Thursday, March 5, 2009

Wow and Flutter

Electronic artist Daedelus (or Alfred Darlington) takes an anything goes approach with his music. One moment he could be laying down a hard beat for an MC like MF Doom to spit rhymes over, the next he could bring a lovely psychedelic pop ditty or something aimed strictly at the dance floor. Generally, don’t expect one of his albums to dwell too much on one side of his varied persona.

He’s an inventive soul, which fits his chosen namesake given Daedelus is known as an inventor in Greek mythology. This could be taken as a brazen ego-stroking move on his part, but Daedelus’ music backs him up admirably.

The productions on his most recent album for Ninja Tunes, 2008’s Love To Make Music To, is typical in its try-anything style. There’s your slow-burning grooves followed by bouncy up-tempo numbers before moving on to who knows what. It took me some time to appreciate the album to its fullest, but I’m now inclined to say it’s one of my favourites of last year.

The hottest jam title for Love To Make Music To is owned by a slightly repetitive yet incredibly infectious song. “Make It So” was the first single off the album, which I didn’t realize until writing this post. Whoever made the call has got solid pop instincts.

Featuring the vocals of Michael Johnson – not to be confused with the American track star (I assume?) – “Make It So” sounds like a sunny, long lost New Order track. The lyrics concern a souring relationship where hope remains for some sort of reconciliation. Daedelus’ production work latches onto the hopeful nature of the song and builds lots of momentum, adding layer upon layer of synth-tastic wonder alongside a merry beat.

Musically, it’s highly romantic sounding; it literally makes me want to love every single woman on Earth. As this is impossible, I’ve lately settled on just listening to “Make It So” excessively. Once its effect wears off, I’ll have to scour the Internet for a 12-inch copy of New Order’s “The Perfect Kiss” single. Then I'll continue to swoon.