Maor Levi - Reflect / Illumina

Maor Levi underlines his immense talent with this sublime double A-Side release. For me, the diverse range of soundscapes that Levi paints across these two tracks makes this a very special release indeed. ‘Reflect’ utilises a female stutter vocal effect in the same way that its predecessor ‘Lital’ did, albeit with a much bigger, ‘filled-out’ sound that smoulders with steamy, sensual emotions. The strings on top of the rumbling bass at the breakdown are one of my favourite elements of this track, which for me is the perfect encapsulation of the prodigiously gifted Israeli’s sound. If I had to recommend just one production of his (which is particularly difficult given that all of them are fantastic), then ‘Reflect’ would be the one I would select.

‘Illumina’ is something a little different to what we have heard previously from Levi. By creating a much lighter sound (with continuous vocals as opposed to cut-up effects) and setting the track at a much more languid rhythm than his other productions, the gorgeous keys and vocals are able to come to the fore as the track glides effortlessly and elegantly along.

This is the definitive release of arguably the most exciting young progressive trance producer around and my favourite from the Anjunadeep label thus far. Despite this, having heard the subsequent release ‘Shapes’, it seems that another masterpiece is on its way too.