Nate De Young: Duoteque are a couple of Italians that made their first big ripple last summer with analog bass-waves gone wild on “Drug Queen.” The song was massive, but also completely predictable—with breakdowns and build-ups signaled from a minute away. The Daki EP takes a hard left and finds the duo loosening up: lead track “Daki Theta”’s chorus goes, “I am a kid who feels fine / I want a pill that makes one smile.” If the grammar is a little awkward, it makes it that much harder to tell if you’re smiling about the lyrics or the music’s series of sonic gags—with pitch-shifting synths jumping every which way over a rubbery bassline. While the source material is an insta-setup for remixing, The MFA doesn’t paint by numbers. They can take credit for both a captivating take on filter-house and an 8-bit Contra-style breakdown.

Mallory O’Donnell: Brushing on Italo and New Beat textures while employing some of the squeaky goofiness of Gomma and the playfulness of Playhouse, “Daki Theta” is a proper headrush-inducer disguised as novelty number. “I just forgot your postal code,” indeed. This is primetime material for me—immediately bracing, but dense and original enough to go the distance, with extra points awarded for actually yelling “bass!” “Kyra” makes it clear that Duoteque have come here for one reason and one reason alone—to blow some speaker cones and kick some ass. Tomorrow we might all be gone, so there’s only so much time to strip down to our undies, dance before the beach bonfire, and experience the transcendental revelation that can only come through booming bass, synths cascading off into whirls of color and vapor and—oh shit, I’ve run out of synonyms for “throbbing.” The MFA remix of “Daki Theta” unites the two approaches—funk gets stronger, killer kilometer-longer version. Present in both vocal and instrumental flavors for added fun, play ‘em both together and watch the trance bunnies run.

Boxer / 038