XLR8R
Boolean Logic
(reviewed with REQ Sketchbook on Warp/UK)
QPE and Req, despite apparent similarities in name and sound, come from widely disparate backgrounds. QPE is the alter-ego of NYC based PhD student Kacy Wiggins, while Req is a b-boy from Brighton who paid his dues as a graf writer and vinyl junkie. Both share a love for subtle and understated beats-- Req's own tracks are layered and looped sound collages reminiscent of DJ Vadim's deconstructionist aestethic, while QPE coaxes a deeper blend of moody hip-hop from his machines, calling to mind Depth Charge or DJ Krush. Stark and serene in their approach, QPE and Req create music that exists somewhere in the twilight, and have generated soundtracks for those early mornings spent starring at the ceiling, spliff in hand, waiting interminably for the sunrise to come. (Brock Phillips))
Boolean Logic
The Agriculture has honed in on a sweet atmospheric vibe. Consistently chill. QPE, or as his birth certificate might read, Kacy Wiggins, has made an addition into this stock of quality productions. At first listen you might note on the simplicity and in this find solace, indeed you'd be right. However, it gets a little more complex as you learn more about the music. Boolean Logic delves into dub but over a long BPM count. Most of the tracks seem instantly alike yet aren't and because of this a consistent mood is laid out. One gets a dark almost morbid sense of city culture after everyone's gone home. Then again it might just lend to poolside music. In any case it's worth checking out.
Kacy Wiggins, a.k.a. QPE, fittingly coined his style of music as "Roof Music," largely because roof parties as of late are the preferred recreational activity for Williamsburg, New York City's underground. It's easy to see why he chose this name after listening to Boolean Logic. QPE stands for "Quiet Personal Electronics", which couldn't be more of a misnomer, given that his mellow downtempo Brooklyn-style hip-hop instrumentals will make you want to turn the volume up, not down. Rugged blunted beats spar off with submerged basslines, reflecting urban grit and reminding you that this is the same borough that GangStarr prefers. The delay effect becomes almost an instrument in itself, as Wiggins dubs it up sublimely. The best thing is that the album is also available on vinyl for those of you who choose to bump these tunes on a rooftop of your own. (Andrew Schrock)