LONE レコード& CD

Review: Lone is in a glassy-eyed and loved-up mood on this fourth instalment in his excellent "Ambivert Tools" series on R&S. We're particularly enjoying the lilting, soft-focus dreaminess of A-side "Pulsar", where swelling chords and poignant synth-strings sashay seductively between a densely layered, mid-tempo breakbeat groove. The long-serving producer ratchets up the energy on low-slung electro flipside "Oedo 808", another largely dreamy affair that boasts the twin attractions of raw acid style bass and ear-catching TR-808 drum machine cowbells. To finish things off, Lone serves up the EP's most blissfully loved-up moment, "Blue Moon Tree", whose bouncy pianos, fluttering vocal samples and languid chords sound like they were tailor-made for sunrise.

Review: One of the joys of Lone's Ambivert Tools series has been the sheer rush-inducing cheeriness of the whole thing. Melodious, colourful, giddily positive and shot through with heaps of Sunrise-era rave nostalgia, each of the EPs has come packed with music that makes you want to dance with a goofy smile on your face. You'll be glad to hear that both tracks on volume three are likely to have the same effect. On side A you'll find "Temples", a mid-tempo, breakbeat-driven affair rich in swooning Motor City chords and spiraling, intergalactic electronic melodies. Flip for "Hyper Seconds", a fluttering 4/4 excursion that sounds like Orbital (circa the Brown Album or Snivilisation) jamming with Juan Atkins. Pure sonic bliss.

Review: Long before it became the done thing to pay tribute to the loved-up, saucer-eyed bliss of Italian dream house and early British rave, Lone was producing killer dancefloor material that drew heavily on these styles. It's perhaps fitting, then, that the long-serving producer has returned to these roots on the second edition of his Ambivert Tools series. This is best exemplified by the lolloping drum machine rhythms, "Pacific 808" style chord progressions, and blissful synthesizer flourishes of "A Mind's Eye Melody", which is as colourful and loved up as a sunrise hug following a pretty momentous night out. The rushing bliss continues on "Under Cherry Blossoms (Mind's Eye Reprise)", a near overwhelming chunk of intense ambient beauty. Tucked in between you'll find the picturesque techno hustle of "Looking Glass".

Review: Ever a dazzling and surprising upstart in the UK scene, Lone once again slaps his multicoloured hand across your chops with a loose and funky take on the wonkier side of house music. Wigflex is certainly the right label to be dropping this kind of track, being particularly adept at knowing a cheeky dose of silly but slick party fodder when they hear it. The beats bump hard on this tune, but really it's the loping lead melody that makes this the kind of jam that will stop the dance in its tracks and cause mass-hysterical body popping.

Review: Lone debuts on the R&S imprint with this packed double twelve inch release that demonstrates a growing maturity in the new sound the Nottingham based producer unveiled on last winter's impressive Emerald Fantasy Tracks. Shy of that mini LP by only three tracks, the six productions that form Echolocations tighten the focus to 90s Detroit and Chicago, though the distinctive melodic stabs that characterised EFT remain - something that's apparent as soon as the huge drop in "Coreshine Voodoo" arrives! Elsewhere "Dolphin" delights via the vast swathes of melodies that wash over the intricate layers of percussion that build and drop with expertise whilst "Approaching Rainbow" is perhaps Lone at his most rhythmically rigid, with mellow bursts of colour and texture arising from the rasping Strafe-esque drums.

Review: While now revered just as much for his kaleidoscopic, all-action club tracks as his similarly colourful downtempo explorations, it should never be forgotten that Lone began life as a maker of skewed, head-in-the-clouds beats. For this fine contribution to the DJ Mix series, the DJ/producer has decided to take us on a whirlwind tour of his influences and inspirations, brilliantly joining the dots between sunrise-friendly ambient, melodious electronic, blazed hip-hop, dazzling experimental beat-scapes, loved-up house and futurist techno. It's a thrillingly eclectic set, but one that holds together brilliant. While this is in part due to the use of a number of his own productions, it's also testament to his immense skill as a DJ.