Lone - Lemurian (Dealmaker Records)

August 9th, 2008

Wonky heads take note - if you’re into the whole Flying Lotus / Samiyam / Rustie / Lukid thing - this is just the ticket. Deriving its name from a lost, mythical continent, Lemurian has little to do with lost undersea cities and the like, although there is something ever so slightly fantastical about these heavily compressed instrumental hip hop productions and their evocative song titles: ‘Lens Flare Lagoon’ conjures up the glistening, watery effect suggested by its name, and ‘Buried Coral Banks’ has a Boards Of Canada-meets-Jacques Cousteau feel that’s hard not to love. Incongruous with all this, interlude tracks like the gratuitous ’80s soul sampling of ‘Green Sea Pageant’ steer the tone in a different direction, but divorced from the implied Jules Verne elements of it all, Lemurian makes for a sick collection of bass-heavy beats and quasi-ambient textures. Really good stuff - highly recommended!