On Tuesday, Sheffield-based DJ and producer Cloonee released his debut album, Are You Still You? Cloonee says the title comes from people asking him: after over a decade of being an artist, has he stayed true to himself throughout his evolution as an artist? As a house girly, I was excited to review the 16 track album, and break down what my favs are. So let’s get right into it!!
- “Catch Me in Amsterdam”
This is such a groovy opener, and the style is very much like another one of my favorite DJ groups ANOTR. However you can still hear Cloonee’s influence clearly throughout. Not my absolute favorite, but definitely works as an opener perfectly!
- “Good Girl” ft. Prospa & Tristan Henry
By now, I feel like we’ve pretty much all heard this one! This was one of the singles Cloonee dropped back in July ahead of the album, his second Prospa collab of the year after “Free Your Mind.” While it may be a bitttt overplayed, it’s clear why! The vocals from Tristan Henry are infectious and so is the “freaky” “uhh uhh uh-huh, like that” part, I dare to say. No matter if you love it or hate it, “every bad boy needs a good girl”, that’s for sure!
3. “Back of My Mind” ft. Galo
Another one that’s not my favorite, but definitely has true club energy! It features the iconic organ sample that you hear in songs like Robin S’s “Show Me Love” and Beyonce’s “BREAK MY SOUL,” the perfect addition!!
4. “3:30 AM” ft. SOSA
This one is in my top three favorites!! SOSA’s signature, dirty, UK bassline sound carries the track, while a rappy vocal takes the lead. I love the counting that goes “one time for the girls and the guys that ain’t sleeping tonight..two shots of tequila on ice, probably had about five and it ain’t even half past three.”
5. “Back of the Club”
This one was dropped on Friday before the album release and it also brings classic club energy. Not my favorite but also insanely catchy and I can definitely see why it’s one of the leading singles!!
6. “Paradise” ft. Chris Lake & Aliyah’s Interlude
This is probably my favorite from the album! It features Chris Lake’s uplifting sound, the vocals are absolutely insane, and give off the vibe of summertime while you’re driving down the coast, and the rap verses from Aliyah’s Interlude add extra heat!!
7. “True Love Never Dies” ft. Fallon
I absolutely LOVE the 80s influence in this!! The vocals are similar to Cyndi Lauper and Madonna, and the bassline is very Eurythmics inspired it seems!! I love the way Cloonee is pulling from various decades for this album. It feels very nostalgic as my parents would only have 80s music on in the car growing up!
8. Kill the Noise(Interlude) ft. Harvey Whyte
Classic UK grime track, nothing really else to say here!
9. Get Up And Dance
More 80s influence here, as it samples “Now that We’ve Found Love” with classic 90’s house influences as well, which are a staple in Cloonee’s production!
10. “Nobody Likes the Records that You Play” ft. Tocadisco
While it’s out of my top 3, this track still goes SO. HARD. It’s a little funny too, as it starts off with a club manager(?) talking to a DJ, and she’s criticizing him and saying that his mixing sucks, it’s sloppy, everyone thinks he’s trash, and nobody likes the records that he plays. The bassline has an organ-influenced sound that really carries the entire track and definitely puts it up there for me.
11. “Why Does Your Love Hurt So Much?”
This one is infectious for sure! It’s also clearly 80s influenced and I have caught myself singing it more times than I can count over the course of the past two days.
12. “What Would I Do?” ft. Ranger Trucco
Ranger Trucco has become one of my favorites over the past summer, listen to his “Another Night” remix or “The Bridge” and you’ll clearly understand why. There’s no doubt he has helped to absolutely carry the minimal house scene over the last year. This collab with Cloonee has been perhaps one of the most anticipated, with Cloonee rinsing it at all his sets since March of last year. Anything with Ranger on it is an absolute yes for me, so this definitely sits at number 2 for me.
13. “Movimiento” ft. Yandel & ATLAC
Latin house Cloonee is back! If you’ve been listening to him as long as I have (which isn’t even that long hahaha, started fall of my sophomore year), you’d know that he used to have some incredible Latin house tracks such as “Pegao”. This is the kind of track that makes me want to be on a beach with a margarita in hand.
14. “It’s Time” ft. Joseph Capriati
It’s no doubt that Joseph Capriati is one of the greats in house music, with a successful residency in Ibiza each summer! This definitely captures his influences from classic 90’s house, and the vocals remind me of Robin S “Show Me Love”, and the dark funky bassline is very clearly Cloonee’s doing.
15. “Menealo”
More Latin house Cloonee!
16. “Don’t You Want Me” ft. Chris Lorenzo
For the album, Cloonee has also collaborated with the other Chris in tech house, Chris Lorenzo(of which both Lake and Lorenzo have a duo project together called Anti-Up)! “Don’t You Want Me” is the perfect closing track, as it is very uplifting and very groovy with more 80’s influence. The bassline is also very funky, similar to Lorenzo’s “Fancy Footwork” remix!
Overall I would rate this album an 8.5/10, it’s definitely up there for house album of the year(although Chris Stassy’s Lost, Found and Forgotten still takes the lead in my mind). Check out the album below and see what you think!!