Yes, it’s President’s day, so in honor of that snuffed-out, wooden-teethed, powdered wig-wearer who never met a cherry tree he couldn’t chop, sloth and languor are the order of the day. However, it is also Chinese New Year, which means that it’s appropriate to unveil “Order of the Golden Dawn,” the first single from Daedelus’ Brainfeeder-released soundtrack to the Boxer Rebellion. If you don’t know what the Boxer rebellion is, there is Wikipedia – in short, it involves opium, magical powers, and karate. Enough said.
However, there is much to be said about the song itself, featuring a gorgeous vocal from Laura Darlington and a smoked-out groove that suggests Caetano Veloso gone Low End Theory. Obviously, like Parker Lewis, the concept of Tropicalia beat music cannot lose. In addition, Alfred Darlington has anted up a promo mix in support of his Magical Properties tour currently barnstorming the east coast. Nosaj Thing and Jogger will be there. I recommend eating a weed brownie or four and checking it out if it comes through your town. Either way, Gung Hay Fat Choy.
Because if nothing else, my jangled mind is a sucker for “whoa trippy” visuals, garish coats, and a tastefully employed Smashing Pumpkins sample. Consequently, Daedelus delivers in a way his hubristic namesake could only manage to descend. Also, because I have an interview up at Pop and Hiss with the dapper dandy himself, discussing his new Brainfeeder EP, The Boxer Rebellion, and his favorite music of the year. I didn’t ask him where he gets his Edwardian wardrobe, but I imagine that can be saved for another convo. As a minor consolation, there is a Martin Van Buren reference.
Granted, I am biased in favor of the diaspora of displaced Weiss’ (his original name is Weisberg-Roberts, but since switched in favor of the more mellifluous-sounding Darlington). But Daedelus is one of the most underrated producers around and this blog has done a particularly poor job of keeping up with his labyrinthine Lil Wayne-sprawl of a catalogue. In an attempt to ameliorate that shoddiness, here are a few of his finer non-bespoke moments.
The mutual admiration society between Daedelus and The Low End Theory always made sense. Since ‘01, Alfred Darlington (he of the best chops since Ambrose Burnside), has aspired towards a futuristic blur of hip-hop, dance, and grimy, glitchy beats–the same combination favored at the Lincoln Heights hang-out. Last year, he dropped Live at Low End Theory on Daddy Kev’s Alpha Pup label, a record aptly described by Mike Orme, as “gauzy re-interpretations of his own work [that] take on a whole new life as dance music just as critics and fans were writing him off as a niche commodity.”
Since then, the dapper Daedelus has stayed consistently on-point, most recently making the de rigeur stop on Mary Ann Hobbs BBC1 show last Wednesday and dropping a mix of unreleased and classic material from his Ninja Tune and Plug Research catalogue. Along for the ride is Brainfeeder prospect, Lorn, who laces a similarly scorching set from his own stash. Somewhere along the way, there are Joy Orbison, Nosaj Thing, Shackleton, and Madvillain tunes. Good times.
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