Carve up the linoleum, smash the floor tiles, the future is Carpet. The Kid, in a peer group all his own, is unlike anything you've seen before, using samples you have heard before, which include Jump (Van Halen) Money, Money, Money (Abba), and an acapella spoof of ABC's Poison Arrow. He merges dance beats, popular sampled snippets, and kids plastic toys in his own unique, ultra head nodding, quirky, smile inducing way, Carter USM-esque manner. On a hot, sweaty London night, the small but beautifully formed audience, entertained by the ultra-mod support, Danish rockers, Blue Van, were in the mood for some cheeky shit-hop. The punters had clearly heard the buzz of Carpetness humming from Bristol outwards, and eagerly awaited a first sight of KC and his plastic toys. When he popped through the curtains to set up his equipment, roll up in mouth, box of toys in hand, the punters took four paces forward towards the unlikely hero.
His new (and first) album, Ideas & Oh Dears featured heavily throughout the set, opening with Special, and its poignant lyric of ‘no one gives a shit if you're not special'. The current single, Your Love, is a lyrical treat, ‘I've got your love in my eye' through to ‘I got herpes from one of my mates' – a refreshing romantic take indeed. There were several shouts of ‘Jump' from the crowd through the performance, to which he declared ‘never heard of it' – he did, of course deliver the cheeky dance-Jump-mix, before saying goodnight, taking one pace to the left, then back again for the encore.
The best advice is to check him out for yourself at
www.kidcarpet.co.uk He knows how to entertain, and he understands a thing or two about rhythm, and DJing. A unique act that could make even Morrissey smile. I for one am allied to the ways of the Carpet.
Rob Barnett, Music News