Alfred the Great drops a bomb to rip up the nu-“California” stereotype established by Phantom Fucking Planet in 2002 and continued until whenever The OC croaked. How much would you rather hear this than that wrist-cutting-in-the-sunshine sop that soundtracked Adam Brody’s amateur neuroses? (Let the pro’s handle this, son.)
Maybe I’m biased. Daedelus’s original last name had a Weiss in it and he grew up a few miles from me. His California is close to my own. But this song is gentle, gauzy, unnerving and beautiful. You will like it too. It can be found on the excellent Gem Drops Two charity compilation, curated by the Dropping Gems imprint. Sadly, there are no Mobb Deep tracks. Instead, the label wrangles precious stones from a lineup of lesser-known but highly-gifted beatmakers from S. Maharba to Low Enders Strangeloop and Co Fee. The embedded stream is below the jump and if you have the means, buy it and donate to a good cause (cancer research).
As for “California,” the only question is whether or not it’s better than Low’s version.
Download:
MP3: Daedelus-“California”
