Various - Step Write Run - Alphaphone Vol. 1

So, what's on this side of R. H. Kirk's many faces? Some always expect a link between Cabaret Voltaire and his solo later-ons - which in fact, stands as a principle in most of his work. A 'CV' tag he hardly shakes off even when not sounding that obvious in his research.

Like many of his peers, Kirk significantly progressed from experimental to trance and back again - however, 'Step Write Run' might turn down expectations even by die-hard fans who seem to be into Kirk's multidimensional solo work.

This sampler presents his list of monikers serving great deal of work to explore but sadly, most of it seems to be at your own risk (read wasting time); almost in their entirety, 'Papadoctrine', 'Multiple Transmission', 'International Organisation', 'Cold Warrior' and 'Robots + Humanoids' give the impression of mediocre flat house/lounge beats and this-and-that fooling around with samples.

The main reason there's prevailing dance hardcore nonsense lies in the fact these Alphaphone tracks are just too long - halfway down each and every one of them Kirk sounds like filling the contents with clichés.

Some of the examples do show tiny marks of something dynamic (mostly on the second disc) - the mantra chant of 'Walk East', unusual intro of 'Modern Art' or the only standout track from the lot - the beautiful 'Moment of Truth', it still offers very little stretched at maximum load of a double disc space.

Recommended but there are far better images of Kirk's other self.