Loukeman Releases Awaited and Wildly Creative 'SD-2'

Written by Danny Velez, Photo by Carlo Panuncialman

Toronto based producer Loukeman finally delivers a long awaited follow up to his 2021 debut album SD-1 with SD-2. It’s difficult to categorize Loukeman’s music, as he purposefully toes the line between R&B, Folk, and Pop, but he encapsulates all these feelings and sounds in the margins of alternative house music. After putting out beats for many years on his SoundCloud page, honing his craft, and building a dedicated fanbase, he has captured the attention from one of the best alternative electronic artists today, Vegyn, and opened for his tour in late 2023. Sure enough, that relationship has influenced his work on SD-2, as well as influences from Overmono, Fred Again, and Hudson Mohawke.

In the second installment of the supposed trilogy of SD series, Loukeman adds on and expands on what made SD-1 so great. He focuses on finding interesting samples from familiar and peculiar places and surrounding them with gutsy synths, glitchy effects, and driving bass lines. Loukeman does a great job of integrating a raw and uncut sound with polished and catchy melodies.

On the very first song of the album, the listener is greeted with the a sample from Mario’s R&B classic “Let Me Love You” paired with a folksy guitar riff that sounds like “Sweet Home Alabama.” While you’re trying to comprehend why this pairing was made in the first place, blaring snare drums hit you right in the chest, and the bass comes in right on time. The whole song is so strange yet works so incredibly well that you’ll find yourself smiling at the audacity and creativity of it. But as soon as the song ends, the next song “Take” literally takes the listener in a completely opposite direction with a dark and moody tune with buzzing synths and percussive vocal chops. Throughout the rest of the album, each song takes different turns in this strange auditory landscape, going from sweet and emotional tracks like “Giverr” to abrasive and chaotic cuts like “Ride.” “Easy” is a beautiful highlight from this album as Loukeman constructs the heavenly beat from a gratifying vocal sample and hard hitting drums, allowing the juxtaposition to feel cathartic and effervescent. 

Many of these recordings feel more like audible snacks than fully thought out songs, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. These snacks can feel like stops on a bus in the world that Loukeman created for the listener, where they can choose to pull the cord to hop off and enjoy the vibe or skip to the next adventure. Because of this looseness and short run time, it feels more like a collection of tracks than a complete album with a clear theme and vision. Additionally, many of these songs seem to plateau rather than peak, which can leave the songs in a danceable but meandering state. 

While not perfect, it is a wildly creative project that showcases Loukeman’s ear for uniquely fun dance tracks and moody electronica. He wears his influences on his sleeves but definitely brings a new twist to the genre, captivating the ears of longtime fans and newcomers alike. This album is a must listen if you like house music that is found off the beaten path.