Lone - Ambivert Tools Volume Four

October 12, 2018 - R&S Records

Lone from London a.k.a. Matt Cutler from London is back with the fourth and final installment of his Ambivert Tools series, a musical project of great depth and prowess that we would frankly like to see continue on forever. All things must come to an end, great things included. Also Cutler will probably continue on making music, so all is well. 

‘Pulsar’ draws the curtain on the project in an expansive, cinematic fashion. The piece is chill in the strictest Nordic endless winter night sense, a Nordic winter where the sun never rises, the frozen landscape is laid bare, and the northern lights flow and pulse around the listener at time-lapse speed. It makes you feel small in the largest of ways. A tiny, non-unique drop of nothing in an infinitely large pool of glory and wonder. Cutler pulls back the shroud of synths to reveal the delicate inner workings of the track towards the end, only to confirm that the track is in fact made of magic.

‘Oedo 808’ brings the party back down to reality with a percussive focused brew steeped in the breakbeat and electro essences of yesteryear. Element groups fade in and abruptly bow out giving the track a sense of organized chaos. Vocal stabs similar to those present in ‘Pulsar’ dot the surface of the layers more directly and less poignantly than the first piece. ’Odeo 808’ is filled with less wonder and more playful innocence; it’s prerogative is dance.

‘Blue Moon Tree’ works to bridge the gap between ‘Pulsar’ and ‘Oedo 808’ by retaining the emotional elements of each, displaying both the sense of vast exploration and coltish concentration. Hefty pseudo-tropical chords lay the pathway for syrupy atmospheric pads and an infectious percussion pattern. A layered julienne cut of vocals takes center stage evoking a feeling of foreignness.

Though this publication has only been around to speak on two of the four Ambivert Tools, they are all meaningful timestamps in the slow path of the Progress of Electronic Music. As I stated in the writing on Volume Three, Cutler creates transportation devices with his work. It is music that elevates those who are listening, not necessary as an escape, but most certainly as an opportunity to glimpse at something beyond, something awe-inspiring. This music is filled with wonder, and for that I am thankful. 🍍