Kerala Dust | Violet Drive Review

By Griff Stevens

Kerala Dust was formed in London in 2016 and has evolved to combine psychedelic rock, blues, and techno influences into its music. Kerala Dust is a music group comprised of Edmund Kenny on vocals/electronics, Harvey Grant on keyboards, and Lawrence Howarth on guitar.

Now based in Berlin, Kerala, Dust is releasing their debut album Violet Drive. The album has twelve songs that reflect Kerala Dust’s assimilation of psychedelic rock, blues, NYC punk-funk, and techno.

“Moonbeam, Midnight, Howl” layers in the sounds in a steady augmentation of densities of rhythms. The beat eventually becomes a catchy dance pulse as Kenny speaks in time for the theme. The band has a natural sound and marries electronics with the guitar and spoken voice in a realistic manner. Howarth’s guitar parts are accumulative, giving the song various textures and rhythmic motions. The rhythmic aspect of Kerala Dust cannot be denied.

“Red Light” continues Kerala Dust’s dynamic use of rhythm and layering in parts to flesh out the song’s structure. Here the punk influences swirl with psychedelic rock and electronic to form a strong appeal. Kenny’s electronic sounds are varied, and his talking brings a human character to the song’s mix.

In general, Violet Drive should be an EP because the album’s front half has all the solid songs, and the latter half is too mellow and loses focus. However, each band member brings a beautiful quality to the music’s sonic flavor, and there will be something here for every dance and electronic music fan.