Album Details

Includes Tracks by Orbital, Future Sound of London, New Order, Kraftwelt, Meat Beat Manifesto, 808 State, and System 7. Also features Remixes by Carl Craig, Oliver Lieb, Scanner, and Propellerheads. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Electronic dance classics.
I don't know how this compilation is offered here, but one that I purchased from the store included: Hypnotic State CD1, Hypnotic State CD2, and the free bonus CD which came out to be GIEZ, The Ambient Room. The first Cd included such big names as Orbital, FSOL, Transmutator, New Order, and Bypass Unit which delivered great electronic sounds. The second Cd is little bit worse than first. It includes such song as 808 State's Lopez(remixed by Propellerheads). I think that name of the third cd speaks for itself, ambient music. Overall, if you are into the electronic music, then you will like this compilation. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Not what I thought
I went into this thinking that it would be a nice techno/trance CD. I was wrong...very wrong. This is nothing more then hard driving drum machine and not much more. I say stay away from this 0ne. ... Read more

Album Details

French Lounge/Techno/House Compilation. Artists Include Andreas Dorau, Basement Jaxx, Laidback, Dmx Crew, Jedi Knights, Cornershop, Ian Pooley, and More. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

One of the best new metal bands from Germany
Sculpture are one of the biggest surprises in 1998: songs on this album are melodic but still fresh and heavy. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

don't dismiss the RAF - britain finally did something good
taking sound into new levels, surgeon is still a bit green here (he's capable of a lot in my opinion)- but its a great album, more for the people (traditional dance floor) than some of his lastest. still something new - different than other hard stuff around like mills and all the detroit boys. surgeon proves he can take on the luftewaffe

Good, but a little obtuse
This is good solid techno, but its like the man said..."Techno's not going anywhere. It's a feeling..." Still, very well-produced and will make your brain do funny things in the dark

detroit techno
if you like detroit techno, here's one for you. that's all i can say ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Wow, that is some genuine poo.
I bought this cd at about noon, and by 3 o'clock I was on my merry way to get rid of it. Just about all of the songs have no substance and don't go anywhere. I was especially disappointed by Aphrodite's song, seeing as he is my favorite Dj. The only one worth a listen is DJ Odi, but who wants to buy a Cd for one song?

If you love Drum n' Bass & Trance get this..
I have mixed feelings about it..#2, 3 & 4 are too disco (I think it's LAME)..as for the rest, they're okay to great..#5 isn't even a song, it sounds like alien language in the form of sounds (weird but cool-E!)....Pump 1 has a hyper fast beat that would you exhaust from dancing to the beat at a ravE with a spinning (almost literally) vibe..#7 has a primal drum, like from the caveman age ..Transient Response is "atmospheric", almost like Ambient but with cool background amp.. Electric Psychedlic Pussycat is hippy music with a heavy ravE beat

Good enough to keep me listening to it constantly..just can't seem to get enough.. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Steve Stoll ? The Blunted Boy Wonder
"The Blunted Boy Wonder" - the title alone would almost be reason enough for me to buy this record. I could have never have heard of Mr Stoll or his music - only the genre he is filed under, and that wonderful title, would have been persuasive. How is that for marketing? (How is that for having a hole in the palm of your hand?)

None of that, of course, touches you curious shopper in the least, I am sure. You are only interested in the opinions of others who share your musical interests. Well, this particular buyer has been rather impressed by the record. Naturally, you need a trained ear to be able to appreciate it fully. Please do not expect an easily accessible record, you would be insulting Steve's credibility! This is underground techno, this is where the ideas are generated and this is where the less talented or inspired producers "borrow" their inspiration from (and get rich and famous).

The reason we all like music is because we associate it with emotions. When we listen to Brahms' "Wiegenlied", we remember the plinky-plonky tones sparkling from the wind-up music box out of our childhoods. When we hear the song that played when you first kissed you remember what and how you felt back then. We do not actually remember the notes and melodies; we recall the peripheral emotions accompanying them. Low-quality music attempts to force emotions into us, quality music makes us let it in willingly. And good underground minimalistic techno allows us to insert our own emotions.

