them being brand new listeners!

It’s still quite mad thinking people all over the planet are listening to my music! All the countries on the map in blue are where it’s been played. All across Africa, South America, pretty much every country in Europe & Asia. It’s mind blowing! 🤯

30/08/2024

GIGS! Back in Sydney & this weekend you'll find me playing music at...
Fri: Buddy’s Bar Newtown (8-12)
Sat: The Vicar (2-7pm)

10/08/2024

UK beer appreciation post! Since I’ve been back in the motherland I’ve been enjoy some damn fine brews & these are a few of the highlights…

I was very surprised to find there’s now a brewery a few fields away from where I grew up in Corston, Wiltshire & is a cracker in an old converted barn. Beautiful spot & delicious beers!

So far my favourite pint had been the aptly names ‘Disco King’ by

With best can artwork by on their ‘Pride Of Kent’ & on their ‘One Eye’. Top quality design 👌🏼

07/08/2024

Here’s ‘Touch Me’ my personal favourite from my new ‘The Album That Never Was EP’ which is out now on Grits N Gravy

06/08/2024

Here’s ’Definition Bass Funk’ from my new ‘The Album That Never Was EP’ on Grits N Gravy

05/08/2024

Here’s some new music from my ‘The Album That Never Was EP’ which is out now on Grits N Gravy

03/08/2024

SINGAPORE! On Sun 18th Aug I’m returning to play music at the beautiful Tanjong Beach Club on Sentosa Island for the afternoon & evening.

I’m very much looking forward to some beach club fun in the sun!

☀️🔊🍻

You can check out my mix from when I played last time (in comments section👇🏼)

01/08/2024

Between ‘04 & ‘09 we ran a party called Break da House (BdH) thats aim was to bring the sound of breaks, electro & eclectic beats to the South Coast. We launched at the legendary K Bar or K1 Experience in Bournemouth in Sept ‘04. One of the slides in this post is the original press release from the launch! As it says in the releases, this was before I was even called D-Funk or D*Funk as I started out. The launch of BdH was pretty much the launch of me properly playing as D-Funk.

BdH started off as a few like minded friends getting together to put on a party and play the music they were passionate about but quickly turned into a fully fledged club event that hosted some of the best artists & crowds in our field. The 2nd photo is when Mixmag listed us as the best recommend night in the South in April ‘05.

Some of the early K Bar nights were total carnage with the El Guapo party being one of the best & the 1st time we hosted Meat Katie being the seminal change from a party to a real event. I still remember pacing round the club before the doors opened and being so nervous hoping that it would be busy! It was.

In ‘06 we moved to the brand new Dusk Till Dawn, a venue I helped set up. This turned into our home for years and suited our funky sounds in the upstairs bar & filthy sounds in the dark basement on the Funktion One sound system that literally shook the room & the DJ booth.

In Feb ‘08 we hosted the launch party for my 1st ever release on Westway Records (the track playing on the post). In the same week, the tune got played on BBC Radio One & topped the Kiss FM breaks chart! I think that was probably the moment when all the years of hard work came together & I realized I really realisedcould make it as an artist.

Break da House was a ride. We had some crazy parties & even crazier after parties. We made life long friends & had some of the very best of times!

The BdH we are Mr Doris & me

Some of the acts that graced out turntables were

31/07/2024

Happy birthday (to me)

30/07/2024

New music out on Spotify now!

The Album That Never Was EP is a 6 track release that spans funk, 2 step, latin, Uk garage & lo fi hip hop.

It’s the first in a string of new music on Grits N Gravy.

26/07/2024

It's release day! 'The Album That Never Was EP' is out on Grits N Gravy

👇👇👇Link to listen in comments below 👇👇👇

25/07/2024

Just discovered a load of old flyers & posters from my Wolverhampton Uni days! Mum had kept a selection of the originals from ‘98 - ‘01. I used to DJ as Doug Funnybone back in those days 😂 Some proper good memories of those nights when I was cutting my teeth as a ‘proper’ DJing playing alongside some of the the countries best.

1 & 2: I warmed up for Scott Bond of the legendary Gatecrasher at The Mezzanine in ‘99. I was proper nervous before going on but I played a really solid warm up set & impressed a number of ppl as that gig in particular open a lot of doors.

3, 4 & 5: The 1st residency I had at Uni in Wolves was at The Beach on a Thurs night. It has some pretty solid line ups & on this occasion listed it in their top monthly events.

6 & 7: I started playing at The Canal Club which was a bit of a Wolves institution. I decided to change my DJ name to Doug Masters as it sounded a bit more classy.

8 & 9: The Honest end of year ball at The Mezzanine on a huge line up! This was one of my most testing gigs ever as 2 weeks prior I’d been mugged & stabbed in the stomach. I was lucky & just escaped death by 2mm! I was so determined to play that party & despite being stitched & bandaged up & in loads of pain I played. I could barely walk after I finished but the reception I got from everyone after I played made up for it. I still get goosebumps thinking of my final tune that night.

