Chris Daly doesn’t smoke stems, seeds, or sticks.
“Sonically adventurous soundscapes” has become a descriptor of beat music that says nothing and something. However, I’m hard pressed to think of a better way to describe the latest from Kratos Himself, the somehow aptly titled “Dandelion Seeds.” The Dutch producer, who shares a name with one of the most violent characters in video games, paints the best picture of light, airy beings dancing on the wind since Disney went Fantasia.
Opener “Razor Leaves,” a mixture of rainy percussion, angelic strings dappled with soulful vocal snippets, and just the right amount of synths, gives way to the more rhythmic and percussive “Emerald City.” The latter has a snap to it not often found outside of bedsheets being folded outdoors before approaching thunderstorms descend. “Dandelion” dials things back to mellow, with static as much a part of the instrumentation as the heavenly vox or finger snaps. “Bloom” replaces the gauze and mist of its predecessor with clean Mideastern strings and singers. And so plays out this gentle and enjoyable six-track EP.
It’s easy to imagine this as the soundtrack for a Nat Geo special chronicling the journey of seedling. All that’s missing is a Morgan Freeman voiceover and some shockingly vivid, slow motion camera work. The back and forth juxtaposition of different approaches to achieve the same blunted state of mind is never jarring, always mellow — like a dandelion seed dancing upon the wind. Or maybe I’m just really fucking high right now from eating some of those brownies I baked. Coincidentally, this is probably the best time to listen to this kind of music in the first place. Second place? Well played, Kratos Himself. Well played, indeed.
