Daphni – Good Night Baby

Find “Good Night Baby” by Daphni on plusfm, taken from the album “Butterfly“.

Composer: Caribou
Label: Jiaolong
© 2026 Jiaolong

Rough around the edges but constantly in motion, Daphni’s long-awaited album Butterfly is more like the chase than the destination. It’s beautifully erratic and impossible to pin down. Released on his own Jiaolong label, Daphni (Dan Snaith) returns after a four-year hiatus. By exploring rougher, groovier territory, Snaith reaffirms Daphni’s role as his most direct conduit to the club, a place to channel ideas designed simply to be played rather than intricately unpacked.

At first listen, the album’s 16 tracks seem to lack an obvious narrative. But this disjointedness is purposeful. Butterfly isn’t interested in presenting neatly as a polished album, but in functioning like a DJ set unfolding in real time, constantly recalibrating its energy to keep dancers in constant motion.

Layered together, the tracks form the winding moments of a night on the dancefloor. Drifting between euphoria, tension and emotion, the music never settles long enough to be fully grasped. That progression is set early in “Sad Piano House,” which links Butterfly back to Daphni’s 2022 album Cherry with its bendy, melancholic piano lines folding despondency and momentum into the same groove.

Daphni – Good Night Baby

“Lucky” creeps forward slowly, its deep pulses hinting at a release that never quite arrives, while “Miles Smiles” counters with a groovy loop so self-assured it feels as though it could go on indefinitely. “Josephine” is a masterclass in controlled disorientation, stretching to breaking point before dropping descending power chords that land with striking satisfaction. “Hang” locks in on bouncy, hypnotic repetition punctuated by sudden bursts of colourful trumpets, whereas “Talk To Me” strips things back to a booming minimalist wobbly tech-house drum pattern, interspersed with moments of euphoric warmth.

“Waiting So Long” offers the album’s most freeing high—its euphoric swell and easy momentum represent a moment of pure joy. Featuring Snaith’s own vocals as Caribou, the track blurs the line between his monikers, introducing accessible emotional clarity rarely heard under the Daphni alias. “Good Night Baby” slows everything right down, trading euphoria for intimacy; its mushy, affectionate tones creates a brief comedown before the dancefloor inevitably stirs again.

Ultimately, Butterfly succeeds not by chasing cohesion or perfection, but by embracing exploration, movement, pull and release. It captures the restless, human thrill of the dancefloor with remarkable confidence and intent.

© Benjamin Callman/Qobuz