Biography
Dan Snaith channels dance music's core vitality through Daphni by means of propulsive, entrancing cuts that diverge sharply from his Caribou output. Before the project's 2012 debut album Jiaolong, its unrefined edits, remixes, and singles originated as high-energy supplements to Snaith's DJ performances, and selections including "Yes, I Know" and "Ye Ye" continued serving as reliable dance-floor favorites well after issuance. Daphni's Fabriclive 93 mix album from 2017 and the follow-up full-length Joli Mai, which supplied the complete versions of the tracks excerpted in that mix, aligned seamlessly and highlighted Snaith's abilities both behind the decks and in the studio. With 2022's Cherry, Snaith extended Daphni's range by introducing techno touches while preserving the emphasis on grooves built for dancing.
While attending college, Snaith began DJing his own events and grew captivated by assembling sets capable of energizing crowds. Although his deep regard for club sounds and culture surfaced in portions of his Caribou recordings, the urge to articulate that dimension fully and to generate material expressly for his sets spurred the creation of Daphni. The alias launched via a 2010 remix for Cortney Tidwell, after which two volumes of edits appeared on Resista and a split single with Four Tet surfaced the next year. Ahead of Jiaolong's October 2012 release came two further 2011 singles, "JIAOLONG001" and Ahora. The album earned praise for its unpolished reconnection with dance music's essentials and secured a longlist nomination for the 2013 Polaris Music Prize; Daphni also supplied a remix of Hot Chip's "Night & Day" that year.
Snaith resumed Caribou duties with the acclaimed 2014 album Our Love yet sustained Daphni activity by issuing the "Vikram" single in 2015. Daphni further contributed the Owen Pallett collaboration "Julia" to Lives Through Magic, a 2017 benefit compilation aiding victims of the fatal 2016 fire at the Ghost Ship warehouse venue in Oakland, California. July of that year brought Daphni's Fabriclive 93, a mix album built largely around original tracks produced for the occasion. That October, Joli Mai, Daphni's second album on the Jiaolong label, delivered the finished versions of those tracks together with the previously unreleased "Vulture." On the 2019 Sizzling EP, Snaith supplied two reworkings of Paradise's 1981 disco single "Sizzlin' Hot" plus three new compositions. Following Caribou's Suddenly in 2020, Daphni resurfaced in October 2022 with Cherry, an album that explored Detroit techno while retaining the house and disco foundations of earlier work.
While attending college, Snaith began DJing his own events and grew captivated by assembling sets capable of energizing crowds. Although his deep regard for club sounds and culture surfaced in portions of his Caribou recordings, the urge to articulate that dimension fully and to generate material expressly for his sets spurred the creation of Daphni. The alias launched via a 2010 remix for Cortney Tidwell, after which two volumes of edits appeared on Resista and a split single with Four Tet surfaced the next year. Ahead of Jiaolong's October 2012 release came two further 2011 singles, "JIAOLONG001" and Ahora. The album earned praise for its unpolished reconnection with dance music's essentials and secured a longlist nomination for the 2013 Polaris Music Prize; Daphni also supplied a remix of Hot Chip's "Night & Day" that year.
Snaith resumed Caribou duties with the acclaimed 2014 album Our Love yet sustained Daphni activity by issuing the "Vikram" single in 2015. Daphni further contributed the Owen Pallett collaboration "Julia" to Lives Through Magic, a 2017 benefit compilation aiding victims of the fatal 2016 fire at the Ghost Ship warehouse venue in Oakland, California. July of that year brought Daphni's Fabriclive 93, a mix album built largely around original tracks produced for the occasion. That October, Joli Mai, Daphni's second album on the Jiaolong label, delivered the finished versions of those tracks together with the previously unreleased "Vulture." On the 2019 Sizzling EP, Snaith supplied two reworkings of Paradise's 1981 disco single "Sizzlin' Hot" plus three new compositions. Following Caribou's Suddenly in 2020, Daphni resurfaced in October 2022 with Cherry, an album that explored Detroit techno while retaining the house and disco foundations of earlier work.
Albums
Singles
