Unstable Elements-Technical Illusions

[Ormion]

Unstable Elements – Technical Illusions

Kagdila Records 2006

 

 

 

TRACKLIST:

1.44100Hz

2.Behind The Sun

3.Artificial Sense

4.Elemental

5.Spring Feelings

6.Otium Post Negotium

7.What Do You Want To Forget?

8.Martian Atmosphere

9.Mind Weaver

10.Field Of Innocence

11.Chillout Vibes

 

Style: Ambient

 

 

Unstable Elements are Kornev Maxim and Epifanov Andrew, two guys from Russia and this is their debut album.

My first (and only until this album) experience with Unstable Elements was in the A Magical Journey 2 comp. and their track Technical Illusions. This track was simply unbelievable and made me buy their same titled album. Here it is:

 

1. 44100Hz is a perfect track to discover Unstable Element’s music. Very emotional pads and crystal melodies floating around together with nice downtempo kicks. Some of you, you’d call it typical, I call it amazing. It’s nice peaceful ambient very emotional and pure electronic. Great track!

2. Behind The Sun has a much more happy feeling than 44100Hz at least in the first half. Nice simple melodies make you smile together with a really nice breakbeat percussion. In the middle of the track it slows down a bit before the melodies start again. Perfect track for mornings.

3. With Artificial Sense now, we get a more melancholic feeling. The pads and the melodic lines were created to make you sad (in a good way of course). Again the kick is very well done. It’s breakbeat but ‘flows’ vey smoothly and doesn’t bother you. There’s an old school Goa feeling in this track. Beautiful!

4. Elemental just like Behind The Sun has a more shiny ‘image’ and it will certainly make you happy. Still it has this nostalgic feeling like all of the tracks here, especially in the second half where the pads are stronger. Nice one.

5. Spring Feelings is slightly different than the rest of the tracks. First of all this is surely a track for the spring season. Everytime I listen to it I get images of fields filled with flowers. The differences in this track are the flute (very well played) and some very happy playful melodies which have a different color than the rest of the album. Spring track for sure.

6. Otium Post Negotium is what Psymbient is all about IMO. Nice emotional pads, a liquid bass and of course nice melodies. It’s a winner track that almost everybody will love and again a track that reminds me the old days. Cool!

7. What Do You Want To Forget? is maybe the most melancholic track in the album. It’s a track made for the cloudy autumn mornings. The emotions here are so strong that almost made me cry the first time I listened to it. A fantastic journey, a great ambient track for all the melancholic ambient lovers.

8. Martian Atmosphere is again a visual track. Everytime I listen to it I’m thinking of the space. It’s a track very slow and peaceful but also very ‘cold’ just like space. Again a track that took my mind some years ago, back in the Goa period. Fantastic!

9. The melancholy keeps going. Mind Weaver just like the the three previous tracks is very melancholic and very, very deep. The downtempo percussion is perfect here. It’s not complicated or annoying, but very slow and matches perfectly with the crystal melodies. Great track again!

10. And time for my favorite track of this album. Field Of Innocence is the only track here that has no percussion at all. It’s beatless, atmospheric ambient all the way. It sounds very minimalistic, but this is what I love the most. It’s a track made for mind traveling when you have your eyes closed. Very emotional again and melancholic (at least for me). Simply amazing!!!

11. Chillout Vibes is again a track that will you send many years back to the past with this Goambient style floating melody. It’s a very short track, more like an outro, but it works great!

 

Overall, it’s a great album. It’s the kind of ambient I like. It sounds a bit simple, but IMO that’s the reason it’s so good. The Unstable guys didn’t care to release an ambient album that sounds more sophisticated or complicated. This is nice, melancholic, emotional, simple ambient just how good ambient must be! Plus, it has many old school elements. No, it’s not perfect and yes none of the track is as unbelievably amazing as the Technical Illusions track in the Magical Journey compilation, but trust me this is beautiful music!!!

 

Fav: 1(!), 3, 4, 7(!), 8, 9, 10(!!!)

[Anoebis]

Yes, indeed, it's a pitty they didn't get more attention with this cd, because I love it, very melodic melancholic trance-ambient!

Favourites 1 and 10, they are both superb, both it's a great album to hear in a whole...

[scoff cruddle]

Indeed, one of my favourite CDs of the last year, really nice downtempo, slightly more techno than psy feel to it. Lovely stuff and yes, slightly melancholic.

 

Favourite track for me is 6....can listen to it on repeat for ages!

 

Nice work and one more people should give a listen to.

[Snapinho]

Can't really agree with Anoebis' desciription of "trance-ambient" but I do agree that this release deserves more attention. It's really good actually! The best songs are in the beginning though, at the end it gets a little bit boring and repetitive, but there's a good number of great songs on this album.

It's not too psy-inspired, and leans more towards idm than psybient, but that's more of a description than a judgment. Cause I likes it!

 

I love this cd, it's refreshing, it is indeed melancholic, beautiful, fragile and melodic. Beat-wise it's - as I said - more idm-ish than psychill. More broken than straightforward beats. Actually, if you want to know what Technical Illusions is about, read Ormion's review, it gives a good idea of what this album is about.

 

Go get this people, it's refreshing, original, well produced and diverse. Some songs are more acidic, some are just ambient, some are Orbital-like breakbeat ish, there's some spooky stuff and a lot of emotion.