David Reep, the nom de beat, of one-man pachyderm Elephant & Castle, knows his way behind a good name-drop. Granted, he probably didn’t write his bio, but any one-sheet that references Flying Lotus and Free the Robots, Madlib, Carl Craig, and Derrick May, will get at least a half listen. The same bio also claims he tries to find a balance between “cheese and soul,” which intimates that he tries to make his music sound like Waffle House grits. Fine by me.
You can guess the rest: he’s a crate-digger obsessed with analogue, a sound engineer consumed with fidelity, he makes beats for those of us with the temerity to occasionally enjoy music unadorned by gun shots. Unlike much of this stuff, it’s not bleak and punishing noise, it employs swing and understands how to use space. The tracks are allowed to breathe. And I’m down with anyone who invokes the spirit of LA Gear. Gotta own the light, if you wanna’ own the night.
Download:
MP3: Elephant & Castle-“The Look”
MP3: Elephant & Castle-“L.A. Gear”
ZIP: Elephant & Castle-Analogue EP
