In advance of the release of Dapayk & Padberg’s third full-length Sweet Nothings – this time round on Stil vor Talent – the experienced duo are teasing us with the Fluffy Cloud EP, which showcases three of the album’s many diverse highlights, while keeping the vinyl lovers happy.
The A-side bears the LPs title track ‘Sweet Nothings’, on which Dapayk & Padberg’s sound takes a turn as they come knocking with a deep but forceful groover, whose distorted high-hats and trancey synth stabs create a vibe both euphoric and weirdly subdued. The lyrics, moreover, emphasise the duality at the core of many Dapayk & Padberg tracks as the latter ponders ‘you’re good for me – you’re bad for me’.
Showing another of the duo’s many facets, ‘Backyard’ enchants thanks to mystical lyrics sung beautifully over a deep quasi-dubstep structure. Marking the EP’s mid-point, the atmospheric song shines through intricately crafted fragility and is the perfect contrast to the previous and following track, while leaving a strong desire for more stuck in the listener’s mind.
On the B-side, ‘Fluffy Clouds’ does quite the opposite to what its title suggests – rather than being a soft little piece, we are treated to big-room techno fodder à la Berghain. A skeletal framework of heavy kicks, dark pads, white noise and dense metallics works relentlessly underneath a cold spoken word, proclaiming ‘not human, not animal – just a body in motion’. Machine funk par excellence.

Catalogue number: SVT074