Daphni Plays to a PACKED Crowd at Portola 2026

Following Ben UFO was a difficult assignment. Daphni made it seem like the most natural thing in the world. His Sunday set in the Ship Tent picked up the momentum already in the room and kept it moving, with a selection that was exuberant, playful, and occasionally startling. This was one of the weekend's most enjoyable stretches of dancing, and the transition between the two DJs was a large part of why.

Daphni is Dan Snaith, who also records and performs as Caribou. The alias gives his interest in club music a particularly direct outlet, although the warmth and melodic instinct associated with Caribou are still easy to recognize. This year's Butterfly offered another expression of that sensibility. In a DJ set, the same qualities can emerge through someone else's record, or through two records suddenly making an unexpected kind of sense together.

The blend of Frank Ocean's “Lost” with Underworld's “Born Slippy” was the clearest example. Ocean's vocal has an easy, conversational swing; Underworld's track carries an enormous amount of rave history and a very different sense of urgency. Ocean’s vocal gave the rave anthem a sly, almost breezy turn. The result was joyful in a way that felt spontaneous, with the recognition of two familiar songs opening into the pleasure of hearing a new relationship between them.

It was also a good demonstration of why an inventive festival set need not depend on obscurity. Those songs are widely loved, but their familiarity supplied material for the DJ to work with. The surprise came from the arrangement. 

Ben UFO had already given the Ship Tent a compelling afternoon. Daphni sustained it with a different personality, finding room for tenderness inside a set that was so much fun to dance to. Sunday kept offering another good reason to stay out, and Daphni supplied several of the best.

Article by: Andrew Ameter

Photos by: AJ Manalaysay, Demian Beccara, Priscilla Rodriguez, & Sabrina Poei