Cold Busted: cat.BUSTED07
Released 2009

Track list:
1. Spacebird (Ambient Mix)
2. Pax
3. Lights Of Paradise
4. Spacebird


IN BRIEF: Lush.

All together now for one of the biggest music journalist clichés: the comparison! Close behind “It’s like [Band X] meets [Band Y]” and its variant “It’s like [Band X] on [Drug Y]” is the old favourite: “If you like [Band X], you’ll love [Band Y]!”

Yes, it’s practically the laziest way you can think of to give the reader an idea of whether they’d like a given record, but it’s not mere laziness at work here. The trouble with Ilya Mosolov is that there’s no other way to introduce him. These are the first tracks he’s released commercially, he’s signed to the obscure Cold Busted label and nobody knows nor cares about him.

So here goes nothing… if you liked the gorgeous melodic breakbeat sections of Mirco De Govia’s recent album then you’ll love this EP. On his debut release, Mosolov creates the same future-fairytale atmosphere of tracks like Quantum Reign, but he manages to push the beautiful, slick production and glistening melodies to even greater heights.

And if you haven’t heard Mirco’s last album? Think ultra-pretty, intricately arranged, low-tempo progressive breaks and you’re almost there. Progressive breaks are one of the best genres around for bridging the gap between headphones and dancefloor, and while these tracks are probably a little too slow for most dancefloors, they’re perfect for hot summer afternoons and chill-out sets.

There are four tracks, and while the official sequence is given above this is a digital release, and the alphabetical order your player will probably put them in makes for a perfectly good listening experience. It also means thatLights Of Paradise comes first, which makes sense given it lends its name to the EP. Spiraling clusters of bleepy melodies, shuffling beats with just a shade of glitchiness, gently undulating pad progressions and washes of futuristic synths come together to set both the tone (uplifting, carefree and delicate) and Mosolov’s key weapons.

Pax maintains the mood as it unfolds slowly from an ambient intro, going through some soft breaks and into an equally soft, almost bass-less house beat. The steady yet placid pulse of the rhythm brings to mind ye olde ambient house and trance of the early 90s.

Spacebird gets two mixes. The ambient mix ditches the kick drums but leaves the shuffling breaks patterns, stretches the composition out and plays on cascading piano melodies and languid, almost symphonic string arrangements. The original mix, meanwhile, is probably the best of the lot. Chunky synth riffs, the picturesque bleepy melodies of Lights Of Paradise and those same stirring string arrangements come together to form a suitably climactic track.

Such descriptive passages barely do justice to the listening experience of this music, however, and suffice to say that these tick all the boxes required of melodic, downtempo electronic music. Pax and the ambient version of Spacebird are perhaps a little too sugary and irrepressibly cheerful for their own good at times, but the two breakbeat-driven tracks add just the right amount of rhythmic stimulation to keep this release out of full-blown unicorn-and-rainbow territory.

All in all, this is very, very impressive stuff, especially for a debut. Mosolov deserves wider attention, and glorious summer days deserve his music as a soundtrack. So: go and buy this. It’s like liquid sunshine on ecstasy!


Written by SYSTEM-J for TranceCritic.com. May not be reproduced or republished without the consent of TranceCritic.com. © All rights reserved.

Title: Mosolov, Ilya - Lights Of Paradise EP
Category: Single, EP
Sub Category: Break Beat
Reviewer: SYSTEM-J
Related Link: http://www.myspace.com/ilyamosolov
Added: May 25th 2009
Viewed: 923 Times
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