Darling Farah "Picture"

Words: Konstantin Papatheodoropoulos
Label: Civil Music

Detroit-born, Abu Dhabi-based techno producer Kamau Baaqi (a.k.a. Darling Farah) is set to release his first EP, Exxy, on June 28. At a youthful 19 years of age, the influence of Baaqi's birthplace shines through his music. A gentle blend of dubby house and techno, Exxy is exactly what you would expect to hear in the early morning hours drifting out of a cavernous warehouse in Detroit. "Picture" is a perfect example of Baaqi's dub-tinged style with its lush, chordal stabs filtered and drenched in delay, sweeping amorphously over the top of a swung house rhythm. Faint voices reverberate in the distance as the stabs pulsate around the beat, demonstrating Kamau's ability to strip back beats while maintaining his productions' simplicity and patience.