After a recent collaboration with Mac Miller, Dâm-Funk is back with the lead single to his latest EP, Architecture II. The Stones Throw artist, hailing from Pasadena, CA, specializes in immaculate funk beats. He locks in on groovy drum rhythms and lays down retrofuturist synth pads over the beat, adding and subtracting pieces of the track and altogether creating an undeniably chic atmosphere. Without the overuse of reverbs and delays, his synthwork can come off as a little dry at first, but after repeat listens the openness of his music is both refreshing and unique. To Dâm-Funk, funk is a way of living, “a feeling of struggle and staying cool through it all.”

“In The City” kicks off with a head-bobbing drum pattern, rich with lots of percussion and a driving beat. His trademark synth stabs come in, followed soon after by an ascending piano melody. The fun really starts after the groundwork of the track is made, as Dâm-Funk switches up the 808 claps and chords every once in a while, sprinkling funky easter eggs across the four minute cut. While this track doesn’t offer the highs and lows of artists with more complicated songwriting, there is something indelibly captivating about Dâm-Funk’s carefree style of beats. If there’s anything to learn from “In The City,” it’s all about the ride, not the destination.