Eliot Lipp

Quite impressive what one can accomplish on such dodgy equipment. Using just a run-down synthesiser from the ’70s and an archaic sampler, Eliot Lipp has managed to make music that some people create with outrageously priced hardware and software. Let this be a lesson to those who think limited resources results in half-assed production, because Lipp makes the most of his Goodwill finds and breathes more life into a track than some do in professional studios. It’s quite apparent that this young beat-maker has some talent in creating a nice melody, though his debut really only scratches the surface in its simplistic ways. "Cashed” has a nice hip-hop feel to it and combines this drum sample with the usual chime here and prolonged string simulation there, making it sound like we’ve heard it all before ten years ago. This doesn’t mean that the tracks are boring or dull, but this self-titled debut is more like looking at a blueprint than the finished product. The closing track, "Linc,” is a step in the right direction with its Grandaddy sampling and nice use of guitar loops with MC snippets, but winding up at the end is too little too late. Being on Prefuse 73’s record label with exposure and influence from other producers and genres, I’m sure it will be no time before Eliot Lipp starts to get adventurous.