Kelpe - I Felt Fuzzy

  • Share
  • "Cola Mine," the lead track on the new EP from London's Kel McKeown, sits right on the boundary between hip-hop-inspired, LA-leaning "beat music" and the pitched-down, house-not-house vibes of London's Floating Points. The heavy use of samples evokes the Dilla school, right down to stumbling rhythms that sound like they've been tapped in on the MPC, but the soloing synths and gooey counterpoints are suggestive of house music's more fluid lines. (Paced around 112 BPM, DJs may find that it slots neatly between the two styles.) "Frosty Kiss" is slower and more whimsical, with bright, wheezing synthesizer chords over clanking drum machines; I'm faintly reminded of Richard D. James and Mike Paradinas' Expert Knob Twiddlers. "I Felt Fuzzy," his third original track here, pairs tough funk breaks with easy-listening coos and sprightly synth soloing. It's the record's most laidback track, with a relaxed, sunset-on-the-terrace atmosphere. The Cupp Cave remix of "I Feel Fuzzy" is a jumble of worn synthesizers and crisp claps that brings to mind Workshop or Lukid's Glum label, and Naive Machine's rework of the same is on a super slo-mo electro tip, a little like Com Truise. But the highlight of the remixes is undoubtedly BNJMN's take on "Cola Mine," which translates its cadence for a more emphatic house beat while whipping the keys and drums into a pastel fizz. It's a riot of motion, but the overall impression is feather-soft.
  • Tracklist
      A1 I Felt Fuzzy A2 Cola Mine A3 Frosty Kiss B1 Cola Mine (BNJMN remix) B2 I Felt Fuzzy (Cupp Cave remix) B3 I Felt Fuzzy (Naive Machine remix)
RA