- Disco edits for the festival season.
- Sizzling, Daphni's first new record in two years, was released on June 19th, two days before the start of summer. The timing is no accident. The title track, a revved-up edit of the 1981 Bermudian private-press funk track "Sizzlin Hot" by Paradise, is built to be a "moment" at this year's outdoor festivals. Sizzling's four cuts and white label-style release recall the bashed-out edit style of Daphni's early breakthroughs.
On previous edit-based tracks, Daphni, AKA Dan Snaith, has liberally applied his own melodic ideas—the rude bass line on "Yes I Know," the lush Border Community-style synths he laid over Yasuaki Shimizu's "Kakashi" on "Moshi"—but on Sizzling he lets his record collection and drum machines do the heavy lifting. For a guy who has crossed over from the live band / indie rock world, those drums are not messing about. Two minutes into "Sizzling," a slamming kick comes in under the original's storming disco horns and diva vocals. On "If," Snaith does his best Pal Joey impression, dropping a jazz sample over a ridiculously heavy, swung house beat. "Romeo" is the only track that doesn't quite work. The sampled disco strings never quite mesh with Snaith's synths, the end result feeling like a better-left-alone B-side from deep within DJ Sneak's catalogue.
For the most part, Sizzling sees Snaith reaffirm his position as an ace edit man. He launched the Daphni project in large part with edits crafted for his own DJ sets. On Sizzling, he continues to mine the past, crafting dance floor tools that will appeal to record heads and kids in the festival fields.
TracklistA1 Sizzling feat. Paradise
A2 If
B1 Romeo
B2 Just