DENA and JFDR team up on "Players", a spacey and unsettling fuck-you to a heartbreaker
Recorded last year in London, Berlin-based artist DENA and Iceland's JFDR have unveiled a stunning collaboration.
"Players" - based around glitching trap beats, droning organ and rumbling bass - is a wonderfully spaced-out track, and the repeated mantra of "I'm not into him no more" grows ever more powerful each time DENA and JFDR's voices sing it in an intertwining unison. Jofridur's production is intense and brilliant, while DENA reminds us just what a talented musician and song writer she truly is.
"Jofridur and I met a few years ago at a festival we both played at," DENA tells us. "Since then we stayed in touch and whenever we are in the same town we always try to get into a studio or just hang out. This was the first song we wrote some time ago in London. It was a cold rainy day, and I remember we went to get tons of rose-cream chocolate (and socks) to warm us up. Back in the studio I was amazed how incredibly focused and precise Jofri was on the beats and production. I was happy to spot a Farfisa organ laying around to play on. The song was a momentary glimpse into a story of heartbreak and the will to move on."
Unsettling, heavy and magnificent, "Players" maybe only hints at the greatness this duo could achieve if only they were in the same place a bit more often.
Sign up to Best Fit's Substack for regular dispatches from the world of pop culture