Arcon2 - self-titled (Reinforced) - If ever a record could be described as
dystopic, this is it. Dark, yet neither angry nor depressing. It's like
flying through the smog at sundown towards the Tyrell Corporation pyramid -
disgustingly beautiful.
Yes, it's yet another drum&bass record with hard beats & dark chords, but,
Arcon2 somehow manages to stand apart from the crowd. Like a soundtrack,
none of the tracks are memorable in a poppy way, but taken together they
create one helluva atmosphere. The beats are built with unusual percussion
sounds rather than deconstructed breaks, and I think that's its strength.
The programming is phenomenal, right up there w/ Amon Tobin & Tom J. The
synth sounds that pan around the beats are sublime. If you're an
afficionado of beats, this is one to get.
Someone mentioned the Arcon2 not tracking on their CDROM drive...it may be
software, not hardware. A lot of programmers will just assume there's a Track
1 and never program an alternative. I use "Notify CD Player", an excellent
toolbar CD controller for Win95. When I first popped in Arcon2, it ground for
about 30 seconds trying to figure things out, then it gave a track list w/
Track 1 length 0:00. I deleted Track 1 from the playlist, and now it autoplays
normally. All said, not having a Track 1 was a pretty stupid thing to do.
Here's a Q about Reinforced - the Amazing Discography site doesn't list the
CDs, which seem to have a different numbering scheme from the LPs. RIVETCD01
was 4Hero's "In Rough Territory", RIVETCD02 was NuEra's "Beyond Gravity" (oddly
enough, the label name is listed as Reflective, though the logo is definitely
the Reinforced logo - I guess Mark & Dego were going to change the name, then
discovered it was already taken). Arcon 2 is RIVETCD08. So, what're
03-07? Anyone care to review any of these? I'm guessing 4Hero's "Parallel
Universe" was released on Reinforced too, then rereleased on Selector/Crammed
(pre-SSR)?
Che