Lone
Levitate

Oh, I can finally review an album by Lone (Matt Cutler). Despite having already produced six, I couldn't enter a sufficient state of empathy to write an article about it. But who am I kidding? The truth is, I have completely lost my mind for Sea of Tranquility, one of the most successful tracks of Levitate, an album that cleverly returns to the formula of Galaxy Garden, one of the most successful albums by the English composer. The philosophy is always the same, interpreting the typical sounds of '90s rave-jungle with a style that's more up-to-date. But the result is simply his own, and anyone who has listened to some of his works knows what I mean; in reality, what emerges is not easily placeable, existing in a sort of limbo detached from time.

It kicks off immediately with Alpha Wheel, with very few formalities, featuring an unmistakably '90s synth line that quickly gives way to a jungle drum machine created with a now iconic sample, heavily used by many artists, Squarepusher included. Enticing female vocals, spacey backdrops, and ultra-crystalline effects take us back to colors and atmospheres now tied to memories and nostalgia, but new harmonic solutions change the coordinates, a pattern that applies to almost all the tracks. Backtail Was Heavy leans much more on the dancefloor, with a wave of samples, sirens, and choruses that instantly recall smiling faces and strobe lights. Vapour Trail even shamelessly borrows a vocal line from Baby D's Take me to Heaven (dear Lone, you're not the only one who loves rave jungle), slowing it down and imbuing it with a new curious identity. The wild Triple Helix takes us into the stratosphere at breakneck speed, thanks to its frantic breakbeat drum machine, baby voices, and a burst of synth that reminds us who is responsible for Azealia Banks' success. Here we also witness an incredible tribute to Orbital and their Out There Somewhere Part 1, completely borrowing one of their harmonic solutions. Or maybe it was a very curious coincidence. We then come to the already mentioned Sea of Tranquility, a track I absolutely recommend, if there is a work that will make an artist memorable, perhaps Lone has found his. An idyllic beginning immersed in an ocean of crystalline synths, a tribal parade in the background, and we're already plunged into a vortex of refreshing colors. A frenetic jungle rhythm marries Caribbean sounds, creating a paradox: it wants to make you sweat, but the result seems almost like a ballad. Listening to it, I found myself making love to a cyborg under a digital sky, the power of imagination, and without psychotropic contributions. There are other pieces as well, but I want to end the article with this marvel, just as I started it.

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Did I say beautiful? Rush to listen to the latest effort of a young talent who retraces in his own way a golden era that he probably never experienced, but is it even necessary when the result is this?