South East London producer/songwriter
kwes. grew his reputation as a producer through a series of collaborations with indie bands like
the xx,
Hot Chip, and
Damon Albarn, as well as a few EPs and one-off tracks leaked online. Debut album
ilp. shows a solid representation of the producer's versatility, strength, and flexible sense of experimentation, with ten tracks that spill into different territory without ever losing the plot or their inner-connectivity. The album opens with a host of its most pop-friendly tracks, going from the controlled chaos of "Purplehands" into the brilliantly icy and painfully lovelorn standout track "36."
kwes. taps into the same nostalgic, adoring melancholia that
James Blake has perfected on these tracks, singing softly sorrowful vocals bathed in moody reverb over minimal but distinctively digital backdrops. His beats make their impression felt without ever taking up too much space, and the songs slowly form and dissolve again in a way that's meticulously controlled but composed with ease and fluidity. There's a melting quality to even an almost saccharine pop tune like "Rollerblades," and as the album continues, the experimental bent of
kwes.' sun-warped sounds gets further and further out to sea. By fourth track "Cablecar," he's abandoned typical song structures for farther-reaching possibilities, dousing his vocals in delay and letting the eight-minute track fade in and out of focus, running through moments of silence, noise, disorientation, and catharsis. The album's second half gets slower, more reserved, and more into the sensitive and vulnerable aspects of his personality. The brittle, minimal "Broke" finds its subject drifting through a foggy emotional landscape, subsonic bass hits, and fuzzy textures supporting lyrics of destitution, weariness, and loneliness. The pacing and sequencing of
ilp. sets a mood perfectly, inviting the listener to shuffle along with
kwes. through his romantic, reflective world. It's exciting and unique music, not falling neatly in with any of his dubstep/singer/songwriter peers or the large number of indie-leaning electronic producers.
kwes. prefers to patiently, softly tell his own story, drifting in and out of stellar moments of lucid pop and hallucinogenic dream-like clouds of sound. ~ Fred Thomas