Warm fuzzies aside, I most recently experienced musical euphoria upon hearing Daedelus.
By ASI GALfire dancer 88 224(photo credit: Courtesy)
Human beings can't stand boredom. We need variety in almost every aspect of our lives. We buy new cars, interesting foods and seek out exotic vacation spots the world over just to keep ourselves interested. Among the myriad joys we experience in our search for variation, are those that we need purely as a means to uplift our souls. One such joy is music.
Obviously then, there is the constant search for new and different music. Every now and again I'll come across something that I have never heard before and find my spirit lifted. Warm fuzzies aside, I most recently experienced this euphoric phenomenon upon hearing Daedelus a.k.a. Alfred Darlington, an artist who, it seems, is also engaged in a spiritual search for life's varieties.
In 2003, Daedelus, already with a successful drum'n base album behind him, invented the monome, which he describes as, "an untraditional electronic instrument that allows massive improvisation." Since then he has been signed by the Ninja Tunes label and produced five critically acclaimed albums, over the course of which he has collaborated with the 2 Live Crew (yeah, it's just one of those things), Justice, DJ Assault as well as having appeared in Erykah Badu's latest video.
In his music video for the single "Just Briefly," Daedelus is seen collecting sounds from everywhere, then standing in front of a big canvas where he combines all those sounds into a singular melody. Actually, that is a fair description of most his music, which is reminiscent of Air to Massive Attack and Moby to Tricky. Hell, if you really take a listen, you may even hear hints of Prodigy. Then again, you'll probably decipher some interesting musical twist in every track. Daedelus' wonderful range of sound spans from singing children to a trombone playing backwards with an old-time piano mixed in. Then, stopping the music for a second, he'll return to the beat leaving the ear interested and the body moving.
I must admit that I am still finding it difficult to find just the right words to describe Daedelus' music. For a few days now I have been listening to his album Music to Make Love To over and over. And, it's still hard. Some tunes are decidedly more difficult on the ear than others, but those others that are good are damn good. As for his stage presence, Daedelus dons a Victorian style suit while performing, in stark contrast to some of the ultra-modern sounds that emerge from the Monome. But when it comes to variety and musical food for thought, go to see Daedelus - your soul will thank you for it.
Daedelus performs at Tel Aviv's The Block, 35 David Chachami St. July 18 at 11 p.m. Opening act is Digital Me and Radio Trip. Tickets cost NIS 50-70. For more information and to listen to Daedelus music visit www.myspace.com/daedelusdarling.
