The Witzard

Jeremy Toy is an extremely talented singer, song-writer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer hailing from Auckland, New Zealand . Toy has an Indie-Pop/Shoegaze band called She's So Rad with his wife, Anji and also, moonlights as "Basement" Funk originator Leonard Charles . Although, he's been recording and self-releasing music as Leonard Charles for quite a few years now, his 2016 Basement Donuts album is what really first pinged on our radar; an expansive 31-track album, Basement Donuts is a stylistic re-imagining of J Dilla 's magnum opus and final record, Donuts , on its 10th anniversary. Charles has since released an unofficial cover of Madlib, M.E.D. & Blu 's "The Turn Up" and ALL NIGHT LONG EP with Reggie Blunt & Jellphonic , as well as one-off collaborations with fellow Kiwis , Team Dynamite and long-time Dilla affiliate, Guilty Simpson . Leonard & Guilty first teamed up for "BREAKING OVER YOU," which was ...

"When Reggie Blount came to New Zealand last, me, him, @LeonardCMusic & @kutcorners united to do these Rick James covers. Reg on all vocals! I am so proud of these tracks and my Funky street brothers!" Kiwi multi-instrumentalist and producer @jellphonic recently wrote on Twitter . Taking inspiration from Rick James' Vanity 6 -esque girl group, Mary Jane Girls' 1983 single "All Night Long," Reggie Blount & Jellphonic formed a loose collective with Charles and DJ Kutcorners . Jellphonic & Reggie had, in fact, worked together some six years prior on "Sexxy" from Jellphonic & Zackey Force Funk 's Clone Crown Ltd. 12-inch, "100 Snakes" and again, on "PUMP" from HIT+RUN 's 2014 777 singles series. Leonard Charles & Jellphonic , on the other hand, had previously collaborated on numerous remixes including "Can't Buy My Love LA," "Flashback '92," "SMOKE N...

"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 ...