The Chemical Brothers "No Geography" (2019)

No Geography
release date: Apr. 12, 2019
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]
producer: The Chemical Brothers
label: Virgin EMI - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Eve of Destruction" - 3. "No Geography" - 4. "Got to Keep On" - 6. "The Universe Sent Me" - 7. "We've Got to Try" - 8. "Free Yourself" - 9. "MAH" - 10. "Catch Me I'm Falling"

9th studio album by The Chemical Brothers issued after a near four year hiatus is like the most recent Born in the Echoes released on Virgin EMI and as always produced by the duo. It's a ten track collection on which Tom Rowlands and Ed Simmons take a stronger grip on acid house than usually - a style closely related to electro house and something I don't really spend much time listening to. Basically, it's a bit like returning to the early days of techno. There is also some progressive house parts here and there, but the best thing about the new album is the lust to also include big beat as they did on the 2015 album.
The album has been met by positive reviews, and it seems like the duo has re-found its potential.
The album is so fresh to me, but for the time being, I really enjoy it, and from my experience with The Chemical Brothers one simply has to digest their new material to let it unfold before judging too hard. For now; I rate it good above 3,5, but is it a 4 star album and bettering the 2015 release?
[ 👍allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, The Guardian, Mojo, Q Magazine, Uncut, NME 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 2,5 / 5 stars ]

Jean-Michel Jarre "Electronica 2: The Heart of Noise" (2016)

Electronica 2: The Heart of Noise
release date: May 6, 2016
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,32]
producer: Jean-Michel Jarre
label: Sony Music - nationality: France

Track highlights: 1. "The Heart of Noise, Pt. 1" (feat. Rone) - 6. "Here for You" (feat. Gary Numan) - 7. "Electrees" (feat. Hans Zimmer) - 8. "Exit" (feat. E.S.) - 9. "What You Want" (feat. Peaches) - 11. "Switch on Leon" (feat. The Orb) - 13. "Why This, Why That and Why" (feat. Yello) - 18. "The Heart of Noise (The Origin)"

17th studio album by Jean-Michel Jarre is his second part in collaborative works featuring artists of various electronic styles. Both albums were recorded over a six year period from 2011 to 2016 and they are difficult not to regard as one and the same project, and thus should have been released as a double album. Both albums are highly experimental, and overall it's nice to witness a collaboration work like this where you witness a symbiotic end-result of the process involving different takes on a genre and style leaving equal evidence from both artists. That also means that the individual songs point in different directions as the featuring artists represent very different styles but together with Jarre the output still has his fingerprints all over, making it quite interesting, but not as a perfect overwhelming work of art. Both of the two parts are quite extensive, the first part running for more than 68 mins and this one just above 74 mins.
Recommended.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5, The Guardian 4 / 5 stars ]

Jean-Michel Jarre "Electronica 1: The Time Machine" (2015)

Electronica 1: The Time Machine
release date: Oct. 16, 2015
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,32]
producer: Jean Michel Jarre
label: Columbia Records - nationality: France

Track highlights: 4. "Automatic (Part 1)" (with Vince Clark) - 8. "Suns Have Gone" (with Moby) - 11. "Zero Gravity" (with Tangerine Dream) - 12. "Rely On Me" (with Laurie Anderson) - 13. "Stardust" (with Armin van Buuren)

16th* studio album by Jean-Michel Jarre is his first real studio album in 8½ years following the album Téo & Téa (2007). It consists of 16 tracks composed and played with 15 different collaborators featuring artists such as Air, Vince Clarke (Erasure), Moby, Fuck Buttons, Pete Townsend, and Laurie Anderson, and as its title suggests, it's the first of two collaborative albums of this sort.
Musically and stylistically, the album represents (at least on some of the songs) a move towards vocal-founded electronic and more strict compositions in terms of popular music tradition. According to Jarre himself, who had invited various artists to participate in his project, his intentions were to make an album that paid tribute to electronic music and an album that would reflect the link between his musical history to other artists, who were either deeply involved or closely (or somewhat) related in the making of electronic music.
My first impression was luke-warm but I have come to see greatness in this project, and knowing a few of the details about this album makes it much more interesting, but it also wins over time.
[ Renowned for Sound 4,5 / 5, The Guardian, Gaffa.dk 4 / 5 stars ]

*Some mention it as his 17th, 18th or 19th album requiring his 2001 album Interior Music (exclusively released for Bang & Olufsen in 1000 copies), his 2004 remix album Aero, and / or Oxygène: New Master Recording from 2007 being regarded as studio releases.

Moby "Play" (1999)

Play
release date: May 17, 1999
format: cd (CDStumm172)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,82]
producer: Moby
label: Mute Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Honey" - 2. "Find My Baby" - 3. "Porcelain" - 5. "South Side" - 6. "Rushing" - 7. "Bodyrock" - 8. "Natural Blues" - 9. "Machete" - 11. "Run On" - 15. "Inside"

5th studio album by Moby [aka Richard Melville Hall] sees him return to the electronic genre after his 'detour' into hardcore punk rock on the album Animal Rights (1996), which almost had him stop making music. With Play he investigates the genre of downtempo house with a combo of progressive ambient and a strong use of sampling.
The album is regarded as a corner-stone of modern electronica and it's his perhaps most lauded album, although, it didn't sell all too well - at first. Its prominent status has been achieved over a span of several years. Stylistically, it's an electronic dance pop and electronic house album where Moby blends all sorts of styles and cleverly makes use of sampling to produce one of the most positive feel-good dance pop albums of the decade. The album also feature several guest artists, including Bessie Jones (track #1) and Gwen Stefani (track #5).
To me, Moby is America's answer to Fatboy Slim. Sometimes his music is exactly like that of Slim's, sometimes it's more like The Chemical Brothers, at other times it's more like The Orb, and then at other times it's just so unique.
The first three tracks are simply stunningly great, and despite some minor fillers among the total of 18 tracks, the album is deservedly enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
Overall I would have rated it higher if the second half was half as good as the first half.
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone, Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]

Benny Benassi "Hypnotica" (2003)

Hypnotica [debut]
release date: Jul. 8, 2003
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5]

Track highlights: 1. "Satisfaction" (4 / 5) - 2. "Able to Love" (3 / 5) - 3. "No Matter What You Do"

Studio debut album by Italian electro house artist Benny Benassi (aka Marco Benassi) under the name of 'Benny Benassi Presents the Biz' (the Biz being the singers Paul French and Violeta Bratu). Benassi had a major world hit with the track "Satisfaction" written by his cousin Alle Bennassi (aka Alessandro Benassi). The two cousins also perform under the name of Benassi Bros. Apart from "Satisfaction" and a few other tracks the album tends to be a bit too repetitive, but I guess that's part of the style, although, several tracks take up the same bits and pieces again and again, which makes it tiresome as a whole. The album works in small doses and definitely functions as party music. The official video is quite nice though.

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