Of Snowdonia

AMG Review of Of Snowdonia

Rick Anderson
All Music Guide

The second full-length album from this enigmatic Santa Monica DJ/producer continues his exploration of curiously pleasant post-electronic musique concrčte. "Post-electronic," because his source material tends to be analog rather than digital -- accordions, reed instruments, toy percussion, and samples from old LPs covering a wide variety of musical styles. But while Daedelus' music partakes of the collage aesthetic of 20th-century musique concrčte, the results are invariably easy on the ear, and sometimes quite melodically sophisticated even when the rhythms are jungly or the textures glitchy. The interaction of jittery drum'n'bass rhythms, and bass clarinet on "Scaling Snowdon" is one such example, as is the funky but sweet 1970s movie-soundtrack flavor of "Taking Wing." "Overdressed" flirts with chaotic drill'n'bass, but in a gentle way, and the similarly quirky "Was Waiting" flirts with being an actual song, but in a rather demented way. The whole album leaves you feeling a bit bewildered, but strangely happy. How Daedelus does this is a mystery, and it would probably be best if it remained one.