Bags Of Time EP

Kelpe's recent ,I Felt Fuzzy' EP on April was his first drop in a year and it dropped deep, selling out its vinyl run and attracting praise from all forms media, old and new. The muse was clearly high, new tracks were popping out and, with a serious banger of a remix from Neon Jung in the bag, it seemed only right to put out another EP quick sharp. Where ,I Felt Fuzzy' came in at 23 minutes and a whole side of remixes, here the focus is on Kelpe's own productions, and at 15 minutes with longer workouts leading the opening of each side, followed by shorter more beat-based works, it's very much the classic extended play single, something Svetlana Industries promotes as the perfect format for electronic music. Kicking off with a rolling, bouncing rhythm played live on kitchen pots and pans, title track ,Bags Of Time' s bounding forward motion belies its relatively relaxed speed. 110BPM is actually a classic Kelpe tempo, that territory between hip hop and house which only a few producers can properly drive. Also classic Kelpe is the fat analogue synth riff that holds down the bottom end, slowly morphing throughout the tune. ,Double Punt' is an elegant and more serious statement, the beat is less obvious, the chord sequence sombre, the sound levels building until it enters a synthy stew. It feels forboding, ambiguous, a new side to Kelpe. On the flip, Neon Jung's Wormhole Remix of ,Bags Of Time' is just breathless, conjuring up a dizzy vortex of sound right from the start. Audibly building on the same blocks as the original, but channeling a whole flow, this is contemporary UK dance music at its finest. At a club friendly 135bpm, it ties the heavy syncopated rhythm tracks of UK bass to an increasingly euphoric melody that peaks at a righteous, giddy and glorious frenzy. The EP's red lantern is 'City' a quiet belter with heavy heavy heavy analogue bass over understated drums, until a very pretty melody drops. With the flavours of classic electro hip hop fattened up for the new millennium, 'City''s synth parts are poetic and beautiful, and it's a subtle little treasure to close off the disc.[cargo]