Ilai Ashdot – MAXIMAL LIFE – New Cassette 2021 Orange Milk Tape – Experimental Electronic / Hyperpop Direct from Band

Ilai Ashdot has gained attention as a producer for artists such as Rona Kenan, Nunu, and Gon Ben Ari, to name a few, but with ‘MAXIMAL LIFE’ he presents a personal debut album. As the title suggests, the music is brimming with sound and varied but direct and composed. It has some roots in the current Hyperpop vibe, but similar to other contemporaries like galen tipton, pushes far beyond the confines of that sound into exploratory pop and electronics. At the heart of ‘MAXIMAL LIFE’ is a specific vision of songwriting that emphasizes the build and release of tensions and often eschews traditional structure for glimpses of musical euphoria. The final stretch of “Zebra”, for example, is a climax that follows several sections that might be described as verses, but functionally serve the increase of tension. Then nothing repeats, verse / chorus definitions decay and lose meaning because the music embodies freedom and catharsis above all else. I find the album addicting because it has the allure of pop catchiness but flows like a natural pattern of thought – you can let your mind relax and sync with whatever direction that current takes instead of trying to predict a few prescribed sets of structural paths.

released November 5, 2021

Ilai Ashdot – production, vocals, guitar, keys

Gon Ben Ari – vocals on 7
Rona Kenan – vocals on 9
Roni Danon – vocals on 2, production on 8
Naama Gur – vocals on 5
Matan Duckler Levy – additional production on 9
Izhar Ashdot – advice on everything

All music written & composed by Ilai Ashdot, except for:
MAYA DEATH, composed by Roni Danon & Ilai Ashdot
Recorded by Ilai Ashdot
Mixed by Ilai Ashdot
Mastered by Angel Marcloid
Visual art by Keith Rankin

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