22/07/2024

Got some new music coming out on Grits N Gravy on Friday!

20/07/2024

A bit over 10 years ago, and I started putting out tunes on our lil label Grits n Gravy. With 25 releases, a tonne of bootlegs, and now 1 Instagram page 😊 we’re firing things up again with a bunch of releases lined up for this year and beyond.🤘

Go give us a follow for a bunch of funk -

10/07/2024

Been back in Uk less than 24 hours & already been record shopping for some bargains. Classics galore for £3 each! Result.

Cracking little record shop in the beautiful Wiltshire town of Devizes. Go for a dig if you’re in the area 🍩 & for a pint a The Black Swan Inn just nearby.

#45

08/07/2024

UK bound! I’ll be back in the motherland 🇬🇧 9th July - 14th Aug before heading to Singapore to DJ on a beach.

Very much looking forward to being back ‘home’ & see lots of friends & family.

I’m DJing in Bournemouth on Sat 13th July at a secret garden rave up alongside my old buddies & which is going to be insanely fun!

#🇬🇧

05/07/2024

Last weekend in Sydney for a bit as I’m off to play in UK & Singapore but find me playing music at these splendid venues!

Fri: The Vicar (4-11pm)
Sat: East Village Sydney (7-11pm)

04/07/2024

A little while ago I used to call Bournemouth on the south coast of UK home. I lived there for over a decade & made some life long friends there. 2 such characters as Shab Ruffcut & who I’ll be reuniting with on Sat 13th July to play music together after a fair few years!

Shab & I first became good friends after he did the pictures for us at the Break da House launch party. We both started our music production ‘adventure’ at the same time, bouncing early idea off each other & figuring out how Logic worked. He showed me some of the best Kofta places in Bournemouth. We started a DJ double act called Dubplate Disco & did some really really fun gigs together. He’s now gone onto to be Das Special so he must have finally worked out how Logic works!

I met Langers when I first moved to Bmth. We were both part of a DJ collective called Rotation & they decided to put us together to do a b2b set at the old K-Bar (where we ran Break da House for a while). Shortly after that we both became residents at a night called Sound. Tuesday nights at the old Great Escape club. Over the years we’ve done so many gigs together & it’s great to see Langers dusting off the old headphones to no doubt show us all up.

We’ll all be playing music at The Secret Garden Party on Sat 13th July in Bournemouth. It’s at a secret location only revealed once you’ve got a ticket. It’s a free party, there’s only 100 tickets & there a link to get them (if there’s any left) in the comments section below.

02/07/2024

Very productive day in the studio with the legend JERK BOY

Tasty audio treats coming from us soon!

28/06/2024

The yearly Glastonbury fomo has started. One day I’ll go!

Just putting it out there I’m happy to play for beer & a packet of biscuits 🍺🍪

28/06/2024

BOURNEMOUTH! It’s been a little while but I’m coming back on Sat 13th July to play at a secret rave with some of my best old mates.

The Secret Garden Party.
Sat 13th July. 2-10pm.
Strictly 100 (free) tickets.

Tickets drop every 48 hours until they’re gone & there’s a link to the tickets in the comments section below.

Live acts & DJs:
Das Spezial feat Mc Reign
Dunman
Minus Two
BigYellowBalls
Focused
Doug Masters aka D-Funk (that’s me)
Shab Ruffcut & Charlie Lang

20/06/2024

Not a studio day today! Work man mode activated.

19/06/2024

Heading back to the UK in July & August.

Address

Sydney, NSW
2204

Website

http://www.dfunk.co.uk/

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Videos

My Nikes Free Download

New free download! Grimy bassline funk 🔊 My Nikes is a free download from my Soundcloud & Bandcamp (link to both in comments) #freedownload #bass #music

Very much looking forward to playing music at the beautiful Tanjong Beach Club on Sentosa Island in Singapore on Sunday 18th Aug! 🌞🍹🇸🇬

Touch Me

Here’s ‘Touch Me’ my personal favourite from my new ‘The Album That Never Was EP’ which is out now on Grits N Gravy

Definition Bass Funk

Here’s ’Definition Bass Funk’ from my new ‘The Album That Never Was EP’ on Grits N Gravy

Rough Sax

Here’s some new music from my ‘The Album That Never Was EP’ which is out now on Grits N Gravy

Escape preview

NEW MUSIC! Mr Doris & I have got a new remix coming out of 8 Bit Society's 'Escape'. It's our 1st 'official' release of '24! It's out on Soul Central's label Centrl Music to DL from Friday 15th March & for streaming & all platforms on 29th March. We'd love it if you'd pre-save the release (link in comments section) so you get access to it the day it drops. It *REALLY* helps us if you do (so thanks in advance)

Everyone loves a bit of a teaser right?!? Well check out the organs on this bad boy. It’s the latest creation from myself & Mr Doris when we got our hands on 8 Bit Society latest. It’s out soon with more info to follow very shortly! #housemusic #organ #teaser

New freebie from Mr Doris & myself! Direct link to tune in comments #freedowload #cruisecontrol #trueskool

Cruise Control Free Download

Mr Doris & I just dropped a new freebie & our first bit of music of ‘24! It’s actually an old bit of music we’ve made into a new bit of music taking the instrumental of Nightmares On Wax remix of ‘Cruise Control’ which came out on Jam City on both vinyl & digital in ‘21 & paired it with the a dope Roots Manuva vocal. Find the freebie in the comments below 👇🏼

Mr Doris & I are stoked that 3 of our tunes have been included in these 2 great compilations: Jalapeno Funk 14 & BombStrikes Highlight 23! It’s been a huge year for us & these are the icing on the cake.

