(DC Recordings/Creative Vibes)

The life aquatic…

UK producer Kel McKeown, aka Kelpe, could be seen as stretching the underwater references a little with his artist name and the title selection for his second album, but if the shoe (or flipper) fits, then who are we to complain? Not quite as fish-and-whale obsessed as Mr Scruff, Kelpe is nonetheless still fond of the odd nautical sample amongst his broken hip hop beats and swathes of leftfield synth noise (a la Boards Of Canada, or should I say, Boards Of Atlantis? Ok, that’s enough…), although his deck bell-sampling track Shipwreck Glue sounds a bit more like electronic ping pong funk than a dirge from the briny depths. Surface obsessions aside, Ex-Aquarium is a superior effort in the atmospheric and experimental electronic stakes, the tune Whirlwound managing to combine the breakbeat-sampling nous of early DJ Shadow with the ominous waking-dream feel of the aforementioned Boards Of Canada. He laces this composition some plucked acoustic lines for a touch of individuality (nobody wants to be an outright copyist, do they?), but the lineage is clear. Later Bread Machine Bred injects some Kieran ‘Four Tet’ Hebden-style dismantled percussion into the mix, and Half Broken Harp’s title alone points at folk-tronica in an undissolved form. Thankfully Kelpe’s strength is in keeping his constructions coherent and melodic without ever falling into unfettered noodling or perversity (I’m looking at you, Aphex Twin…). Plus he avoids the sometimes po-faced asceticism of BoC with spurts of humour like Yipee Space Ghost (Sidversion), without ever overdoing it. In summary, Ex-Aquarium manages to sound like the best bits of all your favourite leftfield hip hop/electronic/folktronic records, and while it isn’t stunningly original, it makes for an engaging listen, perhaps one best enjoyed on the deck of a small fishing boat while floating into a fog…

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LEON TRAMINER

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