She's So Rad's Jeremy Toy Transforms Into "Basement Funk" Pioneer Leonard Charles for Donuts Covers Album, Basement Donuts (The Witzard Interview)
"I was asked to perform at a J Dilla Foundation fundraiser at a bar in Auckland, Neck of The Woods, 13th Feb. 2016 to celebrate the music of J Dilla and to also raise funds. My biggest influences as a producer are Pete Rock, No I.D. Diamond D, DJ Premier, and J Dilla. So, to be asked to play the fundraiser was a big deal for me. I wanted to do something on the night that would capture the creative essence of what I hear in J Dilla's work. To me, Donuts, is the ultimate expression of creativity. I remember first hearing it and being overwhelmed by how much emotion it stirred in me. It has everything: hard beats, mind-blowing sample chops, lyrical message, and some subliminal heavy sh*t... so, for the gig, I thought it was worth going all out and trying something really extreme—to cover Donuts as note-for-note, track-for-track as possible, but in a Basement Funk/home studio vibe. I had spent a year experimenting with modding old Roland drum machines, building 8-bit synths out ...