808 State

From Newbuild to Don Solaris and all the more recent music like Invader; my favorite 808 State has to be whichever one I'm listening to at the moment. Someone needs to make the point that it is hard to overcome the success of the early 808 State material like Cubik and Pacific, and while those are by far their most successful songs, this groups music just keeps getting better with every release. This is some of the best electronic muisc ever made.

I'll never forget the way "Gorgeous" changed my life back in 1993.

The tune's moods, the different perspectives, all of them sounded like the main ingredients for a timeless album. "Southern Cross" was the one that impressed the most, for its futuristic & intimate climax.

808's futuristic breakbeats journey is legacy - and the signs of it could be seen on "Ninety"'s tunes such as the beautiful mellow "Magical Dream", as well as "Cobra Bora". Just a while later, "Cubik" was a statement that there was a kind of a close connection with the Techno World as well - from "Sunrise" to "Southern Cross", among others - an evidence that 808 State's tunes brought an incredible combination of Techno and Breakbeats elements.

"Pacific" was the highlight on the specialist's opininon, for it elevated the electronic dance music scene a step further, merging it in a combination of elegance and avant-garde - (special credits must also be given to Gerald Simpson for that).

People have been hearing 808 State's sounds for years, which reminds us about that quote about compositions that stand the test of time: "Timeless" is about creating ART in such a way that can be heard in the past, present and future - instead of the discardable 'productions' that occupies most of the store's shelfs nowadays.

808 State are true electronic pioneers that opened up the possibilities for so many forthcoming British electronic artists. If you think about their groundbreaking Newbuild album that came out in 1988 and has only recently been recognised as a classic ahead of it's time, this was long before the fantastic Warp label had taken off with it's roster of great artist albums. Aside from their fantastic club classics such as 'Pacific' & 'Cubik', awesome groundbreaking pieces of electronic house music, it's their albums which proved that electronic music could produce brilliant long players and not just one off hit wonders.

Don Solaris - on the other hand takes repeated listenings to finally stick. I had all but given up on it until one fine day,
driving up Highway 1 through the central coast of California, I played it in it's entirety and it all made sense. Dunno a thing about Outpost Transmission....yet..