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Juno Reactor@Shango
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blood manson
Inactive User
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1
Posted : Feb 14, 2005 22:51
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Metropolis Records Presents,
Juno Reactor:Shango
No one will likely accuse Ben Watkins of undue subtlety with this, Juno Reactor's fifth long player. Indeed, the first two cuts ("Pistolero" and "Hulelam") come leaping off the disc like anthropology soundtracks on steroids, tossing breaks and time changes and rapid-fire sampling around like diced movie film sprinkled before a spinning room fan. It's not so much there's no order at work here, because repeated listening surrenders Watkins' vigorously ordered approach to post Goa trance. It's just that everything goes by so fast you get an uncomfortable sense there are seams he doesn't want you to see. Or curtains behind which he wants to keep the little man hidden.
"Pisolero" is an interesting affair, relying heavily on the Spanish guitar contributions of the redoubtable Steve Stevens, happily and curiously liberated from the tortured violence of his electric axe workouts. "I hate robbing banks," comes the weary female movies voice, before Watkins and Stevens unleash a bouncing and thoroughly likeable melodic romp that would keep Ennio Morricone grinning madly for all of its six minutes. The trouble here, despite the nicely placed lady vocals and Stevens' undoubtedly informed guitaring, is that Watkins simply paints himself into a corner, too busy pasting to step back and give the thing a life of its own. It sounds like a leadoff single, and I hate hearing that from Ben Watkins. Enough already.
Probably intended as not much more than filler, "Insects" comes throbbing along further down the program, a greasy and thoroughly sinister trance shuffle, gently attended by the complaints of dying machines and only sparing bits of nursemaid percussion. Either Watkins loved this as it was, or he ran out of time to layer it on - either way, this is the CD's first real high point, and even as he resorts to cheap dramatics toward the end, the thing is alive.
We are likewise partial to "Nitrogen (parts 1 and 2)," and herein we grant ourselves the supreme privilege of critical inconsistency. The same ham-fisted sampling and overloading we thought sank "Pistolero" and the failed tribal ecstasy of "Hulelam" seems to work nicely in "Nitrogen Pt 1," as it creates little realms and fiefdoms that Watkins plays about in and then discards, shifting vibes, making rules and breaking them, all played out over a clever and nicely paced trance throb. The difference here is that he hears the song in the beat and the struggle between continuity and discontinuity - in "Pistolero," he hears the song in the melody and then does everything to keep us from hearing it too. Both the vibe-shifting Part 1 and the more straightforwardly trancey Part 2 are probably this CD's center of gravity; Watkins' sense of groove, sci-fi indulgences and room-clearing sound FX strike the right balance in these fifteen or so minutes.
You can have the silly arcade theatrics of "Masters Of The Universe," and the jury's out on whether "Song For Our Ancestors" rises above its Sundance pretensions (mostly, it does), but for the most part, Shango is a little too taken with itself, brilliant and deeply groovy in places, but also a little overly poised, deliberate and well-dressed. Watkins never fails to get our attention, but we'll be waiting for the next offering, and hope in the meantime it doesn't take another three years.
1.pistolero
2.hule lam
3.insects
4.badimo
5.masters of the universe
6.nitrogen part 1
7.nitrogen part 2
8.solaris
9.song for ancestors
The fifth album from Juno Reactor is a development from the more punchy and focussed sound found on the last album, "Bible of Dreams". The recording started after Juno Reactor toured the USA supporting Moby in 1998 and was influenced by the reaction to the new live set up.
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Kaz
IsraTrance Full Member
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90
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Posted : Feb 15, 2005 00:52
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One of my favorite albums of all times, while tracks like Masters of the Universe and Pistolero are the natural firsts to grab people's attentions, Hulelam and Badimo are my favorites, closely followed by Nitrogen 1&2, and after many listens, Masters of the Universe seems like the worst track of the album (don't get me wrong, it's still wonderful).
For people looking for the simple psytrance structures you expect from most artists nowadays, you'll have to go as far back as the Beyond the Infinite album and check out Rotorblade (... from 1996). This album is WAY ahead of that.
 http://www.myspace.com/Hooloovoo222 |
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Anak
Anakoluth
Started Topics :
108
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2395
Posted : Feb 15, 2005 19:17
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traveller
IsraTrance Senior Member
Started Topics :
234
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3803
Posted : Feb 16, 2005 12:07
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Heh you didn't even write that review yourself..
http://www.choler.com/reviews/juno_reactor.shtml
Unless ofcourse you're David Kirby
anyways yes, it's a good album..
"The dinosaurs became extinct because they didn't have a space program."
- Larry Niven |
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Pavel
Moderator
Started Topics :
312
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8646
Posted : Feb 16, 2005 20:01
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5 more to top10
Great albub btw.
Absolute classic
Everyone in the world is doing something without me |
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The Green Channel
IsraTrance Junior Member
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41
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1025
Posted : Feb 16, 2005 20:33
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Shango and bible of dreams are two of my all time fav. i still listen to them every week, 10/10.
"Love is a way of life"
(Gaia, Love, Nature, Shamanism (.2A.y.0a.hu.1a.sc.2a.), Terence McKenna) |
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lazy_i
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
15
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276
Posted : Feb 18, 2005 04:26
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this album will go on to live for years and years, no doubt about that, after putting it away for a few months i always end up going back to it for a listen and am never disappointed as in some other albums, very powerful and driven in a very authentic way. |
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