Kloke

Lucid jungle vision

British producer Kloke appeared in 2008 with a series of forward-thinking post-dubstep releases, before trying his hand at ambient. Now based in Melbourne, he’s switched his focus to jungle, releasing on labels like Future Retro and Diamond Life, as well as collabing with Tim Reaper for a LP on Hyperdub. ‘Lucidity’ arrives via Samurai’s jungle imprint Mindgames and brims with Kloke’s immaculately edited, adventurous beats. On the title cut, dramatic chords precede a drop into layered drum chops, while on ‘The Man Who Began To Suspect He Was Made Of Glass’, mechanoid bass slithers around the metallic breaks like a chrome snake. ‘Odyssey’ is like one of his ambient tracks printed onto a ferocious Amen avalanche. Kloke cleverly balances jungle precepts with fresh ideas on a gem of an LP.

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V/A

True to their roots

Some 15 years after a group of mates started “nerding out” about house and disco on their new SlothBoogie blog, founders Pat, Danny and Conor’s commitment to musical discovery remains. This forward-facing anniversary compilation proves it, weaving together the sort of label mainstays and hot newcomers that have helped make the label into a respected, Europe-wide party series. Fresh as these sounds are, none of them chase the zeitgeist. They’re sophisticated and musical, whether it’s the sweetly disco-house loops of ‘The Revenge’ or Philippa feat Mani Simon’s ‘Little Lady’ — a jazz-funk cut that would fit easily on a Ubiquity Records release. Elsewhere, Joe Clean brings luscious Philly soul orchestration, and later tracks like HNQO’s ‘Baseline Rapture’ tap into more introverted house depths. A decade and a half in, the SlothBoogie crew show that staying true to your taste never goes out of style.