Smash The Rock

Daedelus is literally reshaping the sound — and structure — of music for a new generation of (hopefully) open-minded music fans. “This idea that you have to have a beginning and end to something, it gets to be oppressive. Though I prefer shorter songs, ’cause it’s presenting an idea, I’m probably more of a maximalist than a minimalist. I like the big, grand gestures, and all that stuff.”

The nature of the recording studio, however, can dictate reality even for an artist who dedicates himself to creating music spontaneously — a fact that’s at the core of Daedelus’ trip.

“I really like the idea of improvising and aleatoric music, but it’s so hard to achieve that in the studio, where things are very calculating. It doesn’t seem possible.” Which is perhaps why Daedelus has been hitting the stage a lot recently, honing his live act to keep the crowds bumping and, crucially, getting their feedback.

“I’m working more on developing a dynamic show. I interact with my audience to a certain degree, and I have to take them into consideration, ’cause I value them very high-ly. I really respect people who sometimes listen, especially in this world of so much music, to take a moment to listen to my music.

“And I leave it to the label or critics to think about what to call it. But all that is secondary; the music happens, and then you can interact and talk about it. I’m trying to tell people that it doesn’t really make a difference to the music.”


DAEDELUS |Exquisite Corpse(Mush/Ninja Tune)

Daedelus cohosts and performs at the Beatmaker’s Ball on July 19 at Little Temple in Silver Lake.