ddwy - Spinning Stones
The latest sumptuous symphony from ddwy sees the duo build off the momentum gained from their fantastic Spring Songs album. The duo of Inner Totality and Nangi have a curious way with sound and stray further from dance music aesthetics than most of their contemporaries. Their sound is chock full of organic instrumentation and references to spirituality, making for a dazzling and mesmerising experience. The most recent four-tracker, Spinning Stones, further explores downbeat disco, transcendent trip-hop and spiritual synth jams heard on Spring Songs.
Spinning Stones is incredibly versatile, with tracks complementing busy Saturday nights and lazy Sunday mornings. For example, the title track is a much more high-energy affair, blends more transcendent psychedelic elements before ultimately resolving into a more euphoric and emotional cut. The duo also turn attention to disco with the floor-filling 'Suragini', a light-hearted trip where the visuals mix that 70's show aesthetic and 90's cartoon intros. Grandiose snare drums and textured percussion before I think it's a sense of wonder and the unknown with a killer synth melody that sounds like something you'd hear in an Eastern folk song. What Inner Totality and Nangi do so well is adding these little flourishes of individualism into every track, which has me thinking about the transcendent sets of A Love From Outer Space. Andrew Weatherall and Sean Johnson cultivated a slow-moving style of music that still felt danceable. Still, they had an aura of the uncanny, which they have been able to make their own.
'Concrete Riviera' is a perfect example of reinterpreting the ALFOS mentality. Sitting at a measly 100 PPM seems slow for today's standards, but it slows you down to a relaxing sway. ddwy achieves this through airy effects-laden vocals that align more with a melancholy subsection of shoegaze than dance music. Always experimenting to keep audiences guessing the final track on the release, the 'Theme of the PCCP' totally downshifts from an already ambling pace. This foray into trip-hop will become your favourite DJ's new favourite intro. It's full of dub and experimental elements, drones, and reverse percussion that all create this mesmeric downtempo world.
Spinning Stones is excellent for home listening. I'd be surprised if it only gets a little play in some cooler establishments. Please understand that it's not quite a club weapon, but it doesn't ever try to be. Spinning Stones is what I call travelling music. There's a lot of richness in their mid and high-end, making it perfect for headphones, but when you work it on a system, there's enough low-frequency content to get you moving.
Tracklist:
Spinning Stones
Concrete Riviera
Suragini
Theme from the PCCP
Label: Public Possession (2024)
ddwy - Spinning Stones
