Seasons by George Koutalieris

Five years have now passed since guitarist-turned-producer George Koutalieris made his bow on NuNorthern Soul via the warming delights of debut album Stop, Look, Listen – a set of 21st century tone poems and immersive soundscapes inspired by Ibizan beauty spots, dawn ferry trips, hidden coves and relaxed strolls around his home city of Athens.

That set was marked out by the Greek artist’s love of “open harmonic spaces”, hybrid analogue/electronic instrumentation, and the widescreen nature of his distinctive musical vision. It was music with a genuine sense of time and space, putting listeners inside Koutalieris’ vivid, high-definition daydreams.

On this belated sequel, Koutalieris takes a similar sonic approach, once again drawing us into his distinctive sound world. His love of laidback West Coast rock comes to the fore on opener ‘Wildflowers’, where cascading synthesiser melodies and glistening jazz guitar solos stretch out across a comfy bed of ‘kosmiche’ style synth sounds, locked-in grooves and immersive pads.

On title track ‘Seasons’, Koutalieris pays tribute to the ever-changing natural world via becalmed acoustic guitars, jazzy synth-bass, enveloping ambient chords, short female vocal snippets and fretless bass style synthesiser lines. Head and sun-splashed, it’s a genuine slow motion delight.

‘CLYC’ sees the Athens-based artist layer up the aural colours while breaking up the beats, attractively leading us through a musical watercolour full of shuffling post-electro downtempo beats, tumbling lead lines, vivid chords and intricate aural touches. Ear-pleasing and smile inducing, it naturally features some trademark electric guitar solos from the talented multi-instrumentalist.

To round off an impressive return to action, Koutalieris serves up ‘Pangaeon Gold’ –a yearning, head-nodding foray into Balearic dub territory piled high with weighty bass, backwards audio textures, sparse beats and layers of relaxed, sun-bright guitar. It provides a suitably toasty and mood enhancing conclusion to genuinely inspired return to action.

George is an Athens-based producer/guitarist that he explores new ways of sound making, merging his guitar sounds and single lines with vintage & analog equipment using a modern synthesis approach.