LISTEN ENERGY, CLEAR-MINDEDNESS, COMPOSURE, AND CONFIDENCE Emerging from Britain's jungle scene at last decade's turn, Lee Gamble has proven himself an artist in constant transition. Early explorations on Berlin's avant-electronic label PAN showed rare aesthetic confidence as Lee moulded lost jungle and techno into atmospheric collage, preserving genre roots within a sound all his own.  Now on Hyperdub , Gamble's mid-way through a sonic trilogy entitled Flush Real Pharynx , attempting to explore the pervasive nature of capitalism within culture. Things kicked off earlier this year with In a Paraventral Scale , pairing samples of luxury cars with airbrushed synths to set the tone. The EP was a leap forward for Gamble's world-building talents, bringing the scattered vision of 2017's Mnestic Pressure into glossy focus. I was lucky enough to see Lee perform Flush Real Pharynx in its entirety, and at the time it struck me as his most complete work y

TRIP AROUND THE SUN It's been almost 12 months since I gushed about Some Rap Songs, Earl Sweatshirt's third studio album and 25 minute meditation on mortal grief. At the time I praised Earl's collaboration with artists from the New York underground, shaping his sound with the likes of Standing On the Corner and Adé Hakim .  In spite of its brevity, Some Rap Songs remains a shrouded quandary, one brimming with effortless prophecies waiting to be unpacked for years to come. In the wake of this abstract classic came Earl's return to independence, severing a 6 year partnership with Columbia Records to "Do riskier shit" .   Feet Of Clay is a 7 track sample of this new direction, and Earl doesn't seem to be coming up for air any time soon. Its title based on a Biblical tale foretelling the end of empires, Sweatshirt paints a grim and complex picture of the uncertain future. Opener 74 comes bursting out the gate with a burdened beat cr