I never quite know what to expect with Keef’s output. With the huge variety of influences – not only IDM, but also electronics, industrial, jazz, death metal and god knows what else – it sometimes leaves you with the feeling to not only expect the unexpected, but also to perhaps fear where he might take you next on his musical odyssey.
And odyssey is the word here – at 68 minutes, there is a lot to take in. The atmosphere at once is set to the depths of the night, maybe that time on the way home from a club. Kirkstall Morrisons glitters with a celestial beauty, while Derbyshire Dark comes in two halves – the first half continuing a swirling mist, the second suddenly galloping forward into a beat driven spiral, before strings take over and the water calms again.
Qaop Space is another highlight, with mournful synth lines sweeping in and out of a restrained beat pattern, with all kinds of retro-electronics joining in the fun later on, while An Interrogation is an ocean of blissful calm, where even the drum rhythms that are there are not too intrusive, at least until later in the track. The heavily treated vocals are just the icing on the cake.
I could go on, but we’d be here all night – otherwise dirty basslines make their appearance, there is lush trip-hop, glitchy drum’n’bass, pianos, even what sounds like some treated acoustic guitars on last track The Only Way, which is where the watery sun brings us out of the realms of night.
The variation, and conversely the control, displayed on this album is phenomenal. Despite the use of so many styles, everything just works and flows. Although the album is very long, don’t let it put you off. Just pull the curtains shut to keep out the light, and let Keef take you on a journey into recesses that you may not have noticed were there. You won’t regret it.