DaphniJiaolongReview

Few side projects of 2012 have generated as much anticipation and expectation as Daphni, the feminine, club-friendly alias of Caribou’s Dan Snaith. Jiaolong is the Canadian’s debut album under this particular moniker, and it's driven by the energy and dark corners of the dancefloor.

Having rediscovered the joys of the club environment, Snaith compiled this collection quickly. Tracks were recorded in a spontaneous manner, Snaith working at a frantic pace. The end products are unsurprising in their commitment to progression, and to this musician’s desire to blindside and surprise.

Gone is the grandiose bombast of Caribou, replaced by a focus on granular, analogue sounds. It’s a striking departure, and much of Jiaolong feels rough and skeletal as a result. Ahora is perhaps the most familiar-feeling number, offering restraint as contrast to the dancefloor drive evident elsewhere.

Opener Yes, I Know comes alive with dirty rhythms, before the 8-bit tilt of Jiao sends the track skittering on a crazed tangent. Ye Ye bubbles with a heavy dose of underground nastiness, and a loving, futuristic remix of Cos-Ber-Zam’s Ne Noya gets itself an album home after months of DJ playlist rotation.

Light zips on a skewed, paradiddled journey of phaser guns and snares. Pairs drops the tribal rhythms, and Long hisses with Vangelis distortion. Each track works towards a single purpose: to get the listener up and moving. While these songs are direct arrangements, the diversity on offer makes for a rewarding listen.

Jiaolong is an effortless collection that just won’t quit. Centred on an ethos of crisp percussion, playful melody and insistent beats, its minimalist construct is Snaith’s purest transition to the dancefloor yet. For one of music’s most meticulous minds, it turns out working on impulse suits him very well indeed.