Din Daa Daa is the alias of Berlin-based artist, Denise Ross. I’m not sure how long Ross has been making music, but her DJ career began in the early 1990s. Heavily involved in the world of art and design, Ross recently began working on sound installations. Her latest project “Ocean Refuses No River” takes its title from a poem by the Persian, Sufi poet Rumi, and in concept is a comment on our climate of constant conflict over borders, land, and the refugee crisis. 

The piece is split into audio – “Hadal” – and visual – “Photic”. The latter is a loop of figures dancing. Filmed in slow motion, up close but made distant, indistinct, filtered through glowing, diaphanous clouds of colour. The music is a 20-minute long composition, a suite of 5 seamless sections, where field recordings shift from fresh water trickling to surging surf, set to rapid metallic rattling and dubwise collisons, while mythological siren-like vocals draw inspiration from Shelia Chandra’s “AboneCroneDrone”.  

The installation began life as track, which is available in 2 mixes on Bandcamp. “Ocean” opens with an extended intro of ethereal sighs and pulsing, undulating low end oscillations. A deep, ambient dive of swooning synth washes and echoed effervescence, where the shimmering shoegaze-y whispers also bear a clear Cocteau Twins / Elizabeth Fraser influence. A broken breakbeat then turns the track into a haunting, hypnotic homage to 90s chill-out room classics, the sort of thing found on Music For Dreams’ essential “Virtual Dreams” compilation, and as the bass bends, warps, becomes acidic, we’re swimming in seas parallel to Japan’s Dream Dolphin.*

“River” removes the beat, but adds myriad, morphing melodic modular elements. Surrounding listeners with symphonic swells and reassuring, warm waves of celestial novo new age. Similar, sonically, say, to Mixmaster Morris’ beautiful, seminal shake of Sven Vath’s “Barbarella”.  

*The vocals were recorded in Tokyo by Flower Records’ artists Dominic “DJ D” Dawson and singer, Miotina.

You can find out more about Denise Ross / Din Dan Daa and “Ocean Refuses No River” by clicking here, and purchase the tracks “Ocean” and “River” over at Bandcamp. 

All proceeds from the release will be donated to Medical Aid for Palestinians.