News / / 20.09.12

DAPHNI

Jiaolong (Jialong)

16/20

Having already released a phenomenal split 12” with Four Tet and remixing the likes of Emeralds and Virgo Four, Caribou mainman Dan Snaith has already proved his Daphni project is more than an exercise in dance music dilettantism. As such, it’s hardly a surprise he’s pulled off the normally tricky task of creating a cohesive, immersive house album. From the raucous gut-bucket Southern soul samples that power opening track Yes, I Know to former single Ye Ye’s gritty, acidic Afro-futurism, via the stiff Teutonic-Orientalism found on Light and the jazzy, downbeat, Detroit beatdown throwback workout Pairs, Snaith shows himself to be an exceptionally talented magpie, happy to take a syncopated snatch from one side of the globe and pair if off with the indigenous melody of another continent and culture without coming across as a Resident Advisor assisted ethnologist. There’s a real sense of confidence and a percussive and melodic talent that propels these tracks into unexpected, but hugely pleasurable, territory. Synth lines gurgle at glorious odds with chimes and the Arabesque melodic flourishes are a joy, while arpeggios run on the spot atop of deep-space bleeps. Jiaolong’s gorgeous collection is the work of a producer at the top of his game.

 

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Words: Josh Baines

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