Daedelus will already be a name familiar to anyone with a passing interest in the beats scene; from collaborations with some of LA’s finest and contributions to Adventure Time and The Long Lost this Ninja Tune signed artist has won fans from across music’s broad spectrum and is in Greece these days – Black Athena found out more.
How did you get into making music? Music wasn’t my first choice; I wanted to be an inventor! I bothered my parents by taking apart the household electronics; nothing made much sense to me and I’m sure I was a terror to the health of the home, but it was a nice dream. As I got older and more sensible regarding my lack of engineering abilities I changed from aspiring inventor to musician in a nice twist.
You’ve mentioned in the past your love for Musique concrète; which artists inspired you the most from that sound? All the greats played a strong part in where my ears have gone; John Cage, Pierre Henry, John Oswald, and then more modern voices from the world of early 90s Rave music and Hip Hop, Acen, 2 Bad Mice, The Bomb Squad, and more.
In your live performances you often wear outfits referencing the Victorian Dandy; is there a message or is it just aesthetically appealing to you? The Victorian period called out to me a long time ago. My wife and I used to dress up at home, just having fun in the moment with such difficult clothing. As time went on with my own productions and live shows it felt natural to begin wearing the same clothing on stage as a way of heightening my own drama, and giving the concert goer a little something too.
The L.A. scene seems to be a melting pot of artists with different influences and backgrounds from Stones Throw and Madlib to the Low End Theory night, and from Gaslamp Killer and yourself to Sa Ra, Flying Lotus and Nosaj Thing. How easy is it for all these different approaches to co-exist? More than just that, you have No Age and Health, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Suicidal Tendencies, and so many more strange corners of the musical universe, all bleeding into one another; I think kids here have very educated ears and pretty wide tastes. It makes musicians here quite brave.
