D.K. – The Goddess is Dancing

  • Ambient house influenced by ancient Vietnamese ritual ceremonies.
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  • Over the past year, D.K. (real name Dang-Khoa Chau) has released nearly two-and-a-half hours of music: a trilogy of dance floor 12-inches, a live album and a 38-minute cassette of serene, meditative ambient house called The Goddess Is Dancing, which gets a well-deserved vinyl edition this month. This music captures a compelling sonic transformation. Where D.K.'s earlier records leaned heavily on '80s boogie and Balearic, Live At The Edge and The Goddess Is Dancing are darker, drawing intriguing parallels between ambient house, downtempo and synth-laden signifiers of Chau's own Vietnamese heritage. The Goddess is Dancing is influenced by Hau Dong, a centuries-old musical ritual carried out in temples in north and central Vietnam in which spirit mediums dance to folk music while "transforming" into different spirit characters. It is a lovely, immersive listen. "The Three Realms" and "Forest Palace" are woozy, nuanced and transportive. "Summoning The Spirits," which refers to the transformation ritual, is a 12-minute Fourth World journey with a remarkable sense of space. On The Goddess Is Dancing, Chau seems to be looking inward, exploring his psychic, ancestral history. This deep, evocative suite is a fitting soundtrack for your own inward-looking journey.
  • Tracklist
      A1 The Three Realms A2 The Goddess is Dancing A3 Going Into Trance B1 Forest Palace B2 Summoning the Spirits
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