Kelpe (Kel McKeown) is from Loughborough, England. His first EP, The People are Trying to Sleep, was picked up by London based DC Recordings in 2003. He’s since released three full-length LPs, Sea Inside Body (2004), Ex-Aquarium (2008) and Cambio Wechsel (2009) on DC, plus the remix companion Extraquarium, which featured remixes by confederates such as Zombie Zombie, The Oscillation, The Boats, Architeq, Fulgeance and more. In early 2008 Kelpe teamed up with drummer Chris Walmsley (Broadcast, Psapp) for live performances.
 
On its release in 2004, McKeown’s debut album as Kelpe Sea Inside Body received critical acclaim from the music press for its blurring of lines between disco, hiphop and post-rock. McKeown’s fusions of leftfield instrumental hiphop and IDM elements were compared to the likes of Four Tet, Dabrye and Boards Of Canada.
 
Still with DC Recordings, a label established by DJ and producer Jonathon Saul Kane in the mid 90s to showcase meldings of hip hop and electronica, Kelpe branched out stylistically with his third album. Cambio Wechsel did away with the watery references and took on board the deeper end of hiphop and wonky, merging influences like Prefuse 73 and Flying Lotus.
 
Chris Walmsley aka All Traps Set, made an appearance on Cambio Wechsel, and tours extensively with Kelpe as his live drummer.
 
> www.myspace.com/kelpemusic
> www.dcrecordings.com
 
Appearances:
> CTM.10 > CORNUCOPIA