Juno Reactor
Juno Reactor is Ben Watkins, although he has recorded with Steve Stevens, Mike Maguire and Johan Bley (who has also released the track New Kicks under the name "Johann" on the Perfecto Fluoro record label). To date they have released five albums, Transmissions (on NovaMute - 1993), Luciana (on Inter-Modo 1994), Beyond the infinite (on Blue Room Released Records in the UK and Hypnotic in the USA - 1996), Bible of Dreams (on Blue Room Released Records in the UK and Wax Trax in the USA - 1997) and Shango on Metropolis Records in 2000.
CD: Laughing Gas
[826.775]
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Released 1993 on Mute Records. Thanks to Brian Harris for this information.
CD: Luciana
[INTA002CD]
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Released 1994 on Inter-Modo. This is a one-track super-ambient affair. Not much more than background noise, but it does carry a pretty heavy volcanic vibe to it. Thanks to Brian Harris for this information.
Album: Transmissions
[NMCD 3016]
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Released '94 on NovaMute Records.
CD Single: High Energy Protons
[CDNoMu27]
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Released on NovaMute Records. Written by Watkins (1,2,3,4), Maguire (1,2), Holweck (3,4). Produced by Juno Reactor.
CD Single: Samurai
[CLP 9807-2]
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Released '96 on Hypnotic Records.
Album: Beyond the Infinite
[CLP 9739-2]
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Released '96 on Hypnotic Records.
Single: God is God
[BRO41CD]
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Released in '97 on Blue Room Records. Nick Burton's stomping live drums are fuelled by Natacha Atlas's unmistakable chants and wails (which are normally confined to Transglobal Underground) on this corking single. The Rock of Sion Mix is by far the best mix, making full use of Natacha's Arabic vocal talents, and the haunting judgmental spoken "God is God" vocal by Wolfgang. At full throttle a mix of eastern instruments blend with Indian battle cries - played at full volume this one lifts the roof. The Revelation Mix drops Natacha's vocals and the Indian battle cries, concentrating on a more electronic approach, which in my humble opinion is nowhere as near as good as the Rock of Sion Mix. The CJ Bolland Mix is a complete remix, losing all touch with the Rock of Sion Mix apart from speeded up samples of "God is God" and part of Natacha's vocals - the end result is nothing special. God is God is on the album Bible of Dreams. The additional track on this single, Biot Messiah, is a heavy, dark guitar, didge driven track.
Single: Conga Fury
[BRO20CD]
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'96 release on Blue Room Records. The title track contains African percussion from Mabi Thobejane and is found on the album Bible of Dreams. Magnetic is remixed by Robert Leiner and Feel the Universe is remixed by Koxbox & Ian Ion. Only the title track is up to anything much, and as the name suggests, is very conga orientated. Both Magnetic and Feel the Universe are harder trance, both of which manage to lose the plot completely. One not to bother with.
Album: Bible of Dreams
[TV7248-2]
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Released '97 on Wax Trax! Records. Written by Ben Watkins, Xavier (1), Paul Jackson (1), Mike Maguire (1,4,5,6,7,9), Mabi Thobejane (2), Nick Burton (3,6,8), Johann Bley (5,7). Produced by Juno Reactor
Single: Jungle High
[PERF133CD]
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I was quite surprised to see this track released on the Perfecto record label. But it's pretty good!
Single: Pistolero
[BR083CD / BR084CD / BR083]
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Released 9/99 on Blue Room. Written and produced by Ben Watkins and Steve Stevens. The Radio Edit is by the 'Scourage of the Earth' (the latest incarnation of the KLF's Jimmy Cauty). This is a superb single - lots of Spanish guitars (courtesy of Steve himself) in this Balearic style trancer. The Juno Reactor mix and the Radio Edit are the better of the mixes, although Fluke and Man With No Name deliver amicable remixes.
CDS: Pistolero
[MET 194]
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Released 2000 on Metropolis Records. Written and produced by Ben Watkins and Steve Stevens. The Picture of Man mix is the most trance-embedded of them all, nearly losing the original in the process. Thanks to Brian Harris for this information.
Album: Shango
[MET 185]
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Released 2000 on Metropolis Records. After the peppy 'Pistolero', the album abruptly becomes mega-tribal/bass, a noticeable turn from their previous release. Gone is
the fast-paced dark trancers, and instead you have a uniquely jungle experience. From what I understand, the stage performances of their tour were quite interesting and I regret missing it when they were in town. Thanks to Brian Harris for this information.
CD Single: Masters of the Universe
[MET 216]
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Released 2001 on Metropolis Records. One of the better tracks from 'Shango' comes out on its own in a very healthy spread of enjoyable mixes. Thanks to Brian Harris for this information.
CDS: Hotaka
[MET 257]
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Released 2002 on Metropolis Records. Stay close to the 12" version which runs dark, hard and industrial
as the best of the bunch. There's also a Japanese version of this single with mixes by Kloq and Kris Kylven.Thanks to Brian Harris for this information.
CDS: Juno Reactor - The Zwara EP
[UPCH-1285]
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Released 2003 on Universal. A rather unrewarding release from Juno Reactor to promote the Matrix films, and only in Japan so it
costs a ton. Zwara is the spotlight here, with a vibe similar to their latest Shango album, and it's excellent. Teahouse would be a
great tribal percussion number...if it was longer than sixty seconds. Komit is supposedly remixed for the movie, but it's barely noticeable. And if you're a fan, you already have Guardian Angel.
CD: Juno Reactor - Labyrinth
[MET 346]
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Released 2004 on Metropolis Records. If you thought Juno Reactor couldn't get any more dark and apocalyptic, guess again. This new,
even more gothic sounding release pushes the boundaries of industrial goth trance, throwing in some well-placed orchestral elements, too. Top picks
include Conquistador I and II, Mona Lisa Overdrive, and the big finale Navras. Thanks to Brian Harris for this information.
For further information on Juno Reactor, see the following sites:
