It seems the recent interest in experimental beat & everything cosmic has helped UK beatmaker Kelpe get more air time with his fourth DC Recordings offering “Cambio Wechsel”. Listening to him the first time around I was pleasantly struck by the diversity of it all. There seems to be no end to Kel’s styles, ranging from psych beats a la The Time & Space Machine to Lukid’s percussive afro-beat-meets-hip-hop, spiced with space FX made hip by Ras G and Flying Lotus, with highly personal stories.

Kelpe seems to kick against this focus, and yes, there are a couple of tracks here that fit the mould (‘Microscope Contents’ being one) but Kelpe adds a more sinister edge to an otherwise disco sound. There are still ghosts from the debut Sea Inside Body and the second album Ex-Aquarium, but he has pushed sound further for this release. Cyclic Defrost

His promo mixtape for Drowned in Sound features the whole UK beat gang, Koushik, Bullion, Paul White, Onra, Nosaj, Fulgeance, Hud Mo and even steppas like Tempa, so you know you have to get this one if you’re into the scene/already got this. Yet I fail to enjoy it because of problems I can’t pinpoint with this scene. Too much techno/electro? That “sinister edge”?, or blandness on some tracks?. I don’t know, but I had felt it listening to Fulgeance, Nosaj and the latest Paul White EP, too. Cambio Wechsel is technically a solid LP, but it fails to grow after a few listens. Kind of lacking in the soul department, eh? 3.5/5

Kelpe – Crispy Juice by LukeSlater
Tracklist