Kelpe + Grasscut

Event information

KELPE

As a young teenager, Kel McKeown (AKA Kelpe) decided that sampling and sequencing might provide him with a safer past time than bone splintering skateboarding mishaps.

The initial efforts made on a Commodore Amiga with a sampler provided him with a discipline and focus that is of fundamental importance to the creative process that he currently employs in the execution of his distinctive beat creations.

Kelpe’s influences range from the bleeps & bass of classic Warp artists to the funk of Sly Stone, and the minimalism of Steve Reich + Harmonia to the percussive space-scapes of Tortoise + Do Make Say Think. The diversity of the music that inspires Kelpe finds reflection in his own sonic adventures, informing his ever evolving sound, combining as map and compass to guide his lunar-bound b-boy throw downs.

His critically acclaimed album ‘Sea Inside Body’ (September 2004), was described by The Wire as “One of the most engrossing listens in recent electronic music”. In 2005 came bedroom discotheque 12″ ‘Sunburnt Eyelids’ (a Hud Mo favourite) and In 2008 came double LP ‘Ex-Aquarium’ (2008) and remix companion ‘Extraquarium’ (featuring Zombie Zombie, Fulgeance, Architeq etc). In October 2009 third full length ‘Cambio Wechsel’ arrived, which BBC Music described “as irresistible as Prefuse 73 or Flying Lotus’s most commended collections”.

Tonight Kelpe will be playing with ubiquitous drummer Chris Walmsley (Voice of The Seven Woods, Broadcast, Psapp etc) with whom he's been playing since 2008. The live set up incorporates the traditional drum kit and MPC style beat manipulations whilst not being afraid to embrace modern technology (i.e. a laptop computer!). This explosive live act has travelled far and wide, from Lithuania to California, playing alongside diverse acts such as Aphex Twin, Jaki Liebezeit , Prefuse 73, and Daedelus. Chris Walmsley (AKA ‘All Traps Set’) also made a guest appearance on latest album ‘Cambio Wechsel’, providing the heavy rhythmic backdrop to the bass driven ‘Closed Cup Headroom’.

GRASSCUT

"These forms exist. They simply have fallen into disrepair." - W G Sebald

So begins the debut album from Grasscut, a transcendental journey from the Sussex South Downs of High Down to the Nintendo cathedral of Muppet. On its way it encounters both string quartets and casio keyboards, as well as a cast of voices including a 1920s tenor (The Tin Man), a Victorian singing poet (In Her Pride), gossiping mums and the Massed Voices of St Helier Choir (Muppet), a woman reminiscing about post-war rationing (1946), and two American property developers (Old Machines). The contemporary song cycle also features original vocals on several tracks.

Influences include Robert Wyatt, Brian Eno, Kraftwerk, Vaughan Williams, Brian Wilson, and Gavin Bryars.

Grasscut songwriter Andrew Phillips is an award-winning film and television composer with over 100 screen credits. His soundtrack album, Home, is out on Burning Shed and he has recently contributed tracks to Lo Recordings. He is also a former keyboard player, vocalist and arranger with One Giant Leap, working with Baaba Maal and Neneh Cherry.

He is joined on this journey by erstwhile partner in grasscut: classically trained double bassist, keyboards player Marcus O'Dair. Live, they set up facing one another, at right angles to the audience, each armed with laptop and keyboard – Phillips on live programming, keyboards, vocals and guitar, O’Dair on double bass, stylophone, megaphone and toy piano. The pair made their live debut at the Loop Festival (Fourtet, Caribou, Holy Fuck) in August 2008, and have since performed at Tate Britain, the ICA, the Union Chapel and Koko, as well as opening the main stage at The Big Chill 2009. They have shared stages with Plaid, Clark, Luke Vibert, Tim Exile, Nathan Fake, Daedelus and Anti-Pop Consortium, and remixed the likes of Bonobo and Jaga Jazzist.

www.myspace.com/grasscutmusic