Search - Ministry of Sound :: This Is Tech Pop 21st Century Electro & New Wave

Nice Little Genre Sampler

A. W. Crawford | WI, US | 07/16/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I think the thing that first endeared this compilation to me was the open admission in the liner notes that there are almost more names for the genre than bands recording it. That and the fact that they didn't choose the largely inappropriate "Electroclash" label for the title. The whole "it's electronic but it's punk-inspired" thing strikes me as a plot by the NME to give the genre some credibiility with its uber-fickle readership.Before this music went mainstream, I'd always liked the "electro from techno" moniker. It accurately conveyed that what you were listening to was the result of things turning full circle, with 90s dance music looking back to an earlier era of electronic pop and fusing the best of both. Either that or techno artists who got tired of the repetition and restrictions of dancefloor fascism and decided maybe they'd like to write songs for a change.Make no mistake, this isn't (for the most part) just regurgitated pastiches of synthpop circa 1982, and those bands here who do have a more direct lineage to that era have generally come out of the contemporary synthpop scene (which has been alive and kicking all these years, hidden from view) rather than rediscovering the music of that time.As you'd expect from a sampler of the genre, there are inevitably tracks by the likes of Fischerspooner, Felix Da Housecat and one or other of the Miss Kittin projects. While the choice of "Emerge" is rather predictable, it's nice to see something other than Felix's "Silver Screen" included, and the inclusion of the Golden Boy With Miss Kittin track "Rippin Kittin" is a pleasantly offbeat choice (due to its unusually dark lyrics and the fact that she actually sings on it).The included Ladytron track, the Zombie Nation remix of "Playgirl", is a bit of a disappointment, it's too obviously a remix, and since this is a genre where remixes seem to have regained some of the subtlety they lost during the 90s (i.e. they generally sound like the original song to some extent) it comes across as rather clunky and even anachronistic.As for the surprise inclusions - I was somewhat surprised to see a Soviet track popping up here, since the band is very much from the underground synthpop fold, and artists from Ronnie Martin's Plastiqmusiq label don't seem to have had much success breaking through outside of that circle. The other surprise inclusion was Zoot Woman's "Nobody Knows" - it's a little older than most of the material here, and while the band definitely has a strong retro-80s synth streak in their sound, their influences have always struck me as being more along the lines of Hall and Oates or Squeeze. Still, a nice song.Heading into what (for me, anyway) is unknown territory, I was rather taken with Console's "14 Zero Zero" (despite my continuing aversion to vocoders), the Tiga & Zyntherius cover of "Sunglasses At Night" might have appealed more if I liked (or really disliked) the original, but it's pretty good anyway.Circ's "Destroy She Said" is probably my favourite track on the entire disc, combining sweeter than sweet vocals with a bouncy synthpop tune and dark, even tasteless lyrics that are completely at odds with both. Other favourites included "Naked, Drunk And Horny" by Yellow Note Vs Pukka, which is just bizarre but extremely catchy, and Crossover's "Intensive Care", which also fits the "quirky but catchy" description.As for the rest - there's nothing here that I'd actually skip or describe as bad, they just don't grab me to quite the same degree. The instrumental "Ocean Drive" by FPU is pleasant enough, and I'm not surprised it was paired on a single with a cover of "Crockett's Theme". The first few seconds of Swayzak's "State Of Grace" also scores pretty highly in the Vintage Yazoo Soundalike stakes.Overall, this is well worth a listen both for those who want to sample this old new genre, or for synthpop fans who want to give this stuff a try. The worst material is merely forgettable, the best is wonderful, and most of what falls in-between tends more towards good than bad."

