Lone

Review: Midlands retrovert Mat Cutler aka Lone returns on Ambivert Tools Volume One. Inspired in no small part by the rich seam of house that he's been excavating with his fine Magicwire imprint, this is where the guy shows you all once again just how dusty and lo-fi things can actually get. Starting off with the early nineties rave stomp of "Crush Mood", on the flip there's some deeper strains of classic throwback sounds in the form of the lovely "Chroma" with its neon lit synths and vintage drum computer sounds working in perfect harmony while "From A Past Life" calls to mind Derrick Carter's Oneiro project from the nineties on this rolling and hypnotic jam which is so damn lush!

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: 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.

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.