Arriving at the Catalyst Monday night, a place I have struggled for air let alone space to dance, I was thankful to see a moderate sized turn out. The venue took on a new atmosphere with the comfortable not compacted situation. The few that did make it to the show were obvious die-hard fans and for good reason.
Originally from New Orleans and a Hurricane Katrina survivor, Pell is not the typical sound we hear coming out of that region. He works with more electronic beats switching vocally, as he says, from “affectionate wordsmith to hook-smashing crooner”. He comes across aggressive not because of a violent nature but because of the strength in his intelligent, passionate statements line after line. Pushing the boundaries of the current popular trap / dubby sound, Pell’s foundation is more rhythmic and more ambient. This new trip-pop dreamscape to sonics of rap had the crowd floating.