John Dahlbäck - Saga

John Dahlbäck
Saga
2016
Spotify

John Dahlbäck is no stranger to the electronic music game. With over 10 years experience the sweedish producer and DJ knows how to move a crowd and exactly what is going to make sense in a rave setting. Then we come to Saga his latest 15 track album which is chalked full of different styles from EDM to House and touching on every genre in between. Where Dahlbäck seems most comfortable however is in the future house side of things, creating modern beats that remember where they came from but still push the boundaries. There are occasional drops like on the popular "Raven" but that is not his primary focus. Through much of the album it seems like Dahlbäck is running away from boredom. He rrefuses to let one thing tie him down and instead ties new things which adds a degree of surprise that is a really fun part of the record. You can go from big festival style EDM to small room House sometimes even on the same track ("Terminus"). The album though it does have some darker qualities comes across like Dahlbäck is really having a good time playing this music.

You would never call this record star studded however John Dahlbäck brings out the absolute best of the people He works with. Lovestarrs on the track "Where You Are" sound particularly good with soaring vocals under a somewhat old school style track. Her voice just gets right in line with the track and the two work together really really well. Though the album does have it's genre moving qualities that are times when thing can become a bit predictable. The tracks where Dahlbäck goes full EDM really do not have the same pop as those where He gives himself freedom to experiment. The build drop mold simply does not work for Dahlbäck and his skill set is just better than that. Clearly you want him to be at his full weird experimental self, and when He falls short it is a bit of a disappointment. As is the case with a lot of EDM songs can be a bit one note "Love each other, We are all magic, seize the moment" and that is the case here is as well save for "Shivers" which is hands down the most interesting track on the album both lyrically and musically. A really great effort from John Dahlbäck and one worth a listen.

7.3 out of 10