Darius Utopia

Utopia, with its minimal sound palette and striking coherence, is an album you listen to in one breath. Vocalists
E^ST, Max Jury and Wayne Snow joined Darius for the project, giving the whole project a powerful vocal breath.
Even the instrumental tracks sound like they were sung, or should we say haunted by vocals. Fear not: unlike many
current productions, Utopia is not sombre and anguished. Those who haunt it come in peace, with love. Nor does
Darius exaggerate the musical technicality or innovation of his work. He instead relies on a collection of matters and
manners - enveloping synth sounds, curvy bass-lines, spiraling filters.

Despite the wide landscape it deploys, Utopia is not maximalistic: its range of emotions is simple, direct; they caress
the ears and bring out their blues. The album is a world of music invented and fantasized, hence the Utopia. It digs in
60s or 70s classic repertoire such as soul, Californian pop, German and African psychedelia. At the same time it
speaks today’s languages, post-Dilla hip-hop, digital dancehall, or early 2000s British breakbeat. You’ll also catch an
echo of 90s Bristol, in the way it makes melancholy voluptuous, almost desirable, and finds vital energy in despair.