Lukid – This Dog Can Swim (Ninja Tune/ October 15 2012)

By Jack Flahaven

London-based producer Lukid offers a strange and unsettling preview of his third album Lonely At The Top with the release of ‘This Dog Can Swim’, a single which will be officially circulating the veins of the music industry on October 15, courtesy of Ninja Tune.

It is 3’30” of skittish drum beats that have a threatening quality when combined with the electronic sampling that Lukid is recognised for. The ambience that spurts from the mix reminds one of a nightclub basement where the partygoers are succumbing to the vibrations that shudder beneath their feet, as the DJ adds a twist to the intoxicated fumbling on the dance floor. Think dubstep at its most threatening peak, balanced precariously by the rhythms of drum‘n’bass, as the listener expects a seismic bass drop that never comes, though their mind is beguiled nonetheless.

‘This Dog Can Swim’ has a very urbanised, street feel, one that inconspicuously slithers into the mind with a gradual expansion of presence, like a stalking vehicle slowly approaching a pedestrian from behind, lingering in the mind’s eye until the threat passes and disappears down another street. Electronic music has the capability to unnerve the listener when its volatility rises, but it is also fascinatingly hypnotic and the subjective experience is remembered by those with an open mind, who are willing to be absorbed by the unfamiliar. Lukid is certainly not the innovator of this particular genre, but he provides his own unique contribution that old and new listeners alike will surely think twice about.