In a burst of colour and rhythm that cuts a distinctive path through modern club music, Olof Dreijer crystallises his solo work around a gleaming debut solo album, 'Loud Bloom'.
Across the album, Dreijer toys with the tension between pure pleasure music and his tireless thirst for the new. You might hear the structure of a Chicago house beat or a classic drum machine hit, but at every turn these tropes are remoulded into dazzling new forms. Taking inspiration from Nigerian author Akwaeke Emezi and their ability to deliver bold, progressive themes and visionary sci-fi through the accessible lens of romantic fiction, Dreijer makes vividly unconventional dance music utterly instinctive and easy to love.
Ideas and motivations guide Dreijer's hand at all times in the music he makes. The desire to challenge the persistently white, male, Western dominated homogeny of the music scene led him to consciously look elsewhere for vocalists to work with. Bumping misfit house joint 'Makwande' features celebrated South African MC Toya DeLazy, whose deft bars rain down in Zulu and English. Incendiary stomper 'Acuyuye', originally released on the Brujas 12" for Dekmantel, was made with Diva Cruz, a Colombian MC and percussionist. Spring-loaded 'Echoed Dafnino' — also the lead single for the album — features a sweetly pop-tinted Arabic vocal from MaMan, a Sudanese singer based in Cairo.
Foremost, you can hear Dreijer's heart front and centre on 'Loud Bloom', bursting out of his effervescent melodies. Gathering together his peerless body of work to date and teasing the possibilities for the future, it's a perfect affirmation of the singular brilliance that makes his music so utterly essential.
TRACK LISTING
1. Rosa Rugosa
2. Plastic Camelia
3. Cassia
4. Acuyuye (ft. Diva Cruz)
5. Makwande (ft. Toya Delazy)
6. Blood Lily
7. Iris
8. Echoed Dafnino (ft. MaMan)
9. Laurel
10. Verbena
11. Coral
12. Fern Valley
13. Lantanda
14. Shisandra
