Lone - Echolocations EP
Posted by
Johnny Beverton at
30/03/2011 15:10:00
Nottingham based producer Lone has really come into his own following his departure from the earlier hip hop explorations of 2009’s 'Ecstasy and Friends', morphing and collecting influences to form a playful take on old-school rave and techno which is instantly recognisable to his sound.
On his debut EP from the excellent and revived R&S, there are a lot of familiar sounds, textures and structures at work here - to the extent that those familiar with Lone’s recent output won’t get a huge shock on their first listen. Even the tonal ambiguity of ‘Coreshine Voodoo’ returns to its comfort zone with signature parallel chordal rave-stabs that fall in line with Lone’s signature style.
He sure knows how to play familiarity in his favour though and still has time to pull some tricks out of the bag - take the beautiful sliding chord sequence of ‘Explorers’ or the energetic ‘Blossom Quarter’ - Lone showing here that his creations still sound just as crisp even when the tempo is notched up.
Although always effective, those in possession of the fantastic ‘Pineapple Crush / Angel Brain’ EP or ‘Emerald Fantasy Tracks’ album will quickly acclimatize themselves to the fact that this occasionally feels like process music. However, newcomers to his sound will get a worthwhile surprise - sonically these tracks sound brilliant, and happily envelop the listener for their entire duration – so much so, that 5 minutes of bliss just isn’t enough.
Another strong release from Lone, although as an avid follower I’d recommend someone new to his sound to first explore his back catalogue first.
