Goodbye Goa, hello world.
The members of Juno Reactor seem to have made a decision here as to what they wanted to do when they grew up, with the answer being, interestingly, Art of Noise for the 21st century coupled with atmospheric merging with world music elements from all over the planet.
There are mammoth sounds at hand -- deep, dark moods, moments of widescreen cinema -- and much clever subtlety.
With "Pistolero" alone -- a mad blend of samples, beats, effects, and flamenco guitar from Steve Stevens -- Juno Reactor has leapt away from the past and into a more imaginative future.
The only question now is whether or not they can keep up this kind of growth, and whether that means continuing to work with live musicians or expanding their tonal and rhythmic space.
Either way, Shango is a benchmark for the duo.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PistoleroSteve Stevens, Ben Watkins | Juno Reactor | Play | 06:13 | 14 MB | 41 MB |
| 2 | Hule LamBen Watkins | Juno Reactor | Play | 04:00 | 9 MB | 29 MB |
| 3 | InsectsMike Maguire, Ben Watkins | Juno Reactor | Play | 06:18 | 14 MB | 36 MB |
| 4 | BadimoBen Watkins | Juno Reactor | Play | 07:14 | 16 MB | 48 MB |
| 5 | Masters of the UniverseJohann Bley, Mabi Thobejane, Ben Watkins | Juno Reactor | Play | 06:05 | 13 MB | 42 MB |
| 6 | SolarisDeepak Ram, Ben Watkins | Juno Reactor | Play | 08:58 | 20 MB | 38 MB |
| 7 | Song for AncestorsTaz Alexander, Mabi Thobejane, Ben Watkins | Juno Reactor | Play | 08:07 | 18 MB | 49 MB |
| 8 | Nitrogen (Part 2) | Juno Reactor | Play | 06:26 | 14 MB | 39 MB |
| 9 | Nitrogen (Part 1) | Juno Reactor | Play | 08:34 | 19 MB | 50 MB |
| 61 mins | 141 MB | |||||
| 61 mins | 377 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taz Alexander | Composer |
| 2 | Johann Bley | Collaboration, Composer |
| 3 | B.J. Cole | Pedal Steel |
| 4 | Dinesh | Tabla |
| 5 | Mike Diver | Photography |
| 6 | Richard Edwards | Engineer |
| 7 | Greg Hunter | Composer, Engineer |
| 8 | Juno Reactor | Primary Artist, Producer |
| 9 | Mike Maguire | Collaboration, Composer |
| 10 | Kevin Metcalfe | Mastering |
| 11 | Busi Mhlongo | Vocals |
| 12 | Deepak Ram | Composer |
| 13 | Steve Stevens | Collaboration, Composer |
| 14 | Mabi Thobejane | Collaboration, Composer |
| 15 | Ben Watkins | Collaboration, Composer, Producer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |