STATEMACHINE - Short And Explosive (2CD limited edition)

The last full-length album by Statemachine was released in 1998. In the meantime they released the EP "Less Than Perfect" in 2002. Now they are back with a new masterpiece of dark electronic music. The first thing I recognized was that "Short And Explosive" sounds pleasantly smooth. All the simple synth sounds which you will find on "Avalanche Breakdown" are not present any more. "Short And Explosive" delivers with excellent drum sets and a well-done combination of synths and guitars. The music always sounds very close and monolithic. Thanks to the rough and sloppy singing the music takes on a slightly more aggressive character. My favourite tracks are "Less Then Perfect", "I'm love", "Battered And Bruised" which mix up the otherwise serene album.
The Bonus CD consists of 3 remixes of album tracks and 4 tracks of previous released Maxi-CDs.
"Short And Explosive" represents the logical advancement of the music we found on "Breakdown" with a stronger emphasis on darkness and depression.

SYSTEM 22 - Sundown

"Sundown" is System22's second album. In direct comparison to the predecessor "Velocity Trip" Sytem 22 turns the focus a bit more towards the vocals and lyrical elements of the music. So the number of instrumental tracks decreased. Cody Williams still relies on trance and techno elements which cooperate perfectly with the fine and graceful voice of Chrissy Franklin. For some tracks Chrissys' voice creates a more aggressive expression (e.g. Re:Bound). The songs sound pleasant, fresh and modern, also the listeners will be spoiled by grooving beats combined with scratches (e.g. Cherry) and intelligent drum and bass runs (eg. Suckerpunsh, Letting You In). I also like the 2003 remix of the ballad "Tomorrow End" which is smoother and more emotional than the original version you will find on "Velocity Trip". The album ends nicely with the ballad "Vega".
"Sundown" is certainly no Synthpop album, as it still includes trance and bass and drum elements. But it represents something between Trance and Synthpop which could be named TrancePoP - he, but please don't punish me for this name J.

ELOQUENT - Future Pop

"Future Pop" is the debut album by the one man band "Eloquent" (Steven Cochran), who got support from Brian Hazard (Color Theory) who provides background singing in some songs. At first, before I even inserted the CD I thought this album would represent "Future Pop-styled" electronic music. But after some beats I recognized that Eloquent uses this name for a different sense.
This album delivers classic SynthPoP music with a lot of early 80s influence, that results in minimalist, melodic songs. The two songs "Nobody's Diary" (Yazoo) and Tora! Tora! Tora! (Depeche Mode) strengthen his tribute to 80s music. Steven Cochran also understands how to combine his "old-fashioned" songs with modern trance influences. So, songs like "Nobody's Diary" and "Future Pop" are dressed in a new modern garment. The compositions are interesting and varied. The only critical point is the singers' voice. It sounds too flat and monotonous and is incapable of enriching the instrumentals with additional life. Therefore the vocally difficult song
"Tora! Tora! Tora!" ends up being a minor catastrophe. Considering the other good songs, this is a small complaint.
On the whole "Future PoP" represents classic electronic music with modern sound influences combined with moderate singing.

VIRTUAL SERVER - Installed & Upgraded

"Installed" is the debut album of Virtual Server aka DJ Ram from Russia (www.djram.com) who features different singers from more or less well-known SynthPoP bands like Neuropa (Jason Last), Beborn Beton (Stefan Netschio), Chrissy Franklin (System 22) and many more. It is DJ Rams' fine attempt at combining modern techno/trance beats with classic, very melodic SynthPoP elements. The melancholic singing always compliments the cold, technical sounds and adds a "synthpoptic" and melancholic flavour to every song. I also agree with DJ Rams' choice of singers for the different songs as each voice perfectly fits into the instrumental foundation. CD 2 of this album, named "Updates" includes different mixes and 2 new songs which only makes this already excellent album even better.

Following the successful line of this debut album the successor "Upgraded" presents a refreshed and upgraded version of  "Installed". "Upgraded" strictly emphasizes dark and hard sounds with the aim of converging FuturePoP and Techno. It consists of two logical divided parts and one bonus track (Why (Would I) radio edit). Part 1 presents 6 new versions remixed by himself and
>Part 2 presents 5 new versions of the single hit "Fallen". In my opinion "Upgraded" is another stroke of genius by DJ RAM transporting SynthPoP music to techno and trance, without losing the feel of SynthPoP music. He also understood how to keep the balance between alternative and commercial music.

Both the debut "Installed" and the remix-album "Upgraded" provide great music for every occasion, whether they be techno or SynthPoP parties.