(House, Tech House) Stelios Vassiloudis - It Is What It Is (Bedrock [BEDSV01CD]) WEB - 2011, MP3 (tracks / image), 320 kbps

Artist(s) .........:: Stelios Vassiloudis
 Title .............:: It Is What It Is

 Genre .............:: House
 Record Label ......:: Bedrock
 Catalogue Number ..:: BEDSV01CD

 Source ............:: WEB
 Quality ...........:: 320kbps avg / 44.1KHz / Joint Stereo
 Duration ..........:: 05:01:05  (690.MB)
 Release Date ......:: 08-11-2011
 Support ...........:: [url=http://www.junodownload.com]http://www.junodownload.com[/url]

 Tracklist .........::

 1. Stelios Vassiloudis - In Tandem            2:34
 2. Stelios Vassiloudis - Entropy              4:19
 3. Stelios Vassiloudis - Who You Are          5:37
 4. Stelios Vassiloudis Feat Darren Murray -   5:11
    I Burn Like
 5. Stelios Vassiloudis - Reshape & Reform     7:15
 6. Stelios Vassiloudis - Your Other Left      7:14
 7. Stelios Vassiloudis - Clarity              4:56
 8. Stelios Vassiloudis & Astrid Suryanto -    4:39
    Walk Away
 9. Stelios Vassiloudis - The View From Here   4:45
 10.Stelios Vassiloudis - The Highline         5:12
 11.Stelios Vassiloudis & John Dalagelis -     5:38
    Sunrise On The Avenue
 12.Stelios Vassiloudis Feat Anna Maria X -    4:47
    Tie Me Up
 13.Stelios Vassiloudis - Small Hours          7:03
 14.Stelios Vassiloudis Feat Tomomi Ukumori -  8:33
    Green In Blue
 15.Stelios Vassiloudis Feat Anna Maria X -    6:53
    Isolation
 16.Stelios Vassiloudis - My Leaking Vein      8:57
 17.Stelios Vassiloudis & Astrid Suryanto -    8:02
    Feed
 18.Stelios Vassiloudis - Blister              8:54
 19.Stelios Vassiloudis - Reaching             9:02
 20.Stelios Vassiloudis - Nowhere              8:56
 21.Stelios Vassiloudis & Sasse - The Z        9:54
 22.Stelios Vassiloudis - Toujours             8:47
 23.Stelios Vassiloudis - Repetition           9:21
 24.Stelios Vassiloudis - A New Aesthetic      8:08
 25.Stelios Vassiloudis - Nickel Wound         8:48
 26.Stelios Vassiloudis - It Is What It Is    57:15
    (Part 1)
 27.Stelios Vassiloudis - It Is What It Is    70:25
    (Part 2)

 Release Note ......::

