SECURE SHOPPING
When Dalhous originally appeared on Blackest Ever Black in 2011 under the name Young Hunting, Scottish duo Marc Dall and Alex Ander stood out amongst the likes of Raime, Regis and Tropic of Cancer for their singular take on chamber pop. Heavily treating their string samples to create cinematic, baroque backdrops for their half sung narratives, The Night Of The Burning was an EP that created the distinct sensation of watching a satanic order performing a ritual sacrifice in a remote church somewhere in medieval Scotland; suffice it to say, it probably wasn’t to everyone’s taste, even amongst Blackest Ever Black’s more open-minded followers.
In recent press photos, Eddie Ruscha has looked every bit the West Coast acid casualty that his vivid, kaleidoscopic productions have suggested. Surrounded by his colourful, out-there paintings and dressed head to toe in “tropical psychedelic” clothes – a distinctive concoction of rainbow-coloured scarves, baggy jewellery, strange masks and eye-popping patterned sweaters – he projects himself as the apotheosis of the 21st century digital hippy. Given the hazy look in his eyes, you’d never accuse him of putting it on; clearly, he’s more out-there and artistically inspired than your average electronic producer.
On the surface, Felix Manuel’s output as Djrum seems to capture the zeitgeist of ‘post-dubstep’ or whatever other tag gets applied to that particular spin-off from the original bassweight sound. The melancholic chords, displaced vocal snippets and crisp beats are certainly not on their own in these times, and previous singles for On The Edge and Smokin’ Sessions tapped into this idea with aplomb. Now settled nicely into 2nd Drop Records with two EPs behind him, Manuel delivers his debut album and in turn gets to expand on the more unique facets in his sound.
