When you get to a certain point in your career, be it as a musician, a writer, or a professional athlete, it seems like the idea of coasting and putting in less effort than your early days, becomes appealing.
That is to say, among the artists that exist today, it's not uncommon to find that many of them have done the work, put in the blood and sweat, reaped the benefits, and now find themselves in a position where they can produce mediocre work and garner a comfortable response. They coast. They land on the radio. They make talk show appearances. They know that their following is dictated by numbers, by albums sold and awards won.
For someone who has established himself as a staple of the electronic music movement and experimental genre in general, Daedelus is not one of those people. He did the work, earned his name, gathered a substantial and devoted/loving following, and is highly regarded as a master of sounds and soundboard technique. And at this point in his career, having made music for nearly 15 years, he's shooting for the stars and not giving up once he's landed on one. He very well could settle. But he's not done innovating.
I've experienced Daedelus now in two entirely different settings. One, accompanied by Shigeto and a number of other fantastic musicians, at Littlefield in Brooklyn earlier this year. And the other, this past weekend, at Villain (thanks to MeanRed productions!). While the first experience was largely influenced by the inclusion of live instrumentation, the more recent one was what I would consider to be a more common "Daedelus" performance.
But by saying that it was common, I actually mean that there was nothing predictable about it. I brought a friend with me who had been previously unfamiliar with the musical sounds of Daedelus, and he told me that when he sat down to listen and acquaint his ears with the man's music, he had absolutely no idea how to place it into a genre. It could be anything from hip-hop, to experimental jazz, to soulful R&B, all sampled and pieced in a way that feels like a series of incomplete ideas that come together to form one larger, simple, and beautiful thought. No beats are missed, and each transition is as smooth as his style will allow it to be.
I can always appreciate a performer who gets just as sweaty, if not more, than the audience that witnesses the performance. The movement was felt throughout the venue, and everybody had a different way of allowing their bodies to react.
As if you needed any more confirmation that this musician is just as humble and grateful as he appears to be on stage, the last time I saw him perform, I remember approaching him after his set was over and giving him a hug. I just wanted to let him know that I was grateful for his talents and musicianship. Those comments were met with genuine and wholehearted gratitude, endless humility and warmth. It wasn't an act. The conversation was short and sweet, and I could not forget it.
I chose this song to pair with my review because once again, it's unexpected. It's especially unexpected after having enjoyed the exquisitely calculated chaos of sound matched and chopped together to make new, gorgeous rhythms. But the unexpected seems to be the theme of this review, and I love Daedelus for that. May he continue to grace us with surprise and new discoveries. Cheers to the anti-coaster.
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