Pre-NWA Dr. Dre & Yella production from 1985, featuring some very tight DMX drum machine programming combined with the biggest of the biggest orchestra stabs, all led along by a simple but huge Juno lead line into electro heaven. Replete with mandatory shout-outs for every neighborhood and person who has 'j u i c e'. The scratching is of the technically simple mid-80s fashion executed with flare by Yella. But the entire record is held together & uplifted by the 'electro' vocoder / vocal - it is absolutely perfect.

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"'Panic Zone' represented the sound of West Coast electro, as many other Arabian Prince and Egyptian Lover 12"s would before this release, but Dopeman and 8 Ball seemed to revisit Boyz' formula "

The A and the B-wide; "Panic Zone" and "Dopeman" off the 12" issued prior this LP's release represent two very distinct sounds of LA hip-hop - one sound that would essentially 'die' and one sound that would change hip-hop forever.

The hi-end electro sound with its braggadocio lyrics of 'Panic Zone' with its pulsed orchestral hits and the timeless shout-out lyric; "I'm the arabian prince, and we're N.W.A." cements its place between the two worlds.

The B-side in contrast - filled with angry sometimes obscene ranting set to the back-drop of extended drum filled introductions and the whiny hi-pitch synth that would become synonymous with the emerging soon-to-be-called 'gangsta rap' genre.

One of the great unsung pieces of modern american ambient music. Subtle, melodic, disturbing. Three things to look for in ambient music. Alas Sold out for many moons, but hopefuly restocking or in itunes someday soon.

Personally i always relate this record to Biospere's "Substrata" - They were released a year apart and stand as two albums that compliment each other in ambience - trying mixing "Kobresia" into "barfly" sometime - you'll see.

Thanks for the translation - I have always wondered and its refreshing to know he wasn't reading the ingredients from a tube of toothpaste.

That aside, this is an outstanding "ambient" album, for want of a better "genre" word. It engages from start to finish. "Kobresia" is possibly one of the few "instant classic" ambient tracks I've ever heard. The very first time you hear it - you know there's something fundamentally universal and connecting in it - that you could turn to a stranger and know you both recognize the same. Wonderful music from up north. I think that Geirs use of acoustic guitar as heard again on "Dropsonde", over sampled loop, synth pads and general whitenoisey sounds combined with an impeccable sense of timing creates a rather unique soundscape.

This album changed my musical life. I picked it up after hearing Viberts track on the Ninja Tune compliation Flexistentialism 'Get Your Head Down' in the heady days of 1996. Hard to think that almost 10 years later i'm still raving about this record. I've played it to death and it still never ceases to amaze me with its sheer creativity. The little throwaway samples, the blending of the chinese chopsticks into the vocal "burn a little grass" - stunning. Not to trainspot this to death but i was watching the movie 'Barton Fink' and the scene where John Goodman walks down the hallway on fire screaming "I'll show you the life of the mind" - and bam! I was back to the first time i spun this for a crowd. I've listened to or bought everything 'old vibey' has done since but i think this is his masterwork, its brilliant, intelligent, musically clever and the way I wished drum and bass had gone after 1996.

I remember seeing a Channel 4 show that featured the Housemartins in 1986, a band that norman cook played bass for (and had the top hit 'Happy Hour'). In the show Norman was always DJing in his bedroom and scratching and playing records, so i'll give him credit for his genuine interest.

When he ended up being Fatboy Slim i hated most of his shite, but i will say his remix of E.V.A. and Psyche Rock on (Métamorphose - Messe Pour Le Temps Présent) both are very good. Yeah sure the popular loop laden tracks aren't 'clever' or 'artistic' but they move something. And thats good.

I agree with the shameful graverobbing comment though - there are very few artists with the skill to take an old funk or soul sample and use it well, but then again, there are so many collectors out there with rare tracks that they've done nothing with except play them for their collector mates.

Thats a shame they just 'ripped' the vinyl, it would be nice to hear how much louder a modern re-mastering of this could be. At 20 years old its hard to believe the impact this record continues to have on electro and hiphop. Has anyone ever joined or tried to join the Eygptian Lover fanclub? The address continues to be listed on the LPs. Its probably a dead PO Box now, either that or someone in L.A. is getting a lot of weird fan mail.

The LP version of this is a semi-continuous mix. Unfortunately the vinyl used to produce it was cheap and thin, still though a great record and at the time introduced me to a world of west coast electro and rap i knew nothing of. Licks and hooks off the tracks on here are still being used today.