Kelpe + Elite Barbarian + Limn

Event information

Lithe Presents:
Kelpe – July 29th
+ Elite Barbarian + Limn
£7, 8pm

Kelpe -

Also known as Kel Mckeown, Kelpe (DC) is welcomed to London by the open arms of beat-heads and the open minds of progressive melody lovers. Such a marriage of genres gives us, in a nutshell, ballads of technotronic trickery fortified by killer drumming and trapping snares. The bopping of your bonce will allow you to recall, among others, heavyweight electronic icons such as post-drum & bass Bukem. The nodding of Kelpes' own noggin will signify his own, confessed influences - namely early Mo Wax recordings, DJ Shadow and, the icing on the cake, Stars of the Lid.

Yet invention overcomes influence, and that is what makes the Loughborough native shine. Kelpe's leaps and bounds progression, since his first 12" offering in 2003 (The People are Trying to Sleep - DC), is ever-present on his latest gift Ex-Aquarium (DC). Synthesised nods to early rave-era hand-raising are kept in check by 1000-yard stare strings and eclectic, though organised, percussion. Lest we forget the percussion! The support Kelpe receives from Chris Walmsley (AKA All Traps are Set) is like the protein a bodybuilder gets from his nutrient shake. The man is as ubiquitous as his drumming, naming solid acts like Psapp (Domino) and Damo Suzuki (Can) among his previous collaborators. Kelpe and Walmsleys' unity gives the repertoire more balls than Wembley, more muscle than Morecambe Bay. In a word, a sonic infrastructure that cannot be overlooked.


Elite Barbarian -

As one quarter of uber-experimentro hipsters Rothko (Trace), and coupled with his recent act of the same quality, Rocketnumbernine, Ben Page (AKA Elite Barbarian (The Front & Follow)) is becoming something of a byword for sonic guidance. His glorious use of a multitude of musical toys for grown-ups lends him qualities of a mad scientist - fearless and inventive.

Those of you yearning for a spot of escapism need look no further. Page bridges the gap between the everyday and the sub-normal, the fancy of his emotionally charged offerings tickled by the whimsy of his creativity. Aural pleasure, and not for the squeamish.


Limn -

With fire in their bellies as well as their instruments, Limn (4th Harmonic) by no means limp to or from any performance. Never before will you see such joyous treatment of raw musical tools, they simply wring value from the materials they have. However, that is as far as their sense of economy goes. The foursome allow a rich apocalypse to permeate the eardrums, guaranteeing an audience that stares on in admiration. Getting down and dirty has never been cleaner.