Bassrush

Best known for continually pushing the frontiers of bass, FuntCase continues to endure, having repped Circus Records for nearly a decade. Being on top means bringing up the next generation and that’s exactly what Funt has done on his latest venture centered on the acronym DPMO (aka “Don’t Piss Me Off”). More than just an idea, the DPMO project acts as an outlet for his favorite set destroyers, bringing together a plethora of fresh new talent alongside heavy-hitting professionals like his long-time partner in crime, Cookie Monsta.

While rumors swirl on what’s next for DPMO, Team Bassrush knows for sure that FuntCase has plenty of new music on deck ahead of his Los Angeles stop this Friday night at the Belasco Theater (full details and tickets here). With Phiso at his side, there’s no doubting this leg of the DPMO tour is bound to get messy, so just ahead of the carnage we grabbed a quick word with the man himself to learn more about the origins of his latest brand venture and to catch up on tour life.

How did the DPMO concept first start?
The project really just stemmed from my track of the same name. I’d had the idea to start a few projects and DPMO was going to be the name for them. The first project was this compilation. I’d been trying to push new artists everywhere, including to Circus. Turns out the guys at Circus had a meeting and decided to just let me have my own release projects as I had so many unreleased dubs from numerous talents, so naturally I decided to call it DPMO and start the brand. I have a tour called DPMO now and I have more projects in the pipeline, which I can’t wait to get off the ground properly and announce soon.

The Funt merch has really taken off! How did those designs come to be? Will there be DMPO designs coming in the future?
Well, the DPMO clothing line is a future project itself. I’ve been wearing bits here and there and people have been catching on to them. The FuntCase X 2FUKDUP long sleeves were just a project I started with my boy Memo at 2FUKDUP to create a long sleeve design I had in my head for a while. Somehow it took off and it’s properly taken over every show. So crazy! [Laughs]

The new comp really packs a punch. Which ones are you getting the most feedback on?
All of them are really getting properly good feedback but the front-runners seem to be “Perish Song” by Phiso and “Prismalorg” by Infekt. But if you’d looked at the Beatport Top 100 say a week ago, every single track from the compilation was in it and between six to eight of them were in the Top 20; it’s really taken off amazingly so far!

What was the hardest part about putting together the compilation?
The hardest part was finding good music honestly. There’s tons of good music about but I’m extremely picky and hopefully that’ll be noticeable to the quality of the release.

Will there be a sequel?
Yes! I’ve actually started signing for DPMO 2 the very second DPMO 1 was given in to Circus to schedule its release. DPMO 2, I think, may actually be more insane. Am super excited to get it heard in the coming months at the shows I’m playing!

Speaking of shows, we can’t wait to have you and Phiso roll through and shred Friday night, especially as you’ve been touting your tour buddy Phiso for a bit. It seems like a great match up for the shows.
Yeah, exactly. I’m a huge fan of his music right now; he’s ahead of pretty much anyone else in the game in terms of making absolute bangers and his style of production. I feel like he’s only gotten most of his exposure through his hit track “Jotaro” and genuinely feel like he needs and deserves a much wider and bigger audience to showcase what he’s about. Hopefully this tour will really get him a foot in the door of the dubstep scene.