- Welsh DJ/producer Dauwd may work slowly, but you could never say he lacks ambition. With each release since his 2011 debut on Pictures Music, Dauwd Al Hilali has gracefully refined a familiar-yet-distinctive style of bass-loaded house and techno. His records are deep without being somber, funky without losing their cool, and vivid despite his palette of muted hues. Jupiter George is all of these things, but it's also a step up. Perhaps most notably, samples of dusty live recordings have found their way into his music. These vintage snippets—as heard primarily on "Jupiter George" and "Ritter Sport"—give Dauwd's latest EP an invigorating air of house music classicism.
With a slinky bass-and-guitar groove at its center, the title track piles on drums, delicate atmospherics and synths that streak long trails of melody over the mix. Dauwd approaches a Lindstrøm-esque Balearic sound here, albeit one slightly less interested in disco. If "Jupiter George" is the spaceship taking you out of the atmosphere, "Ritter Sport" is the low-gravity transport waiting for you on the moon. It's restrained, organic micro house built on funk's backbone. With each retro-sounding touch of audio, he balances the nostalgia with beefed-up low-end and punchy HD sonics. Closing the record on a sleek tech-house bounce, "Take Four" is the EP's counterbalance, a quick and effective reminder that Dauwd is still—above all else—an artist interested in pushing his craft forward.
トラックリストA1 Jupiter George
B1 Ritter Sport
B2 Take Four