“Funk Duster” is a new track from Austin-based artist Viben, who crafts an inventive blend of sophisti-pop and funk.
“‘Funk Duster’ is about trying to forgo the world and the people that surround you, in hopes that by focusing only on your work (in my case music), you will find happiness,” Viben says.
“This misguided belief, that wrapping yourself in solitude would take away pain from the outside world, succeeded in allowing me to create a lot of music but failed in its ultimate goal. And the only ideas that came out of it were about being alone. There has always been this hope that one day the music would hit with people and somehow, all of a sudden, I would be less alone.”
Viben is influenced by Steely Dan, Talking Heads, Tame Impala, Toro y Moi, Curtis Mayfield, and Daft Punk. “I gave up on trying to make bangers years ago. Now I just make what I want. Sometimes that means the song takes a drastic turn halfway through, sometimes that means the chorus never happens again.”
Almost all of the sounds, with the exception of drums, are recorded in Viben’s room directly, from his keyboard. No midi is involved. “This is so I can recreate sounds live without a computer,” he says.