Daedelus

Part Aphex Twin, part DJ Shadow (circa Entroducing…), and part Coldcut, prolific IDM/electronica/hip-hop producer Daedelus ultimately has a sound all of his own. He drops one of the more interesting albums in recent memory with Love To Make Music To.

It’s experimental yet melodic—a feat only a classically trained musician could pull off. His background playing the double bass, clarinet and guitar, as well as the time spent studying jazz, have all given Daedelus the ability to reinvent himself with each release while still retaining the underlying structuring that makes his music so listenable.

Love To Make Music To is one of those albums that draws you in slowly, intriguing you with the complexity and tonal shifts from track to track. It starts out on the mellow tip with “Fair Weather Friends” and “Make It So.” He then shifts gears into slightly acidic, techno take on hip-hop production that definitely conjures up Coldcut’s style on Sound Mirrors.

Without warning, “Get Off Your HiHats” comes out of leftfield with a retro sounding, Latin jazz number (here comes the musical training). Somehow, it all flows together, stirring up that feeling you get lying on the beach with the earphones in and eyes closed as a breeze passes over you.

And then it’s back into the IDM/experimental grinding, robotic, staccato guitar riffs of “Hrs:Mins:Secs” only to get dropped into an Arabesque take on Pharrell’s syncopated style. And so the record progresses for 15 tracks.

Unfortunately, the first half is slightly more interesting than the second. Or maybe it’s just that all of the jumping around eventually creates a disjointed listening experience. Sometimes it sounds as if you’ve wandered on to the set of Fantasia. He pulls things back around on the second half with “Drummery Jam,” where his musical training and sampling skills combine for atmospheric affect that defies genre classification.

For anyone that appreciates something interesting, produced with veteran restraint from going overboard into overproduction, Love To Make Music To is absolutely a worthwhile endeavor.

—Chris Nelson
08.15.08

On his 2006 album Denies the Day's Demise, Daedelus created a sunny whirl of chirpy electronics, frothy samples, and pervasive Brazilian influences that was arguably the best record of his career. Proving that he's not content to make the same record over and over, on 2008's Love to Make Music To Daedelus strips back his sound a bit (a tiny bit) and pumps up the jams a lot. Using a bunch of guest appearances from rappers and vocalists and a beat-heavy sound, he's focused more on the dancefloor than in the past. Instead of just making a straight-up party record, though, the same sense of lighthearted, anything goes soundcraft flows through the album like great bolts of sunshine. Try as he might to make hedonistic, druggy tunes, Daedelus can't help throwing in every sonic idea that might (or might not) fit into his songs, turning them into wonderfully top-heavy and warped jams that hit both your feet and your brain equally. Even the silliest song on the record, "Bass It In" (nice Buffalo Gals sample!), features vocals that are sped up and slowed down at random, making it impossible to enjoy without noticing how clever the production is. And the production is clever. Also, smart and fun and thrillingly daft. In other words, just like every other Daedelus album. Mixed in with the party jams are a couple of more thoughtful tracks (like the melancholy "Only for the Heartstrings" and the fractured New Order tribute "Make It So") that give the record some dynamic flow. The various guest appearances add some variety, too. The rapping from Sa-Ra's Taz Arnold on a couple tracks, the soulful vocals from Paperboy and Erika Rose (on the almost radio-ready "My Beau"), and vocodered harmonies from Laura Darling on the icy smooth "If We Should" are all positive additions to the album. N'fa's innocuous verses on "Twist the Kids" are a definite negative, though. Luckily, they are the only blot on an otherwise excellent record. Love to Make Music To may not be the best Daedelus album, but it's not far from it -- and that makes it just about the best electronic pop you are likely to hear in 2008. ~ Tim Sendra, All Music Guide