POOL MOON ELEPHANT: “Unexpected Imperfections” – stylistic variance

POOL MOON ELEPHANT is the name under which the Swiss electronic music duo composed of Riccardo Studer and Ivan Nurchis, undertake their creative journey through the electronic world of music and animation. Both have a twenty-year experience in audio-visuals, and working for film and TV productions. Their project of sound and visuals was intended to not to focus on a specific genre but to experiment all electronic styles. Their symbol of freedom and strength is a little elephant. Born in Bali during June of 2015, POOL MOON ELEPHANT have so far released the EP “Unexpected Imperfections”, followed by the remix EP, entitled “Welcome To Fokker”. They are currently working on a new remix EP set for an April release. Plus another EP set for a June release.

“Unexpected Imperfections” is the sort of recording that would have been considered legendary had it come out in the first half of the ’80s, and it is clearly trying to evoke a sort of new wave of retro sound without coming across as sappy, nostalgic, or too derivative.

It’s really good. In a genre where other artists tend to get off track with ear-grinding over-the-top synth work or bass that is just there to give you a headache, POOL MOON ELEPHANT makes you just want to close your eyes and admire the wonder of the musical landscapes they paint with their instruments complete with magical worlds of wide open vistas, and endless skies.

Music is all subjective and everybody has an opinion, but I am a picky listener who is constantly in search of something that hits me in the spot, and for me, “Unexpected Imperfections” is simply perfect. All of the resources the duo pulls together for this EP simply works on many levels for me.

From the opening track “Touché”, POOL MOON ELEPHANT brings plenty of cool, airy synths, some atmospheric analog-like sounds, and, of course, the occasional voice. However, it also brings other musical elements to the table that blend with their sound so well it seems like this is who they were meant to be the whole time. Pulling out songs that will inevitably be stand out singles is a bit tricky as the whole album just flows extremely well.

One thing that is always appreciated in any collection of songs is some stylistic variance. It’s very hard to enjoy 5 songs in a row that don’t change energy and sound almost exactly the same. What POOL MOON ELEPHANT has done here is make a creative piece that has a cohesive musical experience with highs, lows, and mixes new production with old school ideas.

The EP definitely has its moments when there is no choice but to stand up and rock to the beat, and I’m thinking about the hyper-percussive “Captain To My Eyes”.

But there’s also times where you can sit back and appreciate the well composed, ever-changing soundscapes and melodies, such as is in “Deep Thirst” or “Six Cats In The Flowers of Evil”. Something that deserves a lot of praise here are the bass lines.

It’s not often that our ears are graced with bass lines such as those on “Welcome To Fokker”, that manage to be funky, interesting, thumping and just downright impressive without being too repetitive or being too flashy. All in all, there aren’t any complaints to be made about “Unexpected Imperfections”. It’s a great EP that gives you a sort of blast from the past, mixed with a jump into the future.