Irish producer and multi-instrumentalist Sal Dulu’s alias is rooted in his love for the Beat Generation, particularly On The Road and The Vanity Of Duluoz by Jack Kerouac, where the producer has blended two of the main character names into his own, in Sal Paradise and Jack Duluoz. The Beat Generation, notable for its style of writing similar to that of a conscious stream of thought, seemingly exploding out of the pen, like blood blasted onto a page, exists as the perfect parallel to Sal Dulu’s musical work; and while his debut album, ‘Xompulse’, exuded moments of this spontaneous and experimental creative method, his sophomore album ‘Nafuchsia in Fantasy’ takes it to another level entirely.
Sometime after ‘Xompulse’ was released, Sal Dulu broke his collarbone in four places due to a freak football injury. This moment would provide a turning point for the artist, forcing him to slow down, get healthy and change his mind in viewing alcohol as a necessary component to be creative, “which is good”, he says, “cos that… wasn’t sustainable.”
While ‘Xompulse’ is influenced by memory and dreams, ‘Nafuchsia In Fantasy’ lends its inspiration from insomnia and hellscapes. Sal namechecks 19th Century English painter John Martin, whose most notable works are theatrical and Gothic depictions of the underworld, such as ‘The Great Day Of His Wrath’ or ‘The Last Judgement’.
This loose blend of influences allows Sal to create his own paintings through sound. Think of the album like rooms in a gallery; scattering breaks akin to jazz-jungle in one, orchestral choirs in another, a solo cello player in the room just around the corner… Sal curates these moments like the composer of a symphony; vivid Gothic images casting shadows as we walk the dualistic tightrope of light and dark.
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‘Trapped In A Container’ is a tale about the producer’s struggles with sleep, and really feels like walking down the dark corridor of a nightmare; the type of track your sleep paralysis demon would really get down to. Just one vocalist features on the album this time round, as Sal enlists Virginia rapper Fly Anakin once more on ‘Neri Eyes’, blending elements of art rap and gospel, but zooming out of the lens allows you to see that the styles on ‘Nafuchsia in Fantasy’ goes well beyond that.
There are steppy rhythms on ‘Purple Heaven’, sitting somewhere between the murky Burial-esque worlds of garage and dubstep, pitched and manipulated vocals casting an eye back to Jacques Greene’s work on Lucky Me Records; the vocal in particular sounding like something from an XXXY video on Subsoul from 2013. This blend of pop, R&B and emotional electronics is something that nods to both the nostalgia of past and a future without limits, once wrapped in Sal’s left-field, experimental bow.
‘Battelstar’ is something akin to the sample culture of footwork in Chicago, as 160BPM breaks play out over loaded samples that can fire out at any given moment as finger-picked guitar licks emerge from heavenly gates. The attention to detail is insane, and it’s everywhere, as Sal strives to think beyond traditional song structures in favour of complete maximalism.
The album climaxes with ‘Nafuscia’, an explosion of orchestral, pulsating heartbeat-like electronics and choirs. Cinematic as ever, it could score the ending of the world, but let’s hope we get another Sal Dulu album before then.
9/10
Words: Andrew Moore
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