REVIEW: IFAN DAFYYD – TREEHOUSE EP

It was an indication of things to come when Ifan Dafydd was originally confused for being yet another James Blake alias.  Ifan Dafydd made noises in the blogosphere last year when his track No Good was played first by Gilles Peterson before later featuring in Jamie XX’s Essential Mix.  Despite the sudden hype, Ifan is still somewhat of an unknown; there are still unconfirmed rumours that he is either Blake’s cousin or ex-flatmate.  Little else had been heard of him.  His two other releases, Miranda (released as a B-side to No Good) and a chopped-and-screwed edit of Emili Sande’s Daddy, received some acclaim, but Ifan had seemingly gone off-grid before releasing his two track Treehouse EP and I’ve got to say, the wait was well worth it.

The two tracks, Treehouse and To Me perfectly exhibit the intricate mastery that lead to Ifan’s rapid rise to prominence within the past year.  The perfectly dubbed vocals, haunting keys  and stabbing strings, backed by those skipping polyrhythms that have come to define the post-dubstep so-called ‘heart-step’ movement combine beautifully to create two pieces of ear-ecstasy.

Treehouse EP leaves us in no doubt as to Ifan Dafydd’s quality, yet again leaving us yearning for just one track more.

Order the Treehouse EP at Boomkat