Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Dais Records continues to crush the 2019 darkwave and synth-pop game. The American label that has given us some of our favorite releases of the year — from Body of Light to Drab Majesty to Tempers — returns yet again with another stunning release, this time from Los Angeles-based dark-pop singer Riki.
“Commandeered” by visual artist and musician Niff Nawor, Riki captures our hearts and minds today (November 13) with “Napoleon,” a propulsive darker dance floor banger that spins a strobe-lit pinwheel of ’80s electro-pop, Neue Deutsche Welle, and classic Italo Disco. It clocks in at nearly five-minutes in length, and yet demands repeated listens as various sonic elements emerge through the shadows after each spin.
Yet another jewel in Dais’ crown, the label will release Riki’s debut LP this coming Valentine’s Day 2020, but in the meantime, she invites listeners to “reveal their useless habits of complacency and fear… and witness their own rebirth, a rhythm universal.”
Get into the beat via the Amanda Siegel-directed video below.