Thursday, February 16, 2012

Ifan Dafydd - Treehouse / To Me


In early 2011, tracks began to surface from an unknown producer that was quickly rumored to be James Blake working under an unknown alias.  "No Good" dropped and quickly thereafter, a firestorm began to brew within the blogosphere that drew similarities between their production styles, and comparisons arose between "No Good's" re-pitched Amy Winehouse sample over wide synths that sounded like a sleeping beasts final breaths.  Eventually the shroud was lifted and Ifan Dafydd was revealed as a producer in his own right who just happened to champion the same sound that James Blake had developed on his trip of EPs prior to releasing his full-length.  Fast-forward to October 2011, and "Miranda" was released as the B-side to "No Good" and features similar treatment of R&B samples (this one transforms Usher's "U Remind Me") over surging synth lines, toy pianos and beautifully programmed drums, clicks and snaps.

Enter 2012, and UK label Push & Run announced the release of a Vinyl release for a new pair of songs from Ifan and soon thereafter the video for "Treehouse" came out and draws the same old comparisons but is a beautiful production in it's own right.  The video shows him wandering the streets in a Panda suit, eventually winding up a party where he is seen, drenched in sweat, singing along with the soaring vocal sample's "I will never change the world..."  Video is gorgeous and understated.  Check out the video for "Treehouse" and rip of "To Me" below and help me decide which song to champion harder.

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