One of the most creative and ingenious producers to ever hit electronic music, Seven Lions, hits us with a brand new EP right in the middle of his busy tour schedule.
Jeff Montalvo, or as he’s better known, Seven Lions, grew up as a metal/punk-inclined drummer, but shortly shifted over to electronic production, specializing in his own unique genre of bass heavy music, called trance-step. This earned him massive support from the likes of Above & Beyond, Armin Van Buuren, and Gareth Emery, after his wide series of trance influenced, emotional dubstep remixes took the world by storm.
His new EP, Worlds Apart , is nothing short of the exact example of the music prowess that made him famous in the first place. It features a wide array of experimental electronica, with various elements of chill-step, dub-step, glitch and everything in between. It’s a journey through a crescendo of uplifting synths, breath taking arpeggios and melodically sound yet agressive drops, peaking just at a moment which sends shivers of ecstasy down your spine. The choice of vocalists in Ellie Goulding and Estonian songstress Kerli just adds to that amazingly emotional and astoundingly moving sound that Seven Lions has pioneered over the years. Some of the tracks off his EP make perfect use of his rock inspired background, whether its the sound scape, the beat work, or the instrumentation.
The first track, Dont Leave with Ellie Goulding, has had him make use of his wonderfully unique ability of blending trance elements with a raw dub-step energy, resulting in a production that’s as emotive as it is powerfully energetic. Ellie’s powerful vocal adds to the stirring effect of the production.
The second track, Worlds Apart, also the title track from the EP, starts off with Kerli’s amazing vocals, and picks up with a bang. The multiple arpeggios and blissful melodies all lead into a massive drop that blends synth melodies with glitch elements.
Nepenthe starts off with atmospheric pads and ambient synth elements that fade in and out, all layered over some fast paced, almost tribal beat work. This evenly ambient soundscape then breaks off to an ethereal melody that builds up to a massive peak that consequently breaks to a gargantuan drop with a deep bassline, catchy melody and some almost post-rock-ish beatwork. Certain portions of this production could easily pass off as an industrial/post rock record. The massive melodies compliment the deep, brooding bassline so perfectly, it’s hard to wonder how these two seemingly adverse sounds work together so perfectly.
Strangers re-released on this EP, is already one production that has taken the world by storm. It fits the entire vibe of the EP perfectly and is definitely a track that has concreted Seven Lions’ position in the electronic industry.
The final track, Keep It Close, features Kerli’s vocals again. A perfect end to a masterfully crafted EP. An almost progressive-rock blended with electronica arrangement, further amplified by Kerli’s beyond impressive vocal-work. Characterized by beat-work that doesn’t stick to your definite time-structure, this is a perfect showcase of Seven Lions’ roots as a metal drummer, especially one who was inspired by progressive metal/folk bands like Opeth. The beat-work is very reminiscent to Opeth’s drumming on songs from their Damnation album, especially on tracks like Windowpane.
You can buy this beautiful EP off iTunes here.
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