UK-born, LA-based producer Cloonee has finally dropped his debut album, Are You Still You?, featuring tracks reminiscent of every era of his career. Released on his own label Hellbent Records, it runs to no fewer than 16 tracks, with collaborations from many of the scene’s heavyweights, such as Chris Lake, Chris Lorenzo, SOSA, Ranger Trucco, Joseph Capriati, and, of course, Prospa.
A few collaborations genuinely surprised us too, among them German veteran Tocadisco, TikTok star Aliyah’s Interlude, and English rapper Harvey Whyte, who appears on the interlude.
One comment I’ve seen throughout my career is, “bring back the old Cloonee”. The funny thing though, there’s an equal amount of people that ask for a different Cloonee, this Cloonee & that Cloonee. Plus, let’s not forget the current Cloonee.
I’ve always taken these comments as a compliment. It’s part of career longevity to move with the times, and to connect & grow with people at many different phases of your journey.
With this album, I want to give you every Cloonee. An ode to myself. The old me, the current me, the new me and everything in between. Because, when I ask myself, “are you still you?”… the answer is a proud yes.
Those different eras of his career are definitely on show throughout the album. There are radio-friendly cuts such as Catch Me In Amsterdam (featuring Sirolf) and Good Girl (featuring Prospa and Tristan Henry), which dropped as a single back in July. 3:30AM (featuring SOSA and LZee) is a bass-heavy track we can’t describe in any other words than ‘very British’. Elsewhere, tracks sample decades-old, long-forgotten dance cuts — True Love Never Dies (featuring Fallon) is built on Donna Williams’ 1990 track — and there are the Latino-influenced cuts you might expect from Cloonee.