The Best Of

English Reviewer | UK, UK | 10/08/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This compilation works perfect! I would say that 16 of the 20 songs are absolute masterpieces in the modern synth-pop and electroclash genre's. This mix compilation was the CD that started my obsession with this style of music. The compilation opens and closes with 2 very important songs...Fischerspooner - "Emerge" - Probably the most well-known song on the compilation. Fischerspooner are from NYC and the guy/girl voices in this song are immaculate. (11/10)Console - "14 Zero Zero" - A semi-interesting song by an interesting group from Europe. (6/10)Zoot Woman - "Nobody Knows (Part One)" - Very soft sound.. almost like a synth-ballad. Believe it or not, but there is a Part 2 to this song, featured on their own album. Part 2 is very different but also much better! (8/10)Tiga/Zyntherius - "Sunglasses At Night" - An awesome electro version for an awesome 80's hit. Tiga is hot stuff, and his new song "Hot In Herre" is a cover of a terrible song, but the dub mix proves what Tiga can do. Tiga is the greatest producer and DJ in the entire electroclash movement! Nobody beats Tiga!!! (10.5/10)Soviet - "Candy Girl" - Goodness, an 80's vibration has overtaken myself with this song! The male singer is perfect. The beat is very comparable to that of 80's italo disco. I bought their entire album because of this one song, and it is one of the best synth-pop albums I ever owned! (11/10)Circ - "Destroy She Said" - Female vocals with a dance beat.. Very cool mixture of beat, vocals, and effects. (9/10)Green Velvet - "Genedefekt" - Green Velvet (AKA Cajmere) is a must for this compilation! Although "La La Land" is his best song, this one makes its obvious appearance. (8/10)Waldorf - "You're My Disco" - Here we go with another awesome song that absolutely blew me away on the first listen. Sounds like a production out of the original synth-pop era in the 80's. It has a very un-appealing and absurd synthesizer noise at the beginning and mid-break of the song, but beyond that, this is a wild song to listen to! (10/10)Tomcraft - "Overdose" - Hmm.. DJ Tomcraft has done some very experimental stuff lately in Europe and has actually had a top 5 hit with "Loneliness" from early 2003. I am beginning to consider this a possible favorite song on the compilation. Tomcraft is doing for the 00's what the founders of synth-pop did for the 80's. His new album features this song and all his other big electro hits! (11/10)Swayzak - "State Of Grace" - More awesome synth-pop!!! This is another song that mistakes itself for an 80's dance club smash. I've heard this beautiful voice far too many times before. Top song on the compilation! Swayzak is sexy and needs no introduction here! This song is absolutely not their normal sound.. they are very experimental and dark.. this is a softer release by them and for their true clash sound, try "Ikea" which is a b-side and appears on Tiga's DJ Kicks mix. (11/10)Yellow Note Vs. Pukka - "Naked, Drunk And Horny" - Definately the funnest song on the compilation. A very happy sound involved here. (9.5/10)Golden Boy / Miss Kittin - "Rippin Kittin" - One of the best electroclash songs ever. You should already know this one! Anybody who Miss Kittin collaborates with becomes an instant star in the electroclash world! Very dark vocals! (11/10)Felix Da Housecat - "Happy Hour" - Miss Kitty's good friend is here with an excellent song. Very 80's! One of FDH's best productions! (11/10)Crossover - "Extensive Care" - A song that builds on you and then it takes over your mind. This song reminds me of a movable new wave hit from the 80's.. (10/10)F.C. Kahuna - "Machines Says Yes" - (8.5/10)Selway - "Pozition" - A bit like Tomcraft's incorporated sounds with some synthesizers thrown in. John Selway AKA Memory Boy is a friend of mine and I must commend him with all of his music, but "There Is No Electricity" by Memory Boy is by far his best production and it competes with the best of Fischerspooner and Miss Kittin. (7/10)Ladytron - "Playgirl" (Zombie Nation Mix) - This has grown on me. I originally despised any mix other than Felix Da Housecat's, but now I am beginning to think just as highly of the Zombie Nation mix of Playgirl. This is a very catchy mix, very different from the Felix mix or any Zombie Nation production. A quick plug to "Kernkraft 400" by Zombie Nation from 1999: one of the originators of modern synth-pop, and a #1 European hit! (10.5/10)Toktok Vs. Soffy O - "Go!" - Nothing groundbreaking, just nice to listen to. Their entire album is fair at best in my opinion. Quite popular in UK. (8.5/10)Mirwais - "Naive Song" (Dave Clarke Mix) - Hmmm, probably one of the 2 songs I didn't really jump for on this compilation. Dave Clarke is big in Germany and has done a production in partnership with none other than Chicks On Speed. (6/10)F.P.U. - "Ocean Drive" - Damn right, finish this compilation with an awesome cover version. "Crockett's Theme" has been covered so many times, but this is the one! This is the best version I ever heard of this song! Jan Hammer has let someone outdo himself! F.P.U.'s album is fine, and so is the Tiga White Linen mix of this song (once again Tiga takes his own voice and implements it into this instrumental song). One of those songs with a title that fits quite well. Without a doubt! (11/10)This is the best compilation to start from because it gives you a little bit of everything. And the songs are almost all awesome and innovative. Worth every penny!"

An enjoyable CD that covers part of the scene

Lithouse | Boston, MA USA | 01/06/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is Tech Pop 21st Century Electro & New Wave is both a mouth full and a cd full of synthpop bands that are giving the US music press something to write about. Its got the names and music you should hear if you are new to electro/synthpop (Fischerspooner, Miss Kitten & Ladytron) and lots of new bands, but it lacks the big hits from other bands in the scene such as Spray ("I am Gothic"), Ganymede ("Neon Rain"), Fr/action ("Inner Being"), Nukleon ("Lucky"), Iris ("Lose in Wanting"), Mesh and Simulator. My criticism is that Tech Pop 21st Century is a little bit heavy on the "art" and less balanced with good pop tunes. I recommend this cd if you want to see what everyone is talking about when they say Electroclash. Its quirky, interesting and good music for the moment. However, if your taste is art AND catchy tunes, I recommend another compilation such as Electricity or Evolution."