Austin, Texas based instrumental hiphop producer Malcolm Kipe is perhaps better known for his productions as Nautilis on Mike Paradinas’ Planet Mu label, and this second album from him under his own name emerges through Merck mere months after his debut offering ‘Beatspiracy Theories.’ In many senses, ‘Lit’ represents a direct continuation on from where ‘Breakspiracy Theories’ left off, and follows a very similar sonic trajectory, blending strong early nineties hiphop influences with an experimental electronic approach similar to the likes of Prefuse 73, DJ Shadow and DJ Vadim.

Opening track ‘Dusted Again’ kicks off this 20 track, 52 minute collection on a funk-infused downbeat note, spectral samples giving way to slow drum loops, lazy Herbaliser-style scratching and warm basslines, gentle jazzy piano notes rolling through the mix in a lush headnod beats moment that calls to mind ‘Deadringer’ period RJD2, vinyl hiss and all. ‘Cinco de Mayonnaise’ heads straight out into DJ Shadow-esque widescreen beats territory, with feathery acoustic guitars lifted from vintage vinyl floating delicately over a dry-sounding looped drum break while strings trail at the very edges, before ‘Mute – Mansvent Remix’ layers a high-pitched vocal sample reminiscent of Four Tet’s recent ‘Smile Around The Face’ over plucked acoustic guitars, swooning strings and punching hiphop beats that pack more of a propulsive rhythm than the previous openers. ‘Milk On Butter’ meanwhile verges on just plain odd, with a clipped strangulated-sounding James Brown-esque vocal sample rolling repetitively over a smooth soul-funk loop, dubbed-out horns echoing sensuously llike some crunked-out shagging instrumental gone hilariously wrong , while ‘More’ shows the electronics coming to the fore, with juddering morse-code synths making their way alongside crunching drum loops and dubbed-out drum crashes, in a moment that calls to mind the more electro-tinged areas of Diplo’s recent productions.

‘Chicago Funk’ gets eerie and spectral, with tumbling synthetic bleeps falling over punching MPC beats and deep sub-bass tones while shimmering horror-movie strings waft through the mix and furious turntable cuts flit back and forth, before ‘Clotogapus Calls You’ veers towards Indian orchestration, with dry echoing looped drums clicking their way through a fog-like backdrop of snaking flute, synthesised chords and vast choral vocals that call to mind Dead Can Dance, a stray horn sample lending an unexpected trace of funk near the end. ‘Pit Grill Beat’ opens with a smirk-worthy bondange-lite sampled spanking intro before venturing down into sinister film-noir piano stabs and smoky saxaphone calls, juddering sampled beats clinging loosely to the instrumental elements, while ‘Feeding The Beast’ features a brief reprise of the political samples that made more predominant appearances on ‘Beatspiracy Theories’, with sampled MC vocals being tossed and blended over a low-slung beat backing and warm rolling woodwinds -–listen closely and you might even catch the whale sample from Star Trek 4 in there. Finally, ‘Mystery Child’ brings this album to a close on a chilled downbeat hiphop note, with what almost sounds like a sample of Hall & Oates’ ‘She’s Gone’ trailing its way over rich soul saxaphones, trailing Fender Rhodes keys and angular looped beats, calling to mind the more soft focus moments of DJ Shadow’s recent ‘Private Press.’

‘Lit’ is another strong collection of leftfield instrumental hiphop from Malcolm Kipe that’s certainly to going to appeal to those who enjoyed his previous ‘Beatspiracy Theories’ album and ventures into some intriguing downbeat areas explored also by the likes of Prefuse 73, Shadow and more locally, Pasobionic. Perhaps my only slight criticism here is that some of tracks included here border on slightly repetitious and don’t really go anywhere in particular, wandering in closed loops rather than developing or ending up at any real destination, meaning that perhaps ‘Lit’ works best as a late-night background listening soundtrack than anything else. Still, fans of the likes of Prefuse 73 and Krush headnod beats are unlikely to be disappointed by what’s on offer here.

by Evilchris2