Druid Cloak's been on our radar since we premiered his wicked Beyoncé remix in the Summer. His tunes are like no other – They fit somewhere between Lothlórien and the South Side of Chicago. His new LP Lore: Book One, released November 17 on his own Apothecary Compositions label, is a pristine example of that, eight tracks of high-concept beats with titles like "Ballad of the Shadowprince" and "Minotaurs." It's by no means gimmickry, though, it's just the merging of Cloak's varied interests."Lore is an attempt to build an even bigger framework around Josef Wolff, the hero who wears the druid cloak," the mysterious Ohio-based producer explains. "The plan has always been to do this. Lore, once finished, should lead up to where The Grove begins."We've got the premiere of "Chronotaurs." The track is replete with alarming strings swirling behind complex rhythms and a structure that suggests that the tune is a score to some grandiose movie adaptation of a novel (The book was way better tho).Cloak goes on: "The ideas behind Lore are much more concrete, i have finally decided on the direction i am taking the universe in, and i think the music is the most honest portrayal of the project thus far. I am very happy with what has come together… I've heard [the tracks] all a thousand times, but they still give me goosebumps because of how special they are to me."And if he had to choose between his two loves? "Fantasy, hands down. Footwork is also neat though."Find Druid Cloak on FB // SoundcloudJemayel Khawaja is THUMP's Managing Editor - @JemayelK
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