Dardust - S.A.D. Storm and Drugs (2020) [Hi-Res]

It is not wrong to call Dario Faini one of the most famous unknown figures in the global producer business. He is a permanent guest in the Italian charts, most recently he made sure that Mahmood's overhit 'Soldi' brought the Eurovision Song Contest to the proudly swollen Italian homeland. Now he steps as Dardust for the second time from the shadow of the recording studio into the bright light of the big stage

S.A.D. Storm and Drugs - that's the name of the new record from the Italian multi-talent. Dardust enters the album with an almost classical piano part. To see this also as a reference to the beginning of his career is not so far off. Dario Faini studied classical piano and even then Anna Maria Bucci taught him everything but to think in genre boundaries. And so he pulverizes the initially harmonic mood after 40 seconds with a stomping beat, noise and an unexpected twist

"I practiced an incredible amount on the piano, mostly classical pieces, then a lot of David Bowie, and then I thought about how to connect all the sounds in my head
The opener 'Sublime' alone opens up so many facets that it is hard not to get lost in the sound of Dardust. First a restrained rocking, later boundlessly euphoric dancing - a rollercoaster ride of great emotions in less than four minutes. Difficult-bombastic, sensitive and on the twelve: Dardust brings contradictions together without contradiction. And that's where the small but fine detail lies in comparison to many of his genre colleagues: The songs are not only a revelation of his skills as a producer, it is a masterpiece of the arranger's art. Because what good is it if you, as a producer, have everything you need, but at the same time you don't have the slightest clue how to put it all into a logical construct