This is the debut album from Avi Shmailov, known as Astrix. After releasing many tracks and remixes on various compilation (including nitzhonot in his past) we finally get to hear a whole album composed by him, with some cooperations. When I got this album I heard many complaints about this album being too repetitive and recycled. Fortunately, this isn't the case. This album is probably one of the best full on album I have ever heard. Some of the tracks are varied and full of ideas & motives (even though not very original at some points). The rest are just recycled tracks, but still dancefloor killers. I wouldn't let those tracks put a shade over the real gems on this album.
The first track is Life System. In my opinion, Astrix couldn't have made a better opening for this album. A mysterious sample followed by a mystic chant, preceding a massive beat driven by a clean, powerful bassline which is probably the his trademark. The next track is Crystal Sequence, together with Atomic Pulse. This time they take away the happiness and give us a deep, sad, emotional track. The bassline is driving and moving, which make up for a great basis for the track. But I didn't like the use of samples. Then it.s Astrix's remix to the classic Wider by Infected Mushroom. Astrix has attempted in making the track dancefloor oriented, and succeeded. The track is now more groovy than it used to be, and the emotional melodies still exist. This is how remixes should be made. The fourth track is a cooperation with Ido Ophir (Domestic). I have one thing to say about this track- Goa. This one gives me nostalgia about old music, but this time it's sounding much better. Eye to Eye (T5) is the title track of this album, but unfortunately it's very unoriginal. It sounds much like the first track. It.s still a good track nonetheless, just a bit more originality could've helped it. Side Effect is another made with Atomic Pulse. It's a good thing to come after Eye to Eye. Their collaborations produce darker tracks with more work for the brain. This time they go a bit on the progressive side, and the result is not disappointing. The seventh track is the already released Scientific Reality. Moving bassline and groovy beat make this a dancefloor killer although it resembles some of their other tracks. The last dance track on this album is FeeL.S.D (T8). If we'll ignore the bad choice for a name, we'll discover a nice track, which is sure to rock some floors, using a combination of the usual Astrix style and some other musical elements. The ninth track, Valirus, is very appealing to me. A nice chill-out track after grooving non-stop to the previous tracks. The bassline is different (a rare thing with Avi) and it works for the best. Closing this album is Freestlye Cafe. It seems it has become mandatory to put an ambient track in the end of each album and Astrix doesn't fail the "expectations". This basically sounds just like a slow version of The First Revelations and Kali, with already used sounds and ideas. However, this doesn't make the track any less good and it is a very good finish for the album. |
