Past Works, Daphni :: Jiaolong [2012]

Cherry [2023]

Dan Snaith, principalement connu sous le nom de Caribou, a sorti son troisième album ”Cherry” sous son projet et pseudonyme moins connu, Daphni. Dan Snaith possède un doctorat en mathématiques et il fusionne la musique avec les mathématiques. Sur ce projet, la concentration est sur les édits et les répétitions, permettant aux concepts les plus bruts de vraiment s’épanouir, contrairement à Caribou, avec des morceaux entièrement texturés et resplendissants. Cet album possède une synergie unique qui combine les répétitions envoûtantes et les structures rythmiques des œuvres passées de Daphni et le paysage sonore de Caribou.

Dan Snaith, mostly known as Caribou, released his third album ‘’Cherry’’ under his lesser-known project and club monicker Daphni. Snaith possesses a Ph.D. in Mathematics and he merges music with math. Through Daphni, he focuses on edits and loops, allowing his rawest dancefloor concepts to truly flourish; as opposed to Caribou, with fully textured and resplendent tracks. This album possesses a unique chemistry that combines the entrancing repetitions and beat-structures of Daphni’s past works and Caribou’s lush soundscape.

The title track ‘Cherry’ upholds an audacious approach, with twirls and swirls that relentlessly sustain itself, and evoke almost an uncomfortable tension throughout the track. As the signature tune on this LP, ‘Cherry’ is a testament that showcases the bold and daring turn that Snaith opts to take through Daphni. This uncanny atmosphere is something Daphni is most comfortable with, and this mood is maintained and diffused on several occasions over this album’s listening.

A characteristic leaving its mark on various of the tracks is that there is no introduction, and the flow between the tracks is like jumping from one idea to another where the transition is sudden and brusque. This leads to the focus being scattered on this LP, and no clear mental shape can be attributed to the album’s overall feeling. Nonetheless, this does not prevent this release from being massively vibrant. The absence of focus actually provides an exciting dynamic and unexpected movement, such as the rapid-pace on ‘Arrow’ and the laidback spacious synth on ‘Arp Breaks’.

The tracks themselves are not too long with an average of 3mins per piece,  and the juxtapositions throughout the album make it more accessible to new and cultivated ears of the genre. If there is a track you’re not fan of, it’s not after long that the next tune will be playing.

Our notable tracks on this album start with ‘Always There’, full of energy with an oriental punch. It’s a piece to include in a DJ set to raise the temp, as the track immediately stands out amongst the herd. The textures range from the rapid guitar lines and shakers, and mystified by a reed instrument nearly absorbing the audience’s focus entirely; all before the drop kicks in.

‘Mania’ lays a classic house-infused vibe, and propels a pulsating energy with the element of ethereal and spaced-out keyboard melodies. This track grooves hard and is utterly captivating with the optimum sound installation. ‘Clavicle’ is soothing and possesses this old-school Detroit house, followed by the ‘Cloudy’ that has a similar beat-structure along with an unbelievably pleasant keyboard structure that knocks with a high note and descends by several lower steps. 

This album charms the grooviest of all and is available on Bandcamp directly for £7 in the digital format and £18 for the wax.