IDM Mailing Archive

Well, I've been kicking around the idea of buy the Fuse or B12 CDs on Warp. I'm hesitant as I'm not overwhelmed by the AI comp or Bytes by Black Dog. Anyone care to give me a review or reasonable opinion?? -- Brian sex = differentiation = death bhostetl@indiana.edu bhostetl@silver.ucs.indiana.edu

On Wed, 1 Dec 1993, Brian Hostetler wrote:

quoted 5 lines Well, I've been kicking around the idea of buy the Fuse or B12 CDs on

> > Well, I've been kicking around the idea of buy the Fuse or B12 CDs on > Warp. I'm hesitant as I'm not overwhelmed by the AI comp or Bytes by > Black Dog. Anyone care to give me a review or reasonable opinion?? >

Although Richie Hawtin's from Windsor, Ontario, and the guys from B12 are both English, both _Dimension Intrusion_ and _Electro-Soma_ are very "Detroit" in style: trancy melodies, no sampled beats, pronounced Kraftwerk influence, etc. Of the two, I slightly prefer the Fuse album because it's more acidic and varied. There are several standout tracks on each, like B12's "Hall of Mirrors" and Fuse's "Slac". Anyway, at domestic prices they're both well worth it. For the record, i preferred them both over _Bytes_, though I'm sure some folks disagree, and I'm biased towards Detroit-style techno for obvious reasons. | Dave Walker, Detroit Art Services (DAS) -- marmoset@msen.com | | | | Without chemicals, life itself would be impossible. |

quoted 3 lines Well, I've been kicking around the idea of buy the Fuse or B12 CDs on

> Well, I've been kicking around the idea of buy the Fuse or B12 CDs on > Warp. I'm hesitant as I'm not overwhelmed by the AI comp or Bytes by > Black Dog. Anyone care to give me a review or reasonable opinion??

B12 (Electro-Soma) Warp: WARP CD9 1 04:05 Soundtrack of Space 2 126 06:38 Hall of Mirrors 3 126 06:42 Mondrin 4 128 05:48 Obsessed 5 123 05:54 Bio Dimension 6 110 04:51 Basic Emotion 7 132 04:57 Metropolis 8 140 07:22 Obtuse 9 135 08:40 Debris 10 126 04:09 Telefone 529 11 133 05:50 Satori 12 106 02:29 Static Emotion Comments: Although Warp has a high standard of excellence, "Electro-Soma" by B12 was my first disappointment with the label. The music tends towards electronic elevator music, with flat moods and zero experimentation. B12 does have a unique sound, but it doesn't express itself well over an entire album. Not that this is bad to listen to, but like elevator music, is best placed in the background. This is the most ambient work in the "Artificial Intelligence" series yet. However, the beat is always present even though it never crashes down like a dancefloor pounder. I do especially enjoy "Obtuse" and "Satori" and the swells in "Soundtrack of Space". There is a wonderful use of analog equipment here in a pleasing form, but unfortunately, that is all there is to it. Summary: 6/10. Certainly nothing on the memorable side, but does make for nice background music.