Initially exposed from radio play by Mary Anne Hobbs, Blue Daisy’s debut full length, 'The Sunday Gift', certainly makes good on the promise showed when he first came to prominence on the bass scene. It’s a bold and expansive work containing a hidden darkness, one that recalls a certain Burial amid vocals that seep into the subconscious similar to Massive Attack circa Mezzanine.

When in the process of making a song, I tend to create an atmosphere with which I instantly know what vibe or approach I'd want from a vocalist

High praise maybe, but Kwes Darko’s real skill in balancing these disparate elements lies in allowing the music time to breathe, while reaching out to form an emotional connection with the listener. Ahead of his set at Tempo Clash alongside Lone, dBridge, Om Unit and Kidkanevil this weekend, he makes us an exclusive new mix here...

Dazed Digital: You’ve been quoted as saying that songwriting is all from the spirit and soul rather than the mind. How do you prepare yourself to enter this state to start writing a song?
Blue Daisy: Lights off, curtains closed. The only lights on are from my workstation, my remedy to getting in the zone.

DD: There are some quite avant-garde textures in your sound. Do you take inspiration from modern twentieth century composers at all?
Blue Daisy: I wouldn't say I do, but I do listen to a variety of composed music. Currently hold a soft spot musically for Olafur Arnalds.

DD: How do you decide on which tracks to include a vocalist and which not? Do you have any dream vocalist/collaborators?
Blue Daisy: When in the process of making a song I always have it in mind whether it should be an instrumental based piece or a collaborative piece, and I tend to be able to create an atmosphere with which I instantly know what vibe or approach I'd want from a vocalist. Dream collaborators? Well I'm a massive fan of Lau Nau so would be great to get something done with her. Olafur Arnalds would be a dream as would Ben Frost, but yeah there's a number of people I would love to work with and with time I feel some of these collaborations will come together.

DD: Could you tell us about the artwork for the album?
Blue Daisy: The album artwork was designed by a talented artist from New Dehli called Archan Nair. We actually connected through Soundcloud where he got in touch with me and said he would love to do something together in the near future. I listened to his music and instantly felt a connection with his art, so asked him if he would like to be involved in creating the album artwork and a beautiful creation was born. Check him out at http://www.archann.net.