Ahead of the huge The World Bar - One More Time. reunion party this Sat at Kings Cross Hotel (where I’ll be playing 11-12 in the main bar) I was going back through a load of old photos & events from over the years! I first started playing at Worldy in 2010. In fact the last pic of these tiles is my 1st ever gig there! Sat nights were Wham! In those days & it used to regularly go on till 7 or 8am with all the DJs converging there at the end of the night. There were some crazy unplanned b2b set that happened late. Around ‘12 we stared running the Grits N Gravy parties in the Bordello, the very top room. Those partied used to proper go off! I remember once all the other room apart from the back bar had shut & we ran on another 2 hours as no one would leave. After the lock out came in around ‘13 Cakes & The Wall we’re pretty much the only events that were actually doing better in the cross. The queue used to go right up the street! The best thing about Worldy wasn’t the Teapots or the amazing DJs they had or crazy late night antics. It was community they built. I made so many friends there, it was awesome! #worldbar #tbt #sydney #kingscross #teapots

Release day! And what a release we have for you… Mr Doris & I are incredibly proud to give to you the ‘Feel Good’ feat Cantaloop & Nell Shakespeare - Singer & Guitarist / ‘Back In The Day’ feat MysDiggi remix project! A who’s who of their respective genres, King of beats Krafty Kuts, lo fi house maestro Thatmanmonkz / Shadeleaf Music, balearic dub aficionado George Solar & the champion of funk Smoove all weaved their magic on our music & we couldn’t be happier with the result. There is literally something for everyone in here ❤️ It’s out now on Jalapeno Records so please go have a listen & let us know what you think! Link to release on all platforms in comments below 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

Feel Good / Back In The Day out now!

I am beyond excited to say that today Mr Doris & my double header 'Feel Good / Back In The Day' is out on Jalapeno Records! YEARS of work went into this release & for it to finally be out is literally a dream come true. It's by far our biggest & best release to date & the crew we've assembled for this knocked it out of the park! Huge props to MysDiggi, Cantaloop & Nell Shakespeare - Singer & Guitarist. In the coming week there's going to be an insanely good video dropping but, for now, it's with great honour & pride that I can say... This is 'Feel Good' & 'Back In The Day' we *REALLY* hope you enjoy them! Link to full release in comments section below.

New remix out on vinyl! Mr Doris & I got busy with a sweet funky disco/house remix of IAN ASH & Ella May ‘I want To Thank You’ which is out now on BOOGIE BUTT RECORDS! Here’s a little clip of the remix spinning on the wax! Link to the vinyl & digital versions in comments section below… 🕺🏼🪩🕺🏼 #vinyl #housemusic #newmusic

All Down sitting at #2 on the Juno Download hip hop chart! Not bad as it’s only been out 4 days! You can stream it or buy it: https://fanlink.to/AllDownRMX #hiphop #newmusic #junodownload

Mr Doris & my tune 'All Down' that features N'fa Jones & Cantaloop has had a huge facelift from DJ Vadim, The Rebel & Also Vanucci! The remix pack is out now on BombStrikes & amiable from all sites & platforms: https://fanlink.to/AllDownRMX

The amazing DJ Vаdim remix of Mr Doris & my ‘All Down’ feat N'fa Jones & Cantaloop is exclusively available to stream on Spotify! The full remix pack drops across all sites/platforms on BombStrikes on Fri 2nd

DJ Vadim ‘All Down’ intro

🎶 Yaaaagaaaayooo! The legend DJ Vаdim has remixed Mr Doris & my - All Down ft. N'fa Jones & Cantaloop! It’s our latest release on BombStrikes & it’s available to stream now! The full pack also includes remixes by Aldo Vanucci and The Rebel DJ (out on 2nd June across all sites) Links to stream and pre-save the full pack below. ⤵️ 👉▶️DJ Vadim Remix: https://fanlink.to/AllDownVadim 👉🔜Full Remix Pack: https://fanlink.to/AllDownRMX

Classic Big Mac (Clip) [Free Grits EP]

Classic Big Mac! *Free Grits N Gravy Download* 2nd track from my 'Free Grits EP' which has just been released on GnG. Another mid tempo funky bass number. This ones a fun one! ENJOY! Available to stream in full and/or download for free from Soundcloud & Bandcamp links in comments section.