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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
It may come as a shock to the purists, but after two albums of pushing abstruse drum & bass to minimalist and epic extremes, the East Anglian producer has thrown a heap of new sounds onto his percussive palate. To some, Solaris is going to sound like a chicken in search of a roost: both "Can't Come Down" and "Mine To Give" are pure 1988 old-school Chicago house. The latter even features that era's legendary vocalist, Robert Owens. "Terminus" and "Junk" pay loose homage to the nu-school breakz template, while "Halogen" and "Lost Blue Heaven" are beautifully poised, damaged electronic torch songs. There's even some drifting ambience too. But what's missing in terms of coherence is more than made up for by the visceral power of Photek's production. Intense, stripped back and wielding more brute force than Leftfield's "Swords", there's a menacing beauty at work here that reinforces Photek's reputation for tingling sonic sculpturing on a grand scale. --Calvin Bush
Product Description
EXPERIMENTAL FUTURISTIC ALBUM
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Still the futurisic vision,
By
This review is from: Solaris (Audio CD)
Quite a departure. If you've listened to the stark paranoid beats of Modus Operandi and are looking for more futuristic drum and bass beats, you've come to the wrong place. Photek has but one D&B outing on this album. But what an outing it is, rumbling bass and moodshifts that flow from soundtracky to pure dancefloor D&B bliss. On the rest of the tracks, however, Photek has evolved in an entirely new direction. Its what made this album all the more special on its release, the utter surprise of the change of direction. It opens up with Terminus, a kind of harsh breakbeaty track, which reminds me of a more severe version of the house tempo breakbeat that was The Hidden Camera. Next up, we have the surprises ... Junk and Glamourama. Gritty house tracks working hypnotic grooves and sharp sharp drum programming that reminds you of early Chicago era tracks without the sloosh softness that those early drum machines used to kick out. Mine To Give features classic house vocalist Robert Owens, so its fitting that the track melts together Chicago style beats and soulful vocals with the rumbling bass noises you'd associate with D&B. No wonder that this tune (in its many forms) became a progressive house classic. Owens features again on Can't Come Down. For me, this is the weakest track of the album. Owens vocals don't quite seem to sit right over Photeks energetic yet chilled jazzy backing. Infinity comes next, shattering the chill set up in the previous track in the most wonderful manner before we head back into those old skool house beats with Solaris. Aura is a nice little short ambient filler before we head into the more chilled summary to the album. Halogen almost has a Massive Attack sence of downtempo menace about it, sci fi chords and dubby echoes with a nice Photek rumbling bassline. Next up is Lost Blue Heaven, and is the highlight for me. A wonderful chilled track, Photek's oriental inspirations come through very well on this track, with the haunting vocals, clever drum programming. A must check. The album finishes with Under The Palms, a beatless ambient track of melancholic synths. All in all, I enjoyed this more than Modus Operandi, its an easier listen, has a wide variety of sounds and very few weak moments on it. One to groove your feet in places, and move your head in others. A unique production that you won't see come up very often.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Robert Owens helps Photek produce a classic.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Solaris (Audio CD)
Reports suggest that Robert Owens is about as expensive as Michael Owen to get to work for you, but he certainly is worth it. The two central tracks, "Mine To Give" and "Can't Come Down", boost this album to Classic Status."Mine To Give" just begs to be remixed and that is exactly what has happened to it. I'd guess at there being about 75 different versions of this tune (that may be an exaggeration), but none compare to the subtlety and brilliance of the original. "Can't Come Down" follows on beautifully, mainly because both revolve around the lyrics of Robert Owens. Rupert Parkes, a.k.a. Photek, then resorts to his Drum'N'Bass roots with the chilling "Infinity", which in it's own right is worthy of release into the singles market, perhaps with the underground edges trimmed slightly. Critics who know anything about music will not be able to knock the ingenuity and originality of this album, and would be foolish to do so.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A shimmering second album,
By Johno (Brighton UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Solaris (Audio CD)
Compared with Modus Operandi, this album is less cohesive but that's more than made up for by the quality of the tracks here. Getting Robert Owens on vocals for two 'Mine to Give'and 'Can't Come Down' is a master stroke. All the usual Photek trademarks are here in Solaris but despite that the music sounds as fresh as ever. Definitely a contender for one of the best of this year.
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