Guest ~EA Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 Gotta say I'm really unimpressed and disappointed by the new Juno Reactor single. Which is unfortunate, because he could have created something really powerful with the concepts and musicians he had to work with. First of all, I was horrified to hear Stevens's guitar riff stolen straight from S.U.N. Project's "Dance of the Witches." It's almost exactly the same. Second, that James Bond-ish theme is just a tad trite, almost as if Watkins were aiming to get the track released in a Bond movie (maybe it was?). Thirdly, the drumming and vocal samples during the meat of the track are hollow and poorly mixed. All in all, the track lacks that typical Juno flair for innovation. That said, the 12" version starts out amazingly - those voices are chilling and beautiful. But then it quickly goes downhill and stays there. I just got the single today, so I haven't had a chance to listen to the remixes, but I wouldn't be surprised if they're better than the original. Is Watkins finished? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kingdok Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 ...I wouldn't say finishing so much as shifting direction. Anymore, I think of Juno Reactor as being really well thought out, tribal industrial. Hence their signing to Metropolis Records. If Watkins' Atomic Reactor label is any indicator, we'll be hearing even more industialized stuff from him in the future. 'Not a bad thing, since there are plenty of people doing the more traditional psy we've all come to love. But yeah, you're naturally going to see the artists who've been at it a while start to veer away/falter. This may not be Juno Reactor at its prime, but Hotaka is still ten times better than most of the ill-concieved tracks being spat out nowadays. I'm listening to audio snippets on Trancetrax right now and it's just sad how much pure shit there is out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bahamut Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 .... actually, I was disappointed too right after 7 seconds came such a lame sounding synth-bassline that I almost knew for sure the rest of the track was gonna be crappy and not to mention that stupid distorted-clap-like sound the only cool things are these twisted low voices at the beginning and end, and the break with some nice percussion and typical JR choir-sounds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ~EA Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 The remixes are pretty bad, too. What's up with that Der Dritte Raum remix? It sounds like one long introduction that never leads to a song. kingdok - You make a couple good points, but to me good music is good music, and apart from the beginning of Hotaka, this EP is pretty bad, not to mention derivative. I mean, how long ago was Dance of the Witches made? Three, four years ago? I will agree, however, that there's a lot of crap out there, and that Hotaka is more interesting than many, but that's not saying much. I'm pissed because it's sad to see an act fail when you've been a die-hard fan for such a long time. Maybe the next album will be better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kingdok Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 Metropolis biffed the tracklist on that. I suspect the Thomas P. Heckman remix to be the Kloq remix and the Der Dritte Raum remix to be Kris Klyven remix. That's the only true issue I had with this single -- its tracklist confused me. http://www.metropolis-records.com/ attempts to correct this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest basi Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 so many bands going so bad contrarywise... so many new bands hitting just the right spot addendum... i never really liked juno reactor until i saw them live! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bahamut Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 I can imagine it must be hard to come up with something new every time and this time it didn't work out so well I guess they were at their creative peak with beyond the infinite and bible of dreams... and I'm afraid it will get worse from now on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kingdok Posted January 4, 2003 Share Posted January 4, 2003 Bah. If this track were first released on a compilation under a different moniker, you'd all be spazzing over it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ~EA Posted January 4, 2003 Share Posted January 4, 2003 You know what, kingdok? You're right. I'm swallowing my pride. I made a big mistake and I'd like to retract most of the stuff I said above. I pulled the ol' judge-a-track-after-the-first-listen-before-I've-given-it-the-proper-amount-of-attention trick. Perhaps included in there was some I'm-an-elitist-music-fan-who-thinks-he-deserves-to-dis-an-artist-for-whom-I-and-others-have-a-lot-of-respect-and-for-good-reason. I've done it before and I'll probably do it again. So I'm here to say that the track really grew on me after five or six listens. I want to listen to it again. It's a good track, if not a *really* good track. And I apologize. I'll try not to judge other people's music so hastily next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soem aeld Posted January 4, 2003 Share Posted January 4, 2003 damn, ~EA.. owned! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ~EA Posted January 4, 2003 Share Posted January 4, 2003 Quiet, you. Or I'll be forced to tell the Off-Topic forum that it's your birthday. Well, now that I think about it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soem aeld Posted January 4, 2003 Share Posted January 4, 2003 silly boy! don't even think about it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ~EA Posted January 4, 2003 Share Posted January 4, 2003 Sorry, my man. Too late. Mwaaaaahahahahaaaaaaaa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ::Anton. Posted January 4, 2003 Share Posted January 4, 2003 gah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest erindoo Posted January 4, 2003 Share Posted January 4, 2003 I too was kinda bummed with this~ it seemed less creative and more guitar-y. I do need to give it more of a listen before i go trashing it, but my inital reaction was dissapointment. I look forward to the whole album coming out- whenever that'll be and am really stoked for them to tour again- one of the best shows i've ever seen... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kingdok Posted January 5, 2003 Share Posted January 5, 2003 I dislike being "owned." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peaceful warrior Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 I have the hotaka single and I would just like to offer a different opinion. I thought Shango was Juno Reactor's best album and I have been listening to them since the beginning. I also really like Hotaka. I don't agree that its not inspired. I think its' really creative and anyway its' fun to listen and dance to. Sometimes it really seems that some people just want to complain about stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ~EA Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 PW - See 8 posts up from yours. I tried to recover from my complaining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hels Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 Erindoo, choose your words carefully! It seems as if something has guitar in its less creative? Open your mind! Anyhow that being said, I think its a pretty good track. Now the 12" remix!! Mmm!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest erindoo Posted January 10, 2003 Share Posted January 10, 2003 Oh nononno... actually i am a big fan of guitar trance, Dark Soho, SUN Project, etc... I just think it can be overwhelming. My mind is not closed to this, i just wrote up my first impression. Guitar is not a replacement for creativity by any means... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hels Posted January 12, 2003 Share Posted January 12, 2003 Okay I didnt mean to sound to critical but I think I did! ;| Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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