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Single Reviews
EP Review: Lone – Echolocations (R&S)
By Marc Samuels | Published on Monday 18 April 2011
R&S (along with its sister label Apollo) was responsible for some of the best electronic music of the 90s, with the likes of Aphex Twin, Biosphere and David Morley all releasing classic material in the first half of the decade in particular.
Recently reactivated after a long hiatus, this EP, like another of the label’s excellent recent releases (‘Safehouses’ by Pariah), is an intoxicating six tracks of deftly melodic electronica that will give a heady rush of nostalgia to those with fond memories of the burgeoning techno scene, whilst those newer to the genre (people I’m basically just going to call ‘The Kids’) will find this an equally invigorating listen.
‘Coreshine Voodoo’ sets the scene – hands-in-the-air rave stabs, toytown synth riffs and crunching old school beats all create a sleek framework, whilst dreamy Boards Of Canada-style ambient washes drift in and out seductively. It seems ludicrously simple but devastatingly effective; similar tactics are repeated on the EP’s other five tracks, but it never becomes tiresome, whether the deep Detroit techno warmth of ‘Approaching Rainbow’ or the Black Dog-esque ‘Dolphin’.
This is a soulful masterclass in retro electro that somehow manages to sound thrillingly now. MS
