In Greek mythology, Daedalus was known as an inventor, although Alfred Darlington (nee Weisberg-Roberts) also cites the character Stephan Dedalus in James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man -- as well as the ship in the Japanese cartoon Robotech -- as equally valid reasons for his namesake. Despite the fact that he was formally trained on double bass and bass clarinet, had studied jazz at USC, and could play additional instruments such as the guitar and accordion, Daedelus chose to go the electronica route, often incorporating samples from the '30s and '40s into his IDM and left-field hip-hop.
On Bespoke, Daedelus takes a few cues from cosmopolitan house and stuttering techno figures and adding guest vocalists Bilal, the Bird and the Bee's Inara George, and multi-instrumentalist Amir Yaghmai. It's a good thing he added vocalists, as this gives the songs focus when they otherwise would be free flowing beats without much direction. My album pick is "Penny Loafers" because I love the juxtaposition between Inara and what would otherwise be a run of the mill instrumental hip hop album. I have to say this is the first Daedelus album that caught my attention for more than one listen.
Take a listen to my jam, Penny Loafers, here.
Get your own copy of Bespoke here.
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