Siren is Darshan Jesrani (Metro Area, Startree) and Dennis Kane (Disques Sinthomme, Ghost Town). Siren began recording in earnest during the winter of 2013, but has beginnings which date farther back, to their mutual residencies at NYC’s storied night-spot APT, and to the parties they produced together in APT’s wake. Events with names like Camille 3000, Adult Section and Strobe Lodge were lovingly presented, with bold, romantic graphics and a strong, specific statement that refinement and transgression can, and should always hang together.
A Canal Street loft, A Bushwick print-shop, a former ballroom dance studio in Chinatown, an old theater, an idyllic poolside on Long Island, a burlesque parlor - all locations which have played host to Jesrani & Kane’s unique way of playing for party people. Siren champions a melodic and eclectic-but-unified style of playing which has earned them a following in their explorations of what makes a night of mixed music dynamic, fluid and ultimately transformative.
Over the course of conversations about songs played and casual examinations of each other’s work, a studio dialogue developed naturally and led to regular sessions. A battery of songs were sketched, the name Siren selected, and a new chapter begun. Their easy bond of playing records together has extended into a studio practice ready to yield a significant body of work.
Siren’s first offering, “Gauntlet,” is a moody, rich maelstrom of a song which embraces everything from heavy disco, to West African guitar, to soundtrack and theme music, to Adrian Belew. Released on Compost in late 2014, it was met with superlative praise from fellow DJs and dance music press alike. Their second single, entitled “A/Way” with Mr. Reed stands in proud, stark counterpoint to their first. A sunny, wind-swept trip of a song, this single is a paean to a life un-hampered and in one’s own power. Anchored by a strong-but-easy bass line which recalls Norman Whitfield, and punctuated by horns which gently hint at Burt Bacharach, the song is propelled forward by a driving, joyous guitar groove which embodies the spirit of the most uplifting of late-60 & 70s rock & roll. A soaring, plaintive vocal by Mr. Reed ties it all together into a glorious, bittersweet parcel to be delivered straight to the heart.
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