Multi talented, multi-instrumentalist Red has come up with a selection of delights on his debut album.

Otherwise known as Tom Calvert, he’s done his time to deserve this break. After learning to scratch records over in California for a year, Calvert’s destiny was on a plate. He had already been mastering the techniques of sample-based music and the mechanics of learning new instruments at home, before the west coast came knocking.

With the addition of his Full Fat live band, where all of his musical elements come together (with beatboxing), he had the tools to create something special. Keeping in mind the Full Fat remix of his previous single Seen (which rekindled memories of the crossover element of Mark B and Blade with Grant Nicholas from Feeder), and his Californian tuition, Fingerprints is – on paper, at least – an exciting proposition.

As any avid sports fan would be able to tell you though, the form guide can only go so far to revealing the final result. Fortunately, Red doesn’t let down his pedigree and produces an album that is equal parts British ingenuity and international music delicacies.

Fingerprints starts off with the piano based Waddup World that takes its queue from the blueprint set out by Talib Kweli’s Get By in using looping, meandering piano parts to full effect – although in this case, it’s not all about Nina Simone.

For a hip-hop album, it’s also quite compact, clocking in less than forty-five minutes. It’s all for the better too, as it keeps the quality on show from being bogged down by needless entities. Tiny vocal interludes are looped into the seams of the songs, meaning momentum built isn’t instantly lost by adding in pointless breaks in time and flow.

It means that tunes like Simmer and Pictures On My Wall with their minimal, soulful stance don’t get lost in the moment, and act as both individual tracks and a ramp up to Dynamic Force.

The relaxed vibes that are synonymous with the west coast scene are in full flow here, as well as the sampling dynamics of Cut Chemist et al. The varied selection of instrumentation is also a delight, with a bevy of wind and percussion layered in. It’s one of the biggest victories on Fingerprints as a whole, with varied sounds and styles in nearly every track.

The latter day Clock Watching provides moments of a Wurlitzer alongside jazz, that recalls fragments of Dave Brubeck as it rips into full flow - there even sounds like there’s a stylophone in there for good measure. The freestyling flute on Ice Cold keeps things light and snappy without overcooking the contents – and going into Ron Burgundy territory- a massive relief.

When things turn down a notch in tempo again on the mesmerising Snow with its accompaniment of bells, glockenspiels and light cymbal riding, it compliments the earlier efforts of All’s Fair incredibly well. The electronic bugging out of earlier over some big beat shows that Red isn’t all about the party anthemics and identikit notions.

To emphasise the point, the carnival atmosphere created on Samba Scratch says all it needs to do with the name. It’s hip-hop and the sounds of Brazil chopped up and blurred back together in a typically lively set. If Bottletop fancy laying on another Brazilian themed mix, then Red’s your man.

As E.T rolls in and out of your mind in the final few minutes tick by, it hits just how easy it’s been to listen to Fingerprints as a whole. It’s not faded away from thought, nor has it been offensive in its sensory overload; he’s kept things on a level that DJ Shadow magically weaved on The Private Press and Endtroducing…’s fluid moments.

It’s also so simple to get the balance wrong, but here – it’s just right. Enjoy it.