Darkside: a story of success through innovation

synthesizer

This American duo has been playing electronic and experimental music since 2011. Formed by outstanding musicians Dave Harrington and Nicolas Jaar, Darkside is a clear example of art as a reflection of its time and a testimony of constant development and innovation.

How it all started

The adventure started in 2009 when Nicholas Jaar was touring to present his latest solo album at the time. Both Jaar and Harrington were students at the university of Brown, and that’s where they met. Will Epstein was responsible for them coming together when he recommended Harrington to Jaar while looking for a musician for his band. On many occasions after this, the three of them traveled together to support Jaar’s album “Space is only noise” in 2011.

This was when the magic started, as Darkside was born in Berlin during this tour. Jaar and Harrington were writing together in their hotel room when their converter exploded, filling the room with smoke. Naturally, they had to finish recording in the hall with their laptop. Little did they know at the time that this was the beginning of a new sound, and they continued to work and write together when they came back to New York.

Their first release was the Darkside EP, which saw the light of day on November 17, 2011, through Clown & Sunset. The album was quite well received by critics from various publications, including Resident Advisor and The Fader. They also got a score of eight points at Pitchfork, an online platform that ranks the best newly released music out there.

But what do we talk about when we discuss Darkside? For example, Nicholas Jaar described the project as blues-oriented and influenced by the sound of guitars. In an interview with ID magazine, he described Darkside as the most rock-and-roll-oriented album that he had done.

In general, their first album was quite well received, being described as a transition into a more progressive and narcotic-like sound. But besides its innovative arrangements, Darkside maintains a unique style which is partly thanks to Harrington’s influence.

The Fader stated that Harrington’s contributions bring a complementary touch to Jaar’s typical air-like sound.

First live performance

Darkside first performed before an audience in December 2011. The place was the Music Hall of Williamsburg in New York, and they sold out the show. Although their EP was only three songs long, they performed for one hour, leaving the public in awe. A year later, they performed at the SXSW festival in December 2012.

First video

The duo’s unique style is reflected in their first music video, released in May 2012 for the song A1. The director was Ryan Staake from Pomp & Clout and Clown & Sunset Aesthetics.

As you can see, the video shows what seems to be a post-apocalyptic world. With that deserted landscape as background, three figures with their faces covered explore the surroundings. The overall style and feel of the video seem to be created to support the song according to its essence. The minimal accompaniment it’s mainly based on an ostinato that grows steadily as the song develops. The injections of the voices are also minimal and reach quite an expressive level thanks to the work of the voicing and the sound effects.

A great achievement of the arrangement is the subtle variation in the accompaniment that grows throughout the piece contributing to the expressiveness of the song. Notice how at 2.57, the baseline stays practically by itself, supporting the accompaniment and providing a whole new depth to the song. After that, the song takes off again into a wider and more complex instrumental texture.

The second album

teachers desk

On June 21st, 2013, Darkside released its second album called Random Access Memories. The project was uploaded to a SoundCloud account and is a remix from the album Random Access Memories by the band “Daft Punk,” released in 2013. It received positive reviews from critics. It was described by Death and Taxes as “a dark game, almost like an abandoned disconnected disco.” But one of the best reviews came again from Pitchfork, describing the album as a “much better work than most of the standard remix albums.”

The duo was praised for their ability to mix originality with a joyful sound, finding new shades within the arrangements that they reuse further along in the songs. In other parts of the album, Jaar and Harrington seem to just have fun. They play along with the music taking each piece into their own unique style. “They act by instinct and are not overwhelmed by their materials,” said a critic at Pitchfork.

The success of the album even took it to be reviewed as one of the best albums of the year by the New Yorker. More specifically, Sasha Frere-Jones dedicated a whole review to Random Access Memories.

Psychic

On October 4th, 2013, they released Psychic, which was recorded in a 2-year period in Nicolas Jaar’s house in the city of New York, in the barn of the Harrington family in upstate New York, and in a space in Paris where they stayed between tours. The duo announced the completion of the album on August 20th, 2013, and both musicians invited their fans through Facebook and Twitter to listen to the album along with them in a small city place in Lower East Side, New York. They gathered so many people that they needed to host two listening sessions so that everyone could be accommodated.

Songs of the album Psychic:

  • Golden arrow
  • Sitra
  • Heart
  • Paper Trails
  • The Only shrine I’ve seen
  • Freak, go home
  • Greek light
  • Metatron

Like Sasha Frere-Jones described in her article, Golden Arrow, the first song of the album was made available for free downloading on August 23rd, 2013. This was done through the band’s website and Jaar’s label “Other people.” Originally, this song was promoted as the “first eleven minutes of the latest Darkside album”; however, its title was revealed in a later publication at Pitchfork and presented as “best new track.”

Spain also gave excellent feedback describing the song as 11 minutes of pure instrumental excellence. The album was also recognized as one of the best ones in the new music category.

An ending and a new beginning

Masonic Temple Brooklyn

However, the band was soon to have a break. In 2014 they announced that they were temporarily done with Darkside before they performed on September 12th at the Brooklyn Masonic temple. With “temporarily” being the keyword, they announced a new album called spiral on December 21st, 2020, three years after their show in Brooklyn.

Darkside’s members

Nicolas Jaar

Nicholas was born in New York and was the son of Chilean immigrants Evelyn Meynard and Alfredo Jaar. This prolific musician is widely known across the country for being a composer and a recording artist. As a solo artist, he released three albums in 2011, 2016, and 2020 (“Space is only noise,” “Sirens,” and “Cenizas,” respectively). Besides the three albums he recorded and released with Darkside, he created two more under the name “Against all Logic.”

