Alex Simon, the multi-instrumentalist known as Tone Ranger, returns with “Touchstone/Over the Moon,” a striking A/B-side single shaped between late-night hikes through desert forests and recording sessions beneath Utah’s vast skies.
The release blends natural textures and hypnotic rhythms, inviting listeners into two interconnected soundscapes where melody, nature, and groove become one.
“Touchstone” begins with an earthy, percussive rhythm built from sticks, stones, and field recordings gathered in the dark. Santa Fe’s Melas Leukos (Louise Lodigensky) adds airy vocals that float through Mimoha’s bamboo flutes. Simon’s voice joins in a luminous duet, celebrating what he calls the spark of life seen “in your eyes.” The result feels like a ritual dance drawn from the soil itself.
“Over the Moon,” written during quiet nights in Simon’s van-turned-studio near Canyonlands, shifts the mood skyward. Playful arpeggios, delicate violins, and steady guitars support the voices of Evelyn Drach and Gracey Crane. They reimagine a children’s rhyme into a cosmic chant: “Rabbit jumps over the moon… run rabbit run.” The track feels as if the stars themselves are keeping time.
Simon describes the songs as reflections of the same search for wonder. “Touchstone is the pulse beneath the pines. Over the Moon is that heartbeat echoed back by the stars,” he says. Together, they remind us that awe surrounds us—beneath our feet and high above.
The single offers a preview of Confluence, Tone Ranger’s most ambitious album yet, due August 8. With past performances alongside Orbital and Thievery Corporation and appearances at Shambhala and Burning Man, Simon continues to craft immersive sonic journeys.
Confluence promises to push that vision further, blending his signature organic sound with bold new ideas.