Musicians like Dave Clarke, Claude Young, and Steve Stoll turn the philosophical world of music upside-down. Stoll provides us with a template, a foundation. The dancer on the colourful smoky floor, the traveller with the Walkman or the bedroom-swinger has to do the rest. Oh, his music is not heartless - not at all! Stoll's music is warm and driving. Exciting and funky. Personal even! But the message does not go any further than that. This record is not melodic, not grand. Each track consists of a - often extremely tasty - baseline that repeats itself over and over. The music is made by the filtering, the breakdowns, and the build-ups. Not by lyrics, booklet texts or arrangements. Even the track-titles are suggestive.

You will not find much help with the track-samples. They can provide you with the "sound" of Steve Stoll and minimal techno should you not be familiar with it, but they will not bring up the full strength and talent of the compositions.

The kid might have lost his sense of Leitmotif and easy rhythm, but a wonder boy remains a wonder boy - no matter how blunted he might have become.

This one gets three stars for the music and let us sneak in one more for the title, ok? Four stars.

Bram Janssen,
The Netherlands

Body music
Steve Stool is on this album very minimalistic like his other production. He plays minimalistic Detroit house music in the veins of Derrick May and Juan Atkins and many more. His music gets to you and as this albumprogresses you just get more and more impressed. If you are into Chicagoand Detroit house this is a must. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Techno music for aliens.
Another tin box release on Chain Reaction that is an essential part of your minimal techno music collection. Vainqueur (also seen on Basic Channel) offers an oxymoronic flavor of cold synth exuding warm tones. Fans of Porter Ricks and the like will not be disappointed, but what I find actually more appealing about Vainqueur is the swaying, if you will, of their synth sounds. The "Elevation" tracks in particular sound as if about six keys on a keyboard were stroked up and down with a sustain petal helping the transitions blend in a whoosh effect, up and down the scale. This is done very tastefully, and in a muted dubby fashion. These swooshes also sound similar to the sound effect used in the science fiction movie Contact (Jodie Foster) where the communication from the alien race created a repetitious, yet synth-rich, bass-laden pulse. Can you expect variety on this CD? Yes and no. I feel like this album is more like a 12" remix release but with enough versions to make you feel like you got your money's worth. I would not expect complete, different tracks throughout the entire piece (hence the similar titles), however the works that do exist are strong enough to warrant multiple versions. But fear not, an Elevations II "Reduced" and Elevations II "Version 3" are completely different songs, and if you have the EFA Basic Channel CD, you'll happily recognize the ambient electric raindrops of "Elevations [Version 3]."

The overall feel of this album is one of a chilling, tinty, metallic score laced with high frequencies, almost as if the sound was literally coming out of the metal tin the CD is encased in. "Solanus" contains an almost-human vocoder sound, or synthetic vox element throughout, that again, sways and whooshes, adding an icy chill to the mix. Perhaps Elevations was produced in an icy cavern, or on another planet, but this album should not be overlooked, and I believe it ranks in the top 5 of best IDM/techno releases available. I'll even be bold enough to say that Vainqueur's 'Elevations' is the best Chain Reaction CD ever released.

deep, rich experimental techno
about half cool, dark pieces with quiet layers of repeating staticy melodic loops; the other half is the same sort of sound, but set against serious deep beats. undescribably beautiful, quite funky. Almost has a disco flavour to it at times, but in a good way. similar to porter ricks self titled album (not port of nubia) ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Excellent diverse selection of minimal techno
This is a great release by a collective of techno producers from the wonderful network of production and DJing in Berlin. It features a wide variety of styles, from slightly gritty and metallic to smooth and reflective. The sounds are incredible -- warm and inviting of a crafeful listen. Influences can be heard from both the Cologne, Ger. camp of Mike Ink, Thomas Brinkmann, and The Mondernist and fellow Berliners of the Basic Channel/Chain Reaction crew. So if you like the German minimal style, pick this one up for a listen. I have the vinyl release of it and have been using a lot of the stuff as DJ material, but I have been so impressed that I am now hunting down the CD version. A special edition of the release comes with a free extra CD featuring a DJ mix set from one of the Sender Berlin DJs, so keep your eyes open... ... Read more

Album Details

East Berlin techno/house inspired br radio transmissions & Todd Terry. ... Read more