Immerse through 5 downtempo tracks full of experimental magic
As a sign of a return to his cinematic and introspective roots, and accompanying his sophomore album, March’s “All Else Fails” via BALANCE, Stelios Vassiloudis unveils his stunning downtempo EP “Permanent” via Reflections. The wonderful 5 tracks compilation establishes the producer’s return to Anjunadeep’s little brother, after debuting with ‘Nowhere To Go’ for Reflections 02.
Stelios Vassiloudis has worked in multiple genres throughout his career but is most at home with experimental downtempo music. He trained as a classical musician and composer in New York and learned to write film scores when he discovered electronic music. As a result, his exploration of the genre drew on the complexities of Bach and the innovation of Beethoven as well as the influence of transcendental producers such as Massive Attack and Portishead.
“This kind of music can be put under the umbrella of chill-out. Which basically pushes it into this category of background music. But I hope people can get past that and really listen, and let it jog their imaginations.” – Stelios Vassiloudis
Also read: Reflections releases “Reflections 02”, the second installment of EP series
Behind ‘Permanent’ EP
The five-track EP encourages deep listening because each production has so many complex, interweaving elements. The time signatures are unexpected and the instrument selections unique. Wood chimes, bells, guzheng, flute, suona and piano all dance together, creating coherency with a hint of chaos.
This sense of creative freedom shines through the EP. You can hear it in the lo-fi beats and high-pitched vocal samples of ‘Dunggu’ and in the complex, understated ambient track ‘Ja Matane’ and in the freestyle jazz piano in ‘Oh, That’s Good’. But Vassiloudis says writing ‘Year Of The Ox’ was a particularly freeing creative experience. “It came very naturally, and I wrote it in this flow state of pure creation.” Get your copy via Beatport.
