Malcolm Kipe: Breakspiracy Theories
Merck

If Scott Herren's Prefuse 73 epics have crowned him the reigning master of instrumental hip-hop, Malcom Kipe's debut outing Breakspiracy Theories definitely shows he's no slouch in the sampledelic department either. Compared to the Prefuse style, Kipe's sound is a little less frenetic and his tracks stretch out a bit longer, plus there's a greater turntablist dimension to his music. There are moments where you could easily imagine you're listening to Herren's stuttering lurch (“And Saved Him,” “The Grind-ver.2,” and “She All Love,” for example) but, if Kipe's no pioneer, that hardly negates the album itself which is consistently strong.

While he regards all vinyl material as potential plunder, Kipe (real name Skyler McGlothlin aka Nautilis) professes a special affection for sounds from the mid-‘60s to early-‘70s. On “Obscurity of Purity,” he gives a MOR piano-and-strings sample of “My Funny Valentine” a serious dope spin and, in the equally kitschy “Love Story,” transforms a smattering of Francis Lai's soundtrack theme into a venomous carousel episode. Elsewhere, Kipe adds Moroccan flavour (an oud's pluck and sinuous Arabian singing) to hip-hop beats (“Mans Vents”) and creates a sweet head-nodder from clavinet burble and George Benson-styled guitar (“Pops Figure”). Most incredible is the steamrolling stomp Kipe conjures in “Mr. Politician” where a blustery stampede of tenor saxes (which at times approximates the cacophonous roar of Ornette Coleman's Free Jazz) wails alongside a group's embittered rant (“Mr. Politician, what is your mission? / Will you tell me what's really on your mind?”). Breakspiracy Theories cumulatively impresses as a captivating potpourri of downtempo beats, clavinets, voiceovers, turntablism, and jazz samples.

May 2005