On Righteous Fists Of Harmony, LA based beat maker Daedelus creates a whimsical, nostalgic, and yet often-times melancholy soundtrack to these uncertain times we live in. In this age, where technology is developing a pace more rapid than ever and uncertainty is looming over everyone's head, Daedelus draws parallels to the times of 19th century China and its fight against colonialism. By boldly juxtaposing organic musical elements with the sharp electronics, Daedelus is able to embody this feeling in his music. The Brainfeeder label describes it best: "Bridging the demise of the magic-inspired martial arts fighters of the Boxer Rebellion to the post modern malady of technology and imagination, Daedelus constructs a soundtrack-of-sorts to the struggle of both 19th century China against colonialism and modern man's inevitable hurl towards an unknown future. After seventy years of China's opium-related subjugation by Queen Victoria and her allies, a force of resistance fighters -- termed "Boxers" by the British -- rose to the challenge in 1898. Calling themselves "The Righteous Fists of Harmony," this secret society of martial artists felt they held magical powers: they believed themselves bulletproof, able to fly, and capable of raising the dead (who would then fight alongside them). And so began the brief Boxer Rebellion; three years later 100,000 Boxers had fallen, their magic helpless against the cutting-edge machinery of war. The British prevailed only to face ultimate defeat, as their empire rapidly declined. Daedelus endeavors to compose a requiem for the end -- of beliefs, of lives, and of an era. This elegy for a bygone battle sheds light on our own contemporary conundrum: will our faith in modernity be our downfall? Are we blinded by this age of wonders, doomed to be destroyed by our ingenious inventions? Although Daedelus' music has always juxtaposed organic and electronic elements, they war as never before on Righteous Fists of Harmony, a portrait of a tumultuous era that came crashing to a close."
- music label: Brainfeeder / 2010
reviewed by Von Bee
