Daedelus - Fair Weather Friends EP Review

Daedelus
Fair Weather Friends
EP
(Ninja Tunes)

Alfred Darlington may be a renowned producer of some of the finest electronic artists of the last decade, not to mention a pretty unique remix specialist too, but under the guise of Daedelus, you're probably advised to just lock him in a room and let him get on with it.

Why? Simply because he does anything but what most people would have expected, is never afraid to take chances, and as a result, the end product is usually most enthralling.

'Fair Weather Friends', his latest release for Ninja Tunes, is no exception to the rule. Comprising of five tracks, Daedelus (as we shall know him for the remainder of this piece) switches from retro-esque hip hop to minimalist techno via the scabby confines of early Gatecrasher with the greatest of ease. More importantly, the music contained on this EP is as pleasing on the ears as it would be to the feet and synapse if played out loud in a club on a Saturday night.

What Daedelus manages to achieve here is a stamp of authenticity that clearly points back to the creator, so whether he's encroaching on Go! Team territory on the upbeat confines of the title track or switching to the slightly more leftfield exercises you'd probably expect the likes of Autechre or Photek to knock out on the surreptitious 'El Subidon', there's always a brief respite of calm to land proceedings firmly back in familiar Daedelus (or just Darlington?) territories.

While not quite as ambitious as his 'Denies The Day's Demise' opus, 'Fair Weather Friends' is a timely reminder of a supremely talented, and largely underrated operator at his tenacious best.

8/10
Dom Gourlay