#dragon wave

At minimum, the Dragon Wave single on Young Marco’s Safe Trip has the best sleeve art all year…but it’s of course so much more than that. Dazion’s Don’t Get Me Wrong EP from 2017 is an easy standout from Second Circle’s adventurous and excellent discography and though here he leaves behind the dreamtime vocals and island dub romantics of that release, the results are no less spellbinding and transportive, with the sounds moving from ecstatic drum rituals to gliding ambient house.

Dazion - Dragon Wave (Safe Trip, 2018) The title track sits on the W-side and features a ceremonial kick drum ritual with dubwise hand drums and martial toms flying through hallucinatory delay fx. All sorts of strange percussive accents sounding like drips of some alien liquid sit in the background ether alongside a constant tambourine rhythm, while ghostly buzzing mosquitoes and sheets of industrial noise streak through the mix. After zoning out for an extended tribal dirge, a melody enters on some harp like instrument or possibly synthesizer, all cerebral exotica bouncing around the corners of the mind…lysergic, cosmic, and otherworldly. It’s a small touch of glowing yet enigmatic euphoria providing escape from the massive and unrelenting rhythm storm.

Then we have “VX LTD” on the S-side, starting with off-kilter bass drums under clouds of reverb that are rained down upon by more drops of alien liquid sonics, this time leaning melodic rather than percussive. The kick alternates between deep pillowy tones and a more flammed out splattery sound, while loud claps cascade through the stereo field and vibing hi-hat patterns giving the rhythm a stuttering propulsion. Cosmic winds blow through the mix and this mesmerizing theme emerges, carried by dreamy pads circling around in a nostalgic fog. It instantly transports me to Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works 85-92, so amazing are the fantasy atmospheres and so childlike and psychedelic are the hazy melodies.