Dfalt
Daylight Curfew is proud to present Dfalt's Helsinki Beat Tape (Part One). The release will be the first part of a beat tape trilogy, each available digitally, as well as, on limited color cassettes (limited to 100 copies).
Los Angeles DJ/Producer, Dfalt, (aka Jason Drake, aka Cassettes Won't Listen) crafts instrumental hip hop built on dirty chopped samples, dusty drums, and hauntingly emotional melodies. He's been producing music under his latest moniker for the last couple years, originally releasing the more upbeat self-titled debut EP back in 2011. The release saw a great response from his established fan base, as well as the music licensing community, landing tracks in commercials for Adidas, Quicksilver, Etnies, amongst others. In 2012, Dfalt linked up with well-known music production software company, Ableton, to offer a follow up EP titled Greyscale. The release took a more electronic turn and was offered as a free download to the Ableton community.
Inspired at an early age while growing up in the Bay Area, Jason grew up with sounds aired over San Francisco's hip hop station, KMEL. It was a constant stream of early-mid 90's selections where he fell in love with the music underlying the lyrics. Public Enemy's Bomb Squad, DJ Premiere, Dust Brothers, RZA, J Dilla, and even Aphex Twin have been highly influential in the growth of Jason's music. An early internship with Steinski and 10 years spent as director of marketing with indie hip hop powerhouse Definitive Jux Records, further immersed Jason into his passion as a producer and DJ.
Don't let the name fool you, Dfalt's Helsinki Beat Tape (Part One) isn't your typical collection of loops made strictly for emcee consideration. The album is a fully realized composition starting with the opener "The Beggars" which prepares the listener for what is in store, a journey through warm analog textures, surgically-placed sliced vocals, and a distressed ethereal landscape. "Feather Ton" follows, showcasing broken beats and pushing along Dfalt's use of recurring off-kilter synth sounds. The track's play with the concept of 'broken' is explored with vocal samples from early 20th century PSA's of medical practice quackery amidst early blues-inspired samples of life's struggles. Next up is "SPCTRPN," the balance of delicate synth work over hard hitting, chalky drums conjures up images of carefree anticipation as showcased in the track's music video, directed by Ivana Helsinki fashion label head, Paola Suhonen.
From here on out the atmosphere is firmly set: an intricate landscape created by dusty synths, samples, and grainy drums. This is sustained by the hard-hitting "Never Faded Away", the prevailing vocal sample comments on Jason's return to the art and study of beat-making after taking a break to work on vocal-based songwriting in his work as CWL.
His original beat-based records were released pre-CWL under his last name, Drake (yes, he technically is the original Drake). The emotionally gentle "Again The Night" follows the equally skewed and ghostly "Dance Of The Witch," allowing breathing room for the listener and some down-time to regroup. But the sun will rise yet again with the energetic "Draw" to signify a new day while "San Francisco" pushes forward with its driving percussion and melodic reflection of the album's overall aural exploration. The album's closer, "Moon Milkshake" caps off the journey with an upbeat statement of confidence and excitement. A beautiful way for Dfalt to wrap up his manufactured landscape and to show those who experience it that there will be many days of exploration and discovery to come.
Dfalt brings the music back to where Jason was all those years ago, twisting knobs on his beat up old Roland 303. This time he steps to the plate with Ableton, MPC1000, Technics 1200s, various Korg Koass Pads, Casio SK-1, amongst many other tools. An appreciation for the old school masters, the mid-90s electronic beat and experimental scene, mixed with Jason's ever evolving production techniques are what brought Dfalt and the first part of his trilogy to life.
About Daylight Curfew: Daylight Curfew is an audio / visual label based out of Los Angeles focused on presenting hi-quality creativity. We release various forms of experimental, left-field electronic and hip hop music as well as varying mediums of art and design. Our store is a curated boutique featuring our music, visual art, and design projects as well as products from our friends' labels and brands such as Adult Swim, Def Jux, and 5Pointz.
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