Over the years Electric Deluxe has become a beacon for established names to test out new projects, and it’s with great pleasure we welcome another unknown into the fold. Arad is the freshfaced solo guise of Dara Smith, best known as one half of Lakker. Together with partner Ian McDonell, the pair have been making music for over a decade, in recent years honing their insidious and deftly idiosyncratic take on techno for labels like Blueprint, Stroboscopic Artefacts and R&S. But whilst McDonell has found the time to prune his own solo career as Eomac, Smith has been fully occupied with Lakker and working as a motion graphics designer. Until now, that is.

‘Haon EP’ is Smith’s debut release as Arad. Bolstered by years of experimentation and experience, and written with the same capricious approach to style that’s made Lakker’s rise such a joy to chart, ‘Haon EP’ is a veritable feast of intriguing composition and influences. Opening with the aptly titled roller “Basswave” and screwed-up sounds of “Fourty Four” before flipping over to the staccato march of “Gedup awa dat” and warped Warpness of closer “NCS”, ‘Haon EP’ is one for  the headphones as much for the dancefloor, that continues to reward with every listen. Digital bonus tracks “Grand Job” and “Tapper” then show Smith take another turn entirely, proving Arad to be a project definitely worth keeping tabs on.