Dapayk & Padberg – Smoke
You open the door. You take a step into the cool fog of a new morning. It‘s the hour before sunrise and while somewhere the remains of last nights party beats are hovering in the air, the wind carries broken scraps of a singer/ songwriter piece through the haunting haze your way.The night made way for a new day. A day, when everything will be different.
Change, transformation, developement- these have always been the motor behind Berlins electronica duo Dapayk& Padberg. On their 4th longplayer they might now have made the most uncompromising step during their 10 year carreer in wich they have become one of europes most fascinating Clubacts.
Their magic formula? Looking for alternatives. With their longplayer “Smoke” they bid a temporary farewell to the dancefloor. They are taking new paths, searching, trying new, never before seen patterns. These paths led the duo from the golden hills of the Provence to the dark autumnal lowlands at the border between scotland and england. The influence of those places is felt throughout the whole record with its atmospheric hybrid-tracks.
After their last album “Sweet Nothings” with its summery/ funky sound Dapayk& Padberg are now opening the door to a gloomy-melancholic world. While “Sweet Nothings” was a balancing act between clubsound and Listening-Electronica the duo is now turning its back on the dancefloor, to take the listener on an accustic tour through their personal Amber Room. With their Chamber-Electro mix, containing characteristics of dubstep, catchy pop-elements, classical string arrangements and and a singer/songwriter-like intimacy, they achieve to create new sound-rooms.
“The time we spent in scotland was the most creative and productive time we ever had,” explaines Eva Padberg. “It was a wonderful experience to get up in the morning, have breakfast and after a long walk in the drizzling rain have nothing else to do then to sit in front of the log fire with a glass of whiskey in our hands and work on new tracks…”Dapayk& Padberg‘s albums have always been snapshots of their current inspirational and emotional world- with “Smoke” they have now created their most consistent and self contained collection of songs to date. Against all expectations, sometimes even against their own nature as artists, letting go of all too familiar and comfortable structures. “Smoke” is all about overcoming those lines between different genres, letting go, opening their mind to the new,
“without worrying about fitting into a certain niche or having to compromise”, Eva adds. “When we had the structure for about two thirds of the album set up, we realized that we‘re heading into some dark waters. I think with this album we found ourselves more than ever and maybe even grew up a bit..” Growing up in fast times, in wich Niklas Worgt produces numerous club projects for the insatiable nightlife and Eva Padberg counts as one fashions most sought after faces. “Smoke” is their escape with which Dapayk& Padberg transport an atmosphere that possibly noone would have expected in its intensity. “For us it‘s always been about finding the cracks and about contrast”, Niklas adds. “It‘s about challenging the listener. For me there is nothing more boring than over-produced, clean computermusic.”
Almost no track ends as it begins. “Silent Fireworks” with its song like structure brings to mind the hymns of Lamb, Jamie Woon or James Blake. Evas voice delivers a broken intimacy which is carried by Niklas‘ adventurous- sophisticated sound structures. The hypnotic “No Words” starts out with Evas ethereal-fragile vocals spun around a dry, blurred electronica track to then explode into a huge, unknown universe of sounds. Dark energy in its purest form, as is the morbid “Headless Queen” which was inspired by the imprisonement and execution of Mary Queen of Scots in 1587.
“In Scotland there are reminders of drama and tragedy on every corner”, says Eva about her influences. “Everywhere there are stories about clan fights and plaques have been put up to keep the memory of people who have lost their lives during those darker times alive. Those sometimes cruel and bizarre stories, paired with the breathtaking views we enjoyed during our time there, have definitely left their mark on the album.”
The inspiration for the album title came not only from those cold days spent in scotland but also has its historic routes in Niklas‘ family tree.”my grandmother is a true well of inspiration. She told me that she was faintly related with the austrian painter Oskar Kokoschka – so I decided to name one of my projects Kokoschka. But also, that there was a blood relative on her side of the family who came from England by the name Smoke. The name has been spooking around in my head for years and I always wanted to name an EP or track after it. We thought that it was an excellent title for the album.”
“Also, the track `Smoke´captures the atmosphere of the album perfectly”, Eva agrees. “I learned a lot about myself and the both of us while making this album. Sometimes I was quite surprised about the dark thoughts going through my head, since I am generally not a sad person. I think those songs were a good an healthy way to face that side of myself. In my profession it is expected of me to always represent the perfect side of life, after a while it gets boring to always be glamourous and radiant.
Flawlessness bores me, this record is my antidote. But at the same time it has something sane and concilitory: on the opener `Drowning inside you´ you drown in the other person and on the last track `Dance in your flame´ your dancing together in the fire..”
Available on CD, 14 track 2×12” Gatefold LP and digitally.
