The Daphne series of 12”s from initially anonymous crossover operators Millie and Andrea – since outed as Modern Love techno heads MLZ and Andy Stott - has proven to be one of the most enigmatic but rewarding label outputs of the last year or so. Their last release saw a shift towards early nineties rave territory, with the manic ‘Ever Since You Came Down’ pitting a pitched-up diva vocal against deftly sliced breaks. Andrea’s first entirely solo outing pushes further in that direction, but rather than summoning up celebratory energy these two tracks seethe with the loneliness of nostalgia. The result is several leagues from Zomby’s heady Where Were U In ’92 album, still out in a muddy field but delving into a darker side where memory begins to blur into dream.
‘You Still Got Me’ is the more immediate of the two, seeming to escalate ever higher as thick slabs of sub-bass swerve around jittery junglist patterns and a hyperspeed vocal refrain. It’s only after two or three listens that it begins to dawn how tortured the protagonist sounds, as her looped "I just can’t stop" begins to rattle uncomfortably like dodgy speed. Alongside wispy ambient pads that drift through the mix like cigarette smoke though strobe lights, the track summons similar phantoms to Burial’s music; but instead of the ghosts of an empty dancefloor these are the ghosts that swarm though peak time, each locked in its own insular space, limbs flailing wildly. ‘Got To Forget’, whilst subtler in form and function, is locked more closely to the hard techno edges of the early Daphne twelves – all pummeling percussion and sudden bursts of pastel colour that cut through the greyscale backdrop like sunrise.
Words: Rory Gibb
Out: Now
Link:
Modern Love Site with audio
'You Still Got Me' is definitely the one, glad to see Andy Stott keep pushing forward under the Andrea persona, looking forward to getting my copy of this one
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