Seeing as how analog synthesizers started making a comeback in 2006/2007 after years of digital and laptop dominance had wiped them off the scene, the veteran Belgian industrial group Front 242 decided to re-load their early analog material into their new gear and head out on the road for what they called the "Worldwide Vintage Tour." All sounds were "carefully re-designed" to "match the spirit of their time" and while the band and their loyal fan base clog Internet message boards with discussions on how everything here is "re-invented," Moments... isn't much more than a live album with the usual updates. The good news is that it's a thoroughly exciting live album where classics like "U-Men," "Body to Body," and "Headhunter" sound louder, punchier, and more aggressive than they ever have before. The original recordings remain definitive as they are more complex and textured, but longtime fans will find their jaws on the floor as soon as they read "Funkahdafi" on the track list. It's just one of the well-chosen, surprise revivals that show up on the album's second-half, but anyone thrilled to see "Rain" in a rare set list appearance will be disappointed by the clumsy performance. Otherwise, this is just what the fan ordered, delivering on the opening number's promise of "We gonna bring you happiness. " [A limited-edition, three-CD version was also released with a bonus CD that further explores the band's back catalog. The third CD, Sounds from the Matrix 008, features various artists from the electro-Industrial label Alpha Matrix.] ~ David Jeffries

A 3CD collectors limited edition with 32 tracks. 2 picture discs inside a 23 cm square deluxe carton box with 1 poster, 2 stickers and 1 button The limited edition also includes the FREE 18-track label CD compilation sounds from the matrix 007. The use of computers has drastically transformed music production in the past 20 years; creation in this way is now totally integrated thanks to user friendly technology. Front242 comes from a different time, when working with electronic music was difficult, the machines were hostile and human s needed to interact strongly with synthesizers to master their art - Music required discipline. Front242 decided to re-load their old analogue sequences into this new generation of synthesizers and carefully re-designed all the sounds to match the spirit of their time. The result was proposed on a worldwide Vintage World Tour. To satisfy their fans, but also the curiosity of numbers of listeners interested in the early electronic music atmosphere ; we invite you to discover this exceptional Live recording encompassing the very best of Front242s compositions.

Issued in 2008, MOMENTS. presents the veteran Belgian techno act Front 242 performing live. Given the band's mechanistic inclinations, the tracks on this set often sound like studio recordings, as evinced on the ominous "Until Death" (from 1988's FRONT BY FRONT) and the pulsing "Take One," a single dating back to the early `80s.


  Politics Of Dancing, Vol. 2 CD
  by Paul Van Dyk
Our Price: $12.55 CD
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It differs little from his previous releases, but Paul Van Dyk's The Politics of Dancing, Vol. 2 is a satisfying argument that trance isn't dead and not even on life support. One bit of newness is the speed at which Van Dyk discards tracks on disc one's mix, a 17-song epic journey into uplifting, atmospheric dancefloor dreaminess. Theatrical stops and starts feature into every one of these blissful numbers, but Van Dyk keeps things moving at a pace such that the listener probably won't notice the gimmicky device is being overused.

Everything is tasteful with vocal numbers that don't get too precious and just enough Benny Benassi-styled electro to let you know this is 2005 and not 2000. Wayne Jackson's earthy vocals make Van Dyk's own "The Other Side" the album's song to remember while opening the more sprawling disc two. The drops followed by buildups are back for the second set, but the tracks are allowed to hypnotize longer and Van Dyk's segues are practically invisible as the DJ disappears behind the seamless set. From the hooky "Believe" by Santiago Nino to Holden & Thompson's cooing closer, "Nothing," it's Van Dyk at his best, perfectly chosen, perfectly mixed.

No stylistic detours, but being so in tune with what makes a trance set work, why should he? ~ David Jeffries


  Radio Blackout CD
  by T. Raumschmiere
Our Price: $10.15 CD / $9.99 MP3
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As you might or might not be able to discern from the skull 'n' crossbones 'n' headphones artwork, T. Raumschmiere's trucker-capped cross between big beat and IDM is in full effect throughout most of Radio Blackout, his first release for Novamute. Closer in approach to his noisy The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle than his more minimal-minded Anti (both of which were released in 2002), each of the 11 tracks on Blackout feature distinct assaults that range from corroded shuffle-tech to paranoid ambience.

The opening "I'm Not Deaf, I'm Ignoring You" has a riff that's just begging to constantly creep up in the background of a low-budget horror movie. "Monstertruckdriver" and "The Game Is Not Over" (the latter featuring Miss Kittin) are buzzing cyborg mating rituals that fall closer to T. Rex and Foghat than Aphex Twin and Autechre. There's a weak hip-hop tangent and a couple of other low-wattage clunkers, but the highlights have no trouble adding up to an album that should satiate those who have grown weary of overcerebral, prissy laptop producers. If most of the full-lengths released by Raumschmiere's German brethren in 2003 are autobahn-traversing Lamborghinis, Radio Blackout is a bog-bustin', mud-caked Ford pickup. ~ Andy Kellman

This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.Spin (11/03, p.117) - "Berlin DJ/producer Marco Haas is all about musique brutale, and his debut album teems with pneumatic percussion..." CMJ (9/29/03, p.4) - "...A killer blend of truly f***ed-up techno, hip-hop and electro, put together with a serious live punk rock attitude..."Spin (11/03, p.117) - "Berlin DJ/producer Marco Haas is all about musique brutale, and his debut album teems with pneumatic percussion..."


