Lucidity by Kloke

Kloke - Lucidity [MINDGAME9]

Riding high on a prolific wave of output, Kloke returns to Mindgames with Lucidity — an album that confirms his position at the forefront of modern jungle.

Andy Donnelly has been actively releasing a broad swathe of electronic music since the late 00s, but it's his sharpened focus on jungle and drum & bass over the past 10 years that has cemented his reputation. As well as working closely with fellow scene leaders like Tim Reaper, the Australia based artist has hit a flow state with his productions where the quality and quantity seems limitless. Since Mindgames started as a Samurai Music sub-label, Kloke has been a core part of the imprint's identity. Having already dropped the Mindgame 8 EP earlier this year, Donnelly is back with a full-length salvo of advanced jungle heavy on the technicalities and even heavier on the vibes.

Lucidity makes its mark from the very first blast of breakbeat science that opens up the title track. From that point on Donnelly works at full tilt, edging gritty textures into his sampling and capturing classic jungle's melancholic mystery through an expansive palette of re-pitched hooks. This is carefully crafted soundsystem music in thrall to the tradition of jungle, but at no point does it sound tired or throwback. One key element is the dynamic intensity of Donnelly's arrangements, shifting gears with devastating poise whether darting through the starry-eyed arps and deft breaks of 'Mobius Strip' or chopping around the jagged angles and noirish licks of 'Goose Cuts'.

Donnelly folds many moods into his jungle tapestries. 'Paradiso' conjures a smoky, haunting atmosphere while 'Nightfall' leads on techy darkside stabs before unfurling shadowy jazz licks that flicker like ghosts through the dense forest of drums. At all times, the commitment to mind-bending configurations of compound breaks drives the album forwards. No two beats roll the same as Donnelly indulges his precise and profound instinct for next-level edits and heavyweight production.

Gritty, raw and true to the roots of the culture, Kloke stands tall on Lucidity. It's the kind of detailed, deep and deadly album that shows jungle at its absolute best — a sound that still feels like the future in the right hands.

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