- Despite their supermodel good looks (Eva Padberg actually is a supermodel), Dapayk & Padberg are more than just pretty faces. Dapayk has been releasing tracks since the mid-nineties, founding Mo’s Ferry along the way, a label which Padberg contributed graphics work to before blossoming into Dapayk's collaborator on 'Close Up' in 2005. The couple (both on and off record) return here with 'Black Beauty', the lead single and title track from their forthcoming second LP, which promises to be something of a concept album: it's an ode to the traditional DJ modus operandi of vinyl.
As such, 'Black Beauty' is a requiem for the (hopefully not!) dying medium of vinyl at the expense of mp3 technology. As if beamed to us from the future, Padberg’s processed robotic vocals offer us the foreboding warning: “For 100 years music came from turning plastic, this could be the last vinyl album, mp3s killed the black beauty.”
Ironically, Dapayk’s slowly developing arrangement of clicks, beats and the occasional well placed evil bass drop sounds quite futuristic, produced using today’s most modern technology. Sonically, the results are dark and compelling, evoking a bleak future (Blade Runner springs to mind).
The afterhour edit is far more heady, dark and building for the first half, dubbing out the vocals before dropping them in at the six-minute mark. The second half introduces a warm chord sequence which softens things up nicely, offering some light at the end of the tunnel or some hope for the future rising out of the ashes. This version is my favourite of the two and, as the name suggests, it would work well in an early morning DJ slot.
As a lead single, 'Black Beauty' has piqued my interest for the album to come. The combination of Dapayk’s cinematic production style and Padberg’s creative storytelling promises to be pretty engaging.
TracklistA Black Beauty
B Black Beauty (Dapayk's Afterhour Edit)