Being the son of a dancer and an artist and architect, both from Chile, Nicholas has a wide mixture of cultures which undoubtedly helped his creative abilities. His mother is of French origins, and his father has Dutch and Palestinian ancestries with a surname presumably to originated in Bethlehem.

When he was three years old, his parents split up, and Nicolas moved to Santiago de Chile with his mother. He came back to New York at the age of 9 when his parents came back together.

Probably because of his origins, he attended the Lycée Français in New York City, and after school, he studied at Brown University, where he graduated with a degree in comparative literature.

During his prolific career, he not only showed talent as a musician but also as an entrepreneur. He founded his record label called Clown & Sunset and later Other People. Through these projects, he committed to promoting innovation in the music scenario of his country. He supported works by John Wall, Lucrecia Dalt, Lydia Lunch, and Pierre Bastien and participated in scores for films like Ema (Pablo Larrain) and Dheepan (Jacques Audiard).

Dave Harrington

Dave Harrington was widely known as a musician before he met Jaar. He played in psychedelic bands like “El topo” and the “Blade Runner trio.” Thanks to his wide experience playing this type of music, he gained the trust of Will Epstein, a fellow musician who was working with Nicholas Jaar in 2011. When Nicolas needed a third musician for his band, Epstein thought of Dave, and the rest is history.

Born on December 31st, 1985, Harrington comes from a different background than Nicholas Jaar. Maybe this is the secret formula for their success and unique sound.

Dave studied modern culture and media at Brown University in New York and is a renowned producer that plays several instruments. He specializes in indie rock style, electronic music, and other fusion musical experiments.

Darkside’s discography

speaker

Darkside EP

The first album has only three songs with simple titles: A1, A2, and A3. As a debut album, this record shows a clear tendency towards a new sound and a creative search. A1 starts with sound effects by the synthesizer to quickly lead the way toward a funky-style accompaniment. Being mostly instrumental, the voices in this song have a very short but interesting participation with different arrangements and synth effects.

In A2, we hear a tendency toward classic rock; however, instruments and sound effects still have the upper lead. A3 has the same minimalistic style. Toward 2.17, we hear a bass ostinato accompanied only by subtle percussion, creating the perfect atmosphere for the leading voices to make an appearance.

Even though the album has only three songs, Nicolas and Dave managed to give a one-hour show at its live presentation, which was quite a success.

Psychic

Psychic was recorded in different places in the state of New York and Paris when the band was on tour. Its eight songs are a testimony of Darkside’s growth and search for a new sound.

Golden Arrow

A real surprise to the senses, Golden Arrow, is the best opening that this album could have. With a steady pedal by the synthesizer, different effects appear, including string-like sounds, curated voices, and others. Although it may not seem like it, there is a melody drifting from one instrument to the other, and it is quite clear when you listen to the song at least more than once.

Sitra

With Sitra, we find a renovated sound with the keyboard opening the song and preparing the senses. The melody is led by a high-pitched synth sound.

Heart

The song Heart introduces percussion for the first time in the album, marking a steady beat and constituting the perfect intro before the leading voice comes in. During the verses, the guitar accompaniment brings a smooth rock feel, emphasized by an attractive tune.

Greek Light

A sequence of broken chords by the synthesizer is the perfect accompaniment for the background noises and the high-pitched melody. Towards the middle of the song, the leading voice is accompanied by a counterpoint sung by the other voice of the duo.

Paper Trails

The clapping effect gives a new rhythmic dimension to the album. The bluesy guitar solo introduces and accompanies the leading voice in a game of calls and responses.

The only shrine I’ve seen

The first thing you’ll hear is a rhythmic ostinato creating a special atmosphere. Going back to the style of the first album, Jaar and Harrington decided to give this song a touch of minimalism.

Freak, go home

While this song seems to disrupt the tidy order of the others, it’s actually quite refreshing to the ears. Starting with a variety of effect rhythms that seem to be antagonistic, the song soon becomes an up-tempo piece that can make anyone tap their foot on the ground.

Metatron

Simple at first, Metatron starts with long chords by the synthesizer on a simple four by four drumbeat. The guitar solo brings a melodic effect that is broken down by disruptive sound effects before the leading voice makes a short appearance.

Spiral

Released in 2021, Spiral is the album that brought Nicolas Jaar and Dave Harrington back together.

Narrow Road

Starting an album with a downbeat song is not easy, but Darkside manages to pull it off. More than a song, Narrow Road is a party to the senses. It combines different effects and complex rhythmic patterns to accompany the leading voice.

The Limit

You’ll find The Limit to have quite a catchy tune. The bass and the synth effect are key to giving this song that particular touch and unique “Darkside” style.

The question is to see it all

The guitar intro creates the perfect atmosphere for the leading voice to make an entrance. Its accompaniment is based on syncopation giving an interesting twist to the album overall.

Lawmaker

Rests are an important part of music, and every good musician knows this. Lawmaker starts with long notes separated by lengthy rests.

I’m the echo

Probably the most powerful song of the album, I’m the Echo, stands out for its impressive guitar riff and active rhythm base.

Spiral

Being the song that gives the album its name, Spiral is an example of what good taste looks like in music. The leading voice is marked by metallic sound effects and creates the highest lyric point of the whole album.

Liberty Bell

A faraway sound that’s all the listener hears before the drum start to fade in. One of the most traditional tunes in the album, Liberty Bell, brings the exact amount of contrast.

Inside is Out there

Before the album ends, you need to hear an upbeat song with cool effects and catchy riffs. This is what you get when you listen to Inside is Out there.

Only young

No intro is needed at this point, so the first thing we hear is the leading voice presenting a complex melody. When the instrumental part begins, it’s led by a lyrical melody by the synthesizer with a simple accompaniment.