Darius The Barbarian

 

How strange, that machines are often more articulate than us when it comes to matters of the human body. Electronic music, especially, has the uncanny ability to express the sometimes subtle, sometimes chaotic, always carnal conundrum of being horny. Take the sweaty breakbeats that Darian The Barbarian uses to get us in the mood on ‘Body Gospel’. Things are made even more visceral by clever stylistic references — Jersey Club’s obnoxious bed squeak on ‘2 Hot’, the retro call girl sleaziness on ‘Freak It On’. Darius sighs, spits, and moans his way across the multitude that is the libido. From the ravenous (‘Outta Control’), to the erogenous (‘My Chest’), ego shamelessly takes centre stage. Lyrically explicit rather than implicit, the eight-track concept LP avoids any chance of confusion when shooting its shot, making for something neatly executed and satisfyingly... tight. 

Tazmè Pillay, DJmag UK