An Interview with Tone Ranger
- BuzzSlayers
- Jul 16, 2025
- 4 min read
In a new A/B-side single release, Alex Simon, better known as Tone Ranger, puts together gorgeous sonic approaches that are wonderfully put together with a seamless flow that wraps itself around you and keeps you right where it needs to.
One of the things I love most about the "Touchstone" single, which is the A-side track, is its robust yet drifting ambient feel and aesthetic.
You get elements of color and flavor coming through with a bit of vibrancy that makes the song full-bodied, and the layers of sounds that it delivers give it a unique feel.
It's a song that borders on what some would consider World music, but it also has these electronic sets of tones, and those two things put together are part of what makes the song so robust and almost spiritual.
The song does have some drive and push along with the ambience and it's something that feels like it took a long time to put together.
This is not a song that feels like it took a day to build. It's got a lot of sounds happening and the song grows and builds as it plays on till it becomes Hardy.
There's a lot to hold on to and plenty more that exists beneath its surface. The track is blanketed in a lively resonance, and listening to the song a few times in a row is one of the best ways to do it, simply because you end up picking up on things you missed the first few times.
As I said before, there are plenty of amazing layers and flavors all throughout this track.
Listening to it a few times will let you grab hold of everything it actually offers.
There's also a wonderful sort of frame of mind that it gives off, and this is something that stays with you.
The follow-up B-side track is "Over The Moon", which displays that thick expanse and deepening sound with distanced vocals floating through the atmosphere of the song.
There is something about these that just resonates with you. They let your mind go where it wants to, but set those moods to do so.
They are vivid in a sense. There's nothing subtle about these tracks, although they can be calming in a sense.
Everything is a bit rich, but that's how it was meant to come through. It was meant to have that thick richness in its sounds so that you can fall into it properly.
It's meant to take over your brain, and that's exactly what it does.
These were brilliantly built and composed with plenty of thought behind Arrangement and composition while letting the heart of the songs push through with a warm brightness.
This is something that impresses me because I don't think it's easy to do.
A lot went into the production of these tracks and the mix of the songs as well.
Making sure all that wetness was there in the final mixes so that you can get overtaken by all the sounds that are happening at once.
With the release of such a beautifully constructed set of songs, we got to have a chat with Alex about them.
Check out our interview with Alex Simon AKA Tone Ranger below as we dive into where the songs came from, musical influences, and how they were done.
You don't want to miss this.
Buzz Slayers: Let's talk about "Touchstone and Over The Moon!"! These songs showcased such a beautiful vastness and lush soundscape blending that electronic undertone with pop! Where did these songs come from?
These songs were actually written during the time I spent up in Cedar Mesa, in a camper van that I turned into a studio for about a month. At that time, moon songs were really coming to me after a collection of bright dusty sun songs, and there just seemed to be a different electronic nocturnal pulse to tap into
Buzz Slayers: I'm hearing a few different approaches to this record! Who are some of your biggest musical influences?
I've got influences from every direction. I love fingerstyle guitarists like Robbie Basho, electronic-based musicians like Ratatat and Nicola Cruz, and here in New Mexico we get a lot of Flamenco and Native musicians like R. Carlos Nakai
Buzz Slayers: Did you record this at a home setup, or at a big studio?
This collection has been a mix of recording in a mobile studio (dubbed the "rolling studio"), a yurt in the woods of Glorieta, NM and my main studio in Santa Fe, Animalia Studios.
Buzz Slayers: You've done some score or soundtrack work for National geographic and more correct? What was that like?
I've done soundtrack work for environmental-focused films. I do a wide variety of scoring, from docs to commercial work, but feel things connect best when I can score images in nature. More often, I have a film in my head that I'm scoring to, and right now I'm on set bringing that to life for the forthcoming album, Confluence
Buzz Slayers: How did this all start for you as an artist?
It started by listening. I've always loved music that takes me to a place - out to Kentucky, out to Japan, out to South America, anywhere. I love evoking spaces with music. I grew up in southern California and felt drawn to make music in the American Southwest, because I find the landscape so inspiring. As far as musical technique, I feel the need to develop my playing and recording abilities so that I can show people the world I hear.
Buzz Slayers: Are you performing live right now?
This summer I'm playing a good amount - got some dates in Canada, Nashville, Utah, Colorado, and of course here in New Mexico coming up
Buzz Slayers: Now that this is out, what's next for you?
We're gonna do a big local show with projection here and hopefully find some venues to play that can really accomodate a visual show. We're working on a film around the Confluence album with some wild creative energy from brilliant local filmmakers and set / costume designers here in Santa Fe
Buzz Slayers: Who's in your headphones right now?
Koko by E*Vax and Ian Loveless
Buzz Slayers: What would you tell people they can expect on this release?
Expect to go somewhere you've never been but you've seen it in a dream.
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