Kelly David - Illusive (2021)

Illusive, Kelly David’s second release for Spotted Peccary, expands the ethereal, sylvan sound of his previous album Meditation in Green. Like its predecessor, Illusive revels in natural beauty, blending wilderness samples with luminous synths and psychedelic textures. Illusive, however, dwells as much in internal landscapes as external ones. Composed during the pandemic, these seven pieces explore the contrast between the calm quietude of David’s surroundings and the chaos of the outside world.

“Illusive” means “producing illusion” or “not what it seems,” and makes an apt title for David’s new album, an album of hidden depths. Crafted from an astounding list of electronic instruments from MOOG, Sequential, Nord and modular synthesizers, each piece moves fluidly from beat to beat, melody to melody, never staying in one place for long. And yet, Illusive imbues the listener with a sense of calm and stillness even as it remains in constant motion.

“Sentinel” pairs spritely synths with ethereal tones to conjure a sense of safety; the ever-shifting landscape beneath hints at a hidden anxiety, but the danger is always distant, never near. On “Top of the Trees,” sampled bird calls and skittering percussion evoke the avian clamor of the forest. Then, a threatening drone rises to the forefront like a windstorm sweeping through the woods, before it fades into a warm texture and all is calm once again. Finale “Northcoast” opens with sounds of crashing waves; then, an ominous hum simmers under shimmering tones, capturing the might and majesty of the open sea before, in the album’s closing moments, all falls into the waves once again.

With Illusive, Kelly David builds a sonic sanctuary for the listener; a meditation on the endurance of beauty through troubled times. As these seven pieces morph from melody to melody—traversing stark silences and warm crescendos, cavernous atmospheres and celestial chimes—change is constant, but so is grace.