Under his club-facing alias Daphni, Dan Snaith steps away from the psychedelic songcraft of Caribou and into something more functional but no less soulful. Butterfly is a collection of tunes and DJ tools with groove after groove rooted firmly in the history of house music. Much of this could plausibly have been made in the early ‘90s with sample-based, tactile rhythms that feel like a tribute to classic Chicago house in both spirit and construction.

This is warm, celebratory house music that never drifts into the coldness of techno, and even when the structures are simple and the vocals sparse the tracks are loaded with melody and earworms, blooming into huge, hands-in-the-air moments without relying on obvious choruses. Waiting So Long is a massive anthem that would slide seamlessly into a Carl Cox set whilst Clap Your Hands rides a super-groovy bassline that nods towards DJ Sneak. Good Night Baby leans 80s with warm synthwave textures and Talk To Me brings in a more contemporary fluttering bassline closer to Claude VonStroke or Justin Martin territory. Even when tension builds there’s always comfort in the sound design with a clear human touch in the melodic choices, swung percussion, and swelling and receding synths. The closer Eleven is simply gorgeous, taking its time with synths slowly blooming outward into something vast. Butterfly pays homage both lovingly and fluently to a lineage of groove and celebration, nostalgic in the way that it refuses to chase the cutting edge. A loving tour through the foundations of dance music across classic house textures, all contained within a warm framework with a terrific range of tempos and textures and genuine emotional depth, Butterfly is a master craftsman paying tribute to the music that shaped him and proving that house music made with feel never ages.