Amirali – Just an Illusion EP – Music Review

A review of Amirali’s latest release for DATA TRANSMISSION

 

 

Straight from the horses mouth Crosstown rebels are “98 releases strong and showing no signs of slowing when it comes to unearthing fresh talent and delivering high quality house music.” One of Crosstown Rebels latest signing is Iranian born, London based musician and producer Amirali. After his vocals and musical style caught the attention of Damian Lazarus, Amirali was promptly signed  for an artist album. The album ‘In Time’ was released in May this year  with the single Beautiful World gaining rave reviews. Just an Illusion is the 2nd track on the album and is the 97th release for Crosstown Rebels. This EP features an extended version of the original and 3 very different remixes from  Real Tone boss Franck Roger, 90’s house master Marc Kinchen aka MK and genre flipping Bristol based Appleblim, owner of the label Apple Pips.

Amirali’s vocals and the melody on the original create a feeling of melancholy and moodiness, reminiscent of that on the single ‘Every Minute Alone’, released by the Danish band Who Made Who last year on Kompakt. Very nice too. With it’s big kick and deep melodic drive, it will definitely be making moves on the dance floor.

French producer Franck Rogers keeps it safe by delivering a rolling drum-heavy remix with bouncing bassline and big kick. He elevates  the eariness by offering up an alternative melody which looses the minor key, and  hence the depth of the original.

 

MK offers a more blown out approach with the longest track on the EP. He first illuminates Amirali’s melancholic vocal in the 32 bar intro, and then drops a dubby bassline  with a 90’s snare kick hat groove. MK works the toms and keeps the track in a minor key and hence keeps the moodiness. This is the track for the dancefloor in my opinion. The track works better with a lighter kick, and MK keeps the depth of the original. Some nice synth stabs following on from the breakdown and the chord progression is more resolved. I love the melancholy feel to it.

Finally it’s Appleblim’s experimental and edgy remix. The kick is back in big, along with  hisses and  snarls, and the vocals build up nicely. The track is stripped back and it slaps a rich vein of lumpy beats in an air sucking atmosphere. There are some nice shakers and claps in there and the final part  of the track plays out to dissolve the main elements like a flipped up jigsaw.

You can find out more about Data Transmission HERE

Comments

comments