Daedelus

Born Alfred Weisberg-Roberts in Santa Monica, California, producer/instrumentalist Daedelus wanted to be an inventor from an early age, a sentiment that led to him choosing an artistic moniker (in Greek mythology, Daedelus was known as an inventor, although Weisberg-Roberts also cites the character Stephan Dedalus in James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man -- as well as the ship in the Japanese cartoon Robotech -- as equally valid reasons for his selection) when he began releasing his own work. Despite the fact that he was formally trained on double bass and bass clarinet, had studied jazz at USC, and could play additional instruments such as the guitar and accordion, Daedelus chose to go the electronica route, often incorporating samples from the '30s and '40s into his IDM and left-field hip-hop.

Though Daedelus' first single appeared 2001, it wasn't until the following year that his debut full-length, Invention, was released by the Plug Research label. Daedelus proved to be a prolific composer, and the following four years brought four new albums (released via Plug Research and Mush): 2003's Rethinking the Weather, 2004's Of Snowdonia, 2005's Exquisite Corpse, and 2006's Denies the Day's Demise. He also worked on countless singles and side projects, including a stint as a producer for his Mush labelmates. The musician's engaging live set was finally made available for fans, albeit in limited numbers, with Live at Low End Theory, which was recorded during a July 2007 performance at Los Angeles' The Airliner and released in early 2008. Love to Make Music To followed in July. Righteous Fists of Harmony, issued in 2010, was released on Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder label. In 2011, Ninja Tune released the ambitious Bespoke, which found Daedelus working with a long list of guest vocalists, including Will Wiesenfeld (Baths), Inara George of The Bird and the Bee, and Busdriver. ~ Marisa Brown, Rovi