 Following the debut artist album by Marco Bailey, Guy Js second artist album
 and releases from label owner John Digweed himself (in the form of the
 Structures and Bedrock 12 mix compilations), Bedrock now proudly presents the
 debut artist album from rising Greek star Stelios Vassiloudis, titled It Is
 What It Is. I had always tried to avoid making an album and it's safe to say I
 had (and still have) various preconceptions and notions about the process of
 making an album and also the qualities that constitute a successful and
 well-rounded album. The electronic music genre is wrought with sub-par, hastily
 produced collections of singles strung together in LP format as much as forward
 thinking artistic endeavours, so the prospect of making my own statement was
 (and is) always a very daunting prospect. - Stelios Vassiloudis Presented over
 two discs, the album commences with a beautiful cinematic soundscape on CD1,
 whereas CD2 allows Stelios to showcase his club sound, which develops from
 laidback deep house grooves right through to a more intense techier acidic
 vibe. With all the tracks blended and mixed together into a continuous play
 format to create the optimum listening experience, this is a fantastic release
 showcasing top quality, forward-thinking music and once again showing why
 Bedrock is one of the leading labels in the global electronic scene. You may
 have already heard Stelios on Bedrock recently in his Wiretappeur guise (his
 collaboration with Florian Kruse and Nils Nurnberg) with the much-loved
 Everybody Loves Ice Cream EP whose deep house vibes and warm sounds are firm
 favourites of many acclaimed DJ's. Now, its time for him to shine in his own
 right. When I started work on this album a few years ago, I just wrote
 non-stop. For the first time in many years, I found myself enjoying the process
 of writing and arranging music again. CD1 is a relaxing journey through lush
 melodic swells, down-tempo grooves, experimental beats, subtle guitars and
 ambient interludes. Inspired in parts by the originality of the likes of Boards
 Of Canada, David Holmes and Massive Attack, this superb collection of beautiful
 instrumental and vocal tracks explores the possibilities and creative freedom
 afforded when music moves beyond the confines of the dancefloor. As CD1 builds
 towards a finale, keyboards and strings give way to the stripped-back, slo-mo
 house of Sunrise On The Avenue which then morphs into the analogue squelch of
 Tie Me Up, Stelios sets the stage perfectly for what is the come on CD2 as the
 dancefloor beckons. If you like deeply groovy laid-back, vocal and instrumental
 house music with enough depth and variety to warrant many, many repeat plays
 before anything like over familiarity or boredom sets in, youre in for a treat.
 This is house music that is sophisticated, subtle, filled with hip-wiggling
 percussion, intensity, throbbing and ebbing and flowing through the mix with
 supreme ease. It is the mark of a truly creative producer that by the time the
 final acidic flourish of Repetition dies away, It Is What It Is feels like a
 truly inspired journey to the heart, mind and soul of Stelios Vassiloudis. A
 big part of this new found enthusiasm and creativity led me to seeking out
 like-minded musicians and collaborators-people that could bolster or finesse
 some my ideas and complete my vision. The result of these experiments and the
 collaborations were some of the strongest, most well rounded compositions I had
 put together to date and ended up forming the core of the album. The album is
 rich with the many vocal talents it hosts, with glorious contributions from
 Darren Murray (I Burn Like), Astrid Suryanto (Walk Away and Feed), Anna Maria X
 (Tie Me Up and Isolation) and Tomomi Ukomori (Green In Blue), all of which are
 exceptional in their own distinctive styles. Darren and I started working
 together during the time he was doing vocals for Killahurtz and it didn't take
 long for me to realize what an amazingly talented and inspired musician he is.
 He's also tremendously underrated and not terribly prolific. However, we've
 worked together very happily over the years, often to great effect and his
 range and versatility made him the first and only choice when I was sourcing
 for male vocalists to sing on I Burn Like. Astrid Suryanto has an established
 history of working with some of the great names in electronic music such as
 Todd Terry, King Britt, DJ Yellow and Morgan Page, as well as a plethora of top
 quality labels like Nervous, Plastic City and Armada, amongst many others. Her
 vocal contributions on Walk Away and Feed are two of the albums highlights.
 I've always maintained that collaborations are tricky business. Especially when
 it comes to obtaining a good vocal performance that works in harmony with the
 music you've written. Generally speaking, vocalists either tend to have too
 much "vision" or not enough of it. Astrid is an accomplished, well-rounded
 songwriter as well as a first rate singer so working with her was ridiculously
 easy. Based in Japan, Tomomi Ukomori has worked on critically acclaimed
 releases with key labels in that territory like Avex, Apt International and
 Green Parrot Recordings, collaborating with the likes of Mathias Kaden, Hernan
 Cattaneo, OMB and Hideo Kobyashi. Her vocals on Blue In Green take the track to
 another place entirely. I met Tomomi years ago at a club I was playing at in
 Tokyo. After the gig, she gave me a CD of her (then) current material. I became
 an instant fan. From that night until today her exceptional song writing and
 talent have taken her far and she has created some very special pieces of
 music. It was a Mathias Kaden track that I heard her singing on that gave me
 the idea for a Japanese vocal on "Blue In Green". I think the juxtaposition of
 a very deep/techy instrumental and Tomomi's soft vocal tone make an interesting
 mix. Anna Maria X is a name synonymous with the music scene in Greece, whether
 as a DJ or a producer/singer. Anna has been one of the main names in the
 electronic scene, being involved in clubs, radio and, of course, a whole host
 of releases with her studio partner, Gpal. Her vocals on Tie Me Up and
 Isolation will linger in your mind for a long time to come. As far as spoken
 word vocalists go, Anna Maria is up there with the best of them. It's no wonder
 she has a thriving side career as a voice-over specialist, the timbre of her
 voice is unmistakable. She knows electronic dance music. She knows what works
 and what doesn't. These were the fastest and easiest vocals I recorded for the
 album. In addition to the many original pieces of work on this album, Stelios
 has also teamed up with a couple of other like-minded producers. The Z is a
 collaboration with Berlin based Sasse, who releases music on his esteemed Mood
 Music label. Our working relationship began a few years ago when we started
 swapping music and remixes for our 2 labels (his-Mood Music, mine-Dieb Audio).
 Since then we've become good friends, and worked together in various
 capacities, but hadnt made a complete a track together. The opportunity came up
 when I started "The Z". I had started developing the groove and main patterns
 but was lacking a fresh perspective, something to give it extra definition that
 would set it apart from your usual mid-set fodder. Sasse's touch was just what
 it needed and he took my initial idea in a whole new direction! John Dalagelis'
 involvement with this album project (he co-engineered and co-produced the
 continuous mixes) resulted in him contributing his song writing and studio
 finesse to "Sunrise On The Avenue", a DJ tool in essence, but something more
 sophisticated and not just a "functional" piece of music. John co-runs the
 uber-hip Dieb Audio imprint and has released music on a wide variety of labels
 over the years. John was there when I started being involved in this "scene".
 He and his brother remixed my first 2 records. Through my (and their) early
 development as a producer and DJ we were very tight, always bouncing ideas off
 each other, going out to parties, discussing music and discovering new things
 along the way. As a studio engineer, John is one of the best I know. He's mixed
 and mastered with the best and for the best. I knew I wanted his ears and his
 know-how when it came to putting the extra touches on the final mixes and the
 mixed version of the album. He ended up mastering it also. All great albums
 have a secret story to tell when you scratch below the surface and It Is What
 It Is by Stelios Vassiloudis is a debut artist album that is more than a
 collection of great tracks. Across the two discs, it is a journey into the mind
 of a very talented musician, producer and DJ. If you are open to the emotions
 on display it will give you glimpses of his very heart and soul. It is an
 exceptionally exciting, bold and brave body of music that will stand the test
 of time beyond fickle trends and fashions. Ive spent a year refining,
 rewriting, expanding and polishing the album into the two disc form it has
 today. In keeping with the popular paradigm, this experience has made the
 journey far more poignant and resounding than the end destination and has made
 me a better writer/producer. I guess that's what music has always been about
 for me-learning and evolving. A music professor at University once told me
 that: "the moment you start to feel complacent and accomplished, you're
 finished". My professor's words and my unwavering desire to attain (some
 measure of) perfection would have probably inspired and self perpetuated an
 endless cycle of writing, rewriting, editing and tweaking until the end of
 time! But, all good things must come to an end. A line must be drawn. In this
 light, I think the album title is self-explanatory. I hope you enjoy listening
 to it as much as I did making it? - Stelios Vassiloudis