- Kel McKeown's most recent Kelpe LP, Fourth: The Golden Eagle, was like an ode to analogue synthesisers. As it bubbled between wonky hip-hop and brightly hued house, it was almost possible to see his hands dancing over the keys, and feel the sense of performance over programming. For his debut on Semtek's Don't Be Afraid, McKeown again lets his instruments run wild.
Though "Monte Verità" is more floor-focused than much of his other work, it's still crammed with contrasting ideas. An absent kick on the second beat creates a rhythmic hole where arpeggiated basses and pads swirl or heavily filtered echo trails bubble like the breath of a cartoon fish. Elements build and fade, occasionally coming to a complete halt before a new movement kicks in; the pieces hang over from the previous section, creating an odd sense of discord. Former Transmat sound engineer Kevin Reynolds keeps most of the original—the missing kick moves to the fourth beat, the arpeggios whir gently around fizzing hats—but he cuts through it all with an acid line that could dissolve glass. Reynolds dismembers McKeown's charming original with surgical precision.
TracklistA1 Monte Verita
B1 Monte Verita (Kevin Reynolds Truth Remix)