Alex Tronic single `A Voice for the Silent`
Alex Tronic’s last album, ‘Nature Flow’ had a righteous anger about mankind’s damage to the environment. ‘A Voice For The Silent’ proves those concerns are still very much in Paul Croan’s mind. The track makes great use of speech samples from Australian Philip Wollen – a prominent philanthropist, vegan and hugely active member of the Animal Rights movement. Wollen’s soft but serious tones work well against Tronic’s gentle and sparkly electronic background. For close musical relatives, you might try Underworld’s 1999 opus King Of Snake in a mash up with Massive Attack’s Hymn Of The Big Wheel. A sonic web you won’t want to escape from.
