Violet Vision - Unfold

Unfold is second album that hits us from the eclectic duo which consists of Jonathan Dagan and Shay Raviv. This time the musical span is even wider and blends various and diverse genres such as breakbeat, house and even pop. Let’s start with the artwork. It is a true eye candy. Multiple layers, which combine one whole front cover is absolutely brilliant idea. And in addition we get nice drawings of the band and all the album lyrics. A treat that we rarely get in our scene. 2 thumbs up for that and let’s hope more labels will pick the initiative. And now to the music itself.

Your Voice was released previously as CD Single and clearly showed us what's to follow. Intense breakbeat rhythm conjoined with mellow melodies and beautiful singing by Noa Lambersky is what I call a great opening track. Steam (T2) is more like a filler. Lonely distant Piano playing and accompanied by crunched analog drum machine beats and then fades away faster than you might notice. Cellophane was already released on Israliens 4, but this time it’s a different version with slight breakbeatish approach. This tune is again featuring Noa Lambersky and again it proves to be a good bet. This is a sinister, evil tune with some unpredictable sounds floating around. (T4) Plastic Wrap is a synth-popish tune with vocals by Jonathan himself. This one is one dark piece. Puts you on a very different mood than most of the album. Get You Closer(T5) tries to brighten up the feel, but remains in the same Synth Pop territory. This is actually a cover version of a song of a synth-pop group named And One. I never heard the original version but I doubt it’s as intense as this one. On the vocal part this time worked 4 people! Jonathan, Shay, Duvdev & Avital Cohen. I can’t distinguish the between them, but I really like the outcome. Next, I’m Inside is a stormer. Take Chemical Brothers put some angry vocalist with them in the studio and that’s what you might get, except that this time it’s Violet Vision and they are from Israel. No better words to describe that tune but a simple yet colorful “killer” word. The break at the 4th minute is just amazing. (T7) Fresh Ground actually sounds like french house tune to me. Somewhere in the Daft Punk / Cassius territory. Totally refreshing vocoded vocals with fat bass and groovy percussion. Fresh Ground indeed! Gentle Anarchy (T8, already released on Another Life) is basically a trip-hop tune with less cinematic feel and more hi-tech bleeps and FX feel. Nice but not much more. Melodious Pranksters is collaboration with the unstoppable Michele Adamson. This tune really stands out with its hectic chopped rhythm. Totally amazing sound manipulation with beautiful voice of Michele’s paving its way to the front. The Day Out (T10) is another short filler, the old analog drum machines are pounding again with some bleeps and distorted guitar. Short idea but unfortunately with no continuation. Pale Void is another gem. This time it’s more on the Poppy side. Less broken beats and more focus on clean singing. This is an almost acoustic tune with a lot of soul and feeling. Kfir Basson skillfully sings here. A very surprising yet memorable endind to a fantastic album.

Recomendation:  The album shows a lot of maturity and a lot of guts as well. This is very different album, which was conceived both musically and technically in the most perfect way. And another important fact is that Mike Marsh who worked with a lot of legendary artists including Bjork, Jamiroquai, Chemical Brothers and Massive Attack did the mastering. So if you are tired of the same ol’ 4x4 killer tunes and want to listen to something really different yet with a spirit and the approach of psytrance, this CD is a must!
The highlights are: 1, 4, 5(!!), 6(!!), 9(!!), 11(!!), and all the other tunes are great as well.