Esteemed composer, DJ and producer Stelios Vassiloudis has served as an indispensable voice within the progression of electronic music since the early 2000s. Not one to shy away from experimentation, the talent’s impressive back catalogue features a flush tapestry of influences from across the dance music spectrum. A firm favourite for John Digweed’s Bedrock imprint, the Athens-born talent now returns to his staple home to deliver his most impactful and daring studio album to date – Human Damage Human.
Landing on Digweed’s iconic underground music house over a decade on from his debut LP for the label – It Is What It Is – Vassiloudis’ latest record is another journey of discovery into the depths of music’s panorama, reflecting his richly diverse background and impeccable technical knowledge.
Existing between the realms of electronic programming and classical composition, Stelios’ latest album is built with varying sound palettes in mind, journeying through Trip Hop, Electronica, Jazz, Downtempo and Left Field to create a record that’s both brave and yet warmly familiar. Despite its miscellaneous nature, the body of work is wholly cohesive and intended for start-to-finish listening, decisively building in energy and intrigue.
Opening with the cinematic charm of Is This Thing On and Like Suicide, we’re introduced to the record in an unequivocally cool manner, dipping into dreamy soundscapes and laidback percussion. The five cuts Heat, Manifesto, Extinction, Downward Spiral and Kaizen deliver on vocals, each more distinctive from the last but equally as effective in their authenticity. Breaking away from traditional dance music-leaning vocal styles – and to fully realise the album’s narrative of genre cross-pollination – Stelios employs Metalcore vocalist Alex Avdis for three of the cuts. Former front-man of the iconic London metal band The Defiled, Alex’s niche background gives a fresh perspective to the album, one that has rarely been heard in the electronic scape.
A contemporary and modern twelve-track opus that’s replete with hypnotic rhythms and complex soundscapes, Human Damage Human has a thought-provoking edge, reflecting the emotional narrative we’ve come to know and love from Stelios’ discography. A stunning follow-up from his sophomore album – the 2022-released All Else Fails –this latest offering showcases a new dimension of scope for his output, one that proves his boundless creativity and ability to remain progressive in a fast-changing scene.
