Every song on Eliot Lipp’s new album is four minutes and 20 seconds long. Titled Peace Love Weed 3D, the cover art is a superimposed, psychedelic image of a heart, peace sign, and marijuana leaf.
So, is Lipp the new Cypress Hill, a musical rallying point for High Times subscribers?
“It’s all lighthearted, not to be taken too seriously,” says Lipp. “It’s not like I really tried to make a stoner album.”
The concept came to Lipp after a friend showed him her design. He took the album title from the piece’s name. Heavy on synths and highly danceable, the tracks include pockets of video-game-like sound effects and wailing guitar.
At home in Brooklyn, Lipp befriended Guitar Ron, a subway performer who entertained passengers with a portable amplifier and guitar at the stop closest to his house. “His whole rig was mobile, so he just wheeled it over to my studio and I mixed it up,” says Lipp.
Unlike a typical DJ, Lipp actually plays and creates the tracks on the recordings and on stage. His shows are a mix of live keys and synthesizer, manipulated with computers and MIDI controllers. To give fans and new listeners a taste of his current performance, he recently released a full set, Live from the Beat Bunker, as a free download on MySpace.
“I put that out right before I went on this tour to hype up the shows, in case people were undecided,” says Lipp.
Lipp has played Charleston several times, including shows at the Black Cart and Recovery Room, and an opening gig for Bassnectar, but this week’s performance is his first headlining show at the Pour House. It’s part of a St. Patrick’s Day bash that also includes local electronic acts Chronicles of the Landsquid, Bitch Please, M.O. Theory, and Pericles.
Will Lipp mix any jigs and blarney into the set? “I don’t have any Irish in me, but maybe I should,” he laughs. Puff, puff, pass, little leprechaun.
Eliot Lipp performs with Chronicles of the Landsquid, Bitch, Please, M.O. Thoery, and Pericles at the Pour House (1977 Maybank Hwy., 843-571-4343) at 9 p.m. on Tues. March 17. Admission is $15. Visit www.charlestonpourhouse.com and www.myspace.com/eliotlipp for more.
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