Daedelus – Of Snowdonia (Plug Research, 2004)
The first time most heard of Daedelus was as a result of the Mush release The Weather. That initial exposure to bizarre beats, put together from myriad sources including kids’ songs and toy instruments, coupled with the rantings of Busdriver and Radioinactive, endeared listeners to the producer. Ignorant of his previous solo work, Invention (2002), Of Snowdonia is a welcome profile raiser.
Apparently, Snowdon is a mountain range in the north of Wales, where the highest point on the island can be found. Now, the invocation of such an area, one that possesses so much serene, natural beauty is obfuscating. If this were a Bert Jansch record or even a hillbilly record with slow and subtle bluegrass melodies tinged with pre-war blues, the reference would be understood, but electronic music and nature, in most minds, do not invoke one another. Not to say that this record lacks organic melodies, it does not. The melodies on “Taking Wing” or “Telling Meaning” are evidence of that. But tracks like “Overdressed” or “Pocket Watch Pulse” are rife with technology. Even the echo on the drum featured in the first track, “Snowed In”, is not a window to nature, but a comment upon the techniques utilized today in electronic music wizardry and studio mastery.
An exceptional effort though. Some may want to compare Daedelus with Scott Herren, but that’s simply unfair. While the two work roughly in the same medium, the results that they both produce are drastically different. Nor is El-P, another producer garnering much attention of late, an apt colleague. Daedelus has no artistic peers, only colleagues.