  We'll Never Stop Living This Way CD
  by WestBam
Our Price: $10.95 CD
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Unlike many of the techno DJs and producers who made furtive trips into electro and big beat hoping to pay a few bills, Westbam had been spinning and recording breakbeat techno (of a sort) ever since the mid-'80s. Naturally, his breadth of experience gave him a leg up on most others, and as such, We'll Never Stop Living This Way is a solid album of forward-thinking retro-techno. It's as much a mix album as a production album, with most of the tracks blending into each other, capped off near the end by the irresistible one-two punch of "Wanna Get My Smurf On" and "Beatbox Rocker."

The Westphalia Bambaataa meets the original Bambaataa on "Agharta, the City of Shamballa," and a heavily processed vocal sample leads the way through the up-tempo electro-techno of "Terminator." At times, Westbam works the inevitable big beat formula into the ground; "Hard Times" is a rather bland pastiche of the break from Run-D.M.C.'s "It's Like That" along with the vocal sample from Kurtis Blow's "Hard Times." Most of the album, however, is a present-day vision of Westbam's fertile past. ~ John Bush

Techno-Electro Pop Frm GermanyAlternative Press (11/99, p.84) - 4 out of 5 - "...the best electro has sounded since its early-'80s birth ....timeless as it is engaging."


  30 CD
  by Laurent Garnier
Our Price: $11.39 CD
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30 is a seemingly effortless blend of classic Chicago jacking house with minimalistic acid funk and the occasional detour into trip-hop and ambient house. Enhanced by Laurent Garnier's longtime DJ work, the superb mix and feel for what should come next inform production skills to an incredible degree. The single "Crispy Bacon" is one of the seminal moments in the history of acid, while "Sweet Mellow D" and the mid-tempo "For Max" provide other highlights. The superb jacking theme "The Hoe" and "Flashback" (dedicated to the recently deceased Armando) are two of the more overtly Chicago-inspired tracks, but 30 is a stunning album throughout. ~ John Bush

Spin (8/97, p.115) - 6 (out of 10) - "...his sound-effect intermissions (stylus static, phone tones, voice-mail messages) are cute, and he's got tricks up his sleeve....[Garnier] can make your head spin 1988 acid-house style while you spin on your head 1982 breakdance style..." Q (4/97, p.122) - 3 Stars (out of 5) - "...sometimes dazzling, sometimes dark and often disturbing."

Photographer: Laurent Helou.
Personnel: Laurent Garnier (vocals); Malik (flute).
Recording information: The Wake Up Lab, Paris, France.


  Back To Mine CD
  by Groove Armada
Our Price: $11.05 CD
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It must be slightly frustrating to be Groove Armada. With the Fatboy Slim remix of "I See You Baby" slowly becoming Groove Armada's unrepresentative single that everybody seems to know, this personal installment into the Back to Mine mix series is where the heart of the band beats the most. No, this mix album is not a quick-draw of all sorts of proto-stupid, club-friendly gunplay to make people shake that ass. Instead it's an opportunity to help once again show people that the band is more about putting their firearms on the nightstand, resting one's behind on a comfy couch, and putting on some slow, amorous grooves.



Choosing songs like their great rhythmic romantic take on A Tribe Called Quest's "Description of a Fool" or the effective beats of Tony D can do nothing but help. Really, how many other bands would later holster Al Green right next to Roots Manuva? About mid-way through, though, it does delve into some seriously trite slap-jazz. These excursions (think BBG and Sir Raymond Mang) show just how dangerous it can be for musicians in the trip-hop realm to veer perilously close to Kenny G instead of Tricky. Regardless, Back to Mine is generally a mix that traces around an interesting idea: maybe the more trip-hop stylings of musicians have more in common with, say, Barry White than Brian Eno? That might not be so wrong. Because if the mainstream world considers Groove Armada to be the type of musicians to get to watch somebody wobble their buttocks, their actual mentality is more about the music to play after you get that person to go home with you. It wouldn't be so bad if more pacifists like Groove Armada were sheriffs from time to time. ~ Dean Carlson

ElRolling Stone (10/26/00, p.114) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...A bleary-eyed chill-out soundtrack, full of mellow beats and classic soul..." CMJ (9/18/00, p.26) - "...[A] sultry mix of chill house, heady hip-hop and sultry soul..."


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