In the latest New Yorker, pop-critic Sasha Frere-Jones writes a glowing review of Caribou mastermind Dan Snaith's (more) dance oriented project Daphni. Titled Jiaolong, the album draws samples from 1970s and 1980s African vinyls — as in "Cos-Ber-Zam — Ne Noya (Daphni Mix)" which offers Snaith's reworking of "the only known release by Togolese band Cos-Ber-Zam." In addition to the review, Snaith and Jones offer some sharp insight into genre pigeon-holing and Western sampling of African music.
Genre descriptions, such as minimal Afro-beat techno or Afro-house, will inevitably dog it ... The fact remains that Jiaolong sounds African in origin, no matter what you call it ... Taking underexposed music from around the globe out of context can, of course, feel like the musical equivalent of a package tour to the developing world; Snaith is aware of this. He told me, "It's predominantly an aesthetic thrill that draws me to this music, but I'm aware of the tensions and contradictions on a sociological level. I guess its something I'm not able to resolve successfully, but it seems too high a price to make the whole thing verboten."
Jiaolong is out tomorrow in the US via Merge/Jiaolong. Stream "Cos-Ber-Zam — Ne Noya (Daphni Mix)" below.
Update: Daphni's full album is now available for stream (via Soundcloud)
[embed width="600"][/embed]
