Ilias Pentalias - Ilias Vs Atom Tha Immortal

Hear The Track Here

It never ceases to amaze me who gets to be well known and who doesn't, and the methods employed to construct such an event. One of the main sites I use, MP3 Unsigned, seems to suffer from this collective amnesia to a remarkable degree. Take for example, our Greek friend Ilias Pantelias who I first encountered when I reviewed his South Border (October 2006) and all very impressive it is too. It's even more impressive when you realise that Ilias is just 17 because believe me, the production and arrangement definitely do it all over some of the older faces around. Also as it happens I know that Ilias has been on MP3 Unsigned for some considerable time - so he is relatively well known. So how come then, that on this compo track (a very popular remix Atom Tha Immortal thingie) which - incidentally - Ilias won, there are just THREE comments on this track?? Even I got more comments than that and - I freely admit - my remix wasn't very good. So why is it that some eminently knowledgeable artists like Ilias struggle to get comments and others (who are decidely musically inferior) get comments in the high tens (60, 70 etc)?

Enquiring minds want to know...

I'm a fan of Atom Tha Immortal, a Californian rapper who has long been a MP3 Unsigned favourite and - as you know - I am addicted to remixes so when Atom offered a track for remix, I - and a great many others - grabbed the chance. All the remixes can be found here and they are all definitely worth a listen. Ilias vs Atom is wot won it though, so why? For me, a remix means more than a re-arrangement, it's a total re-working of both the ideas behind the original AND a combination of the remixers own material (in addition to a terrific re-reading of the classic House Of The Rising Sun). Don't believe me? Go listen, be enlightened.

On that score alone, it deserves to win, let alone a great many other things that stand out. If this track had come up in the normal scheme of things, I would have been raving about this little gem, and I probably still will anyhow. Tracks as fine as this don't come along that often and although I have some small niggles to go on about, there is nothing that really needs extra attention. Ilias' contributions to this track make Atom's vocals really happen and it's a perfect blend of Ilias's penchant for epic soundscapes with Atom's venom-spattered, machine gun rap. It's when the House Of The Rising Sun enters the picture that everything really gels and kicks the whole shebang into low Earth orbit. Absolutely terrific track in every way, ideas; execution; production. I found it hard - as I'm sure others did - to fit Atom's style to my kind of music so it makes me appreciate all the more how seamlessly Ilias has worked his miracles. Really remarkable track.

MUST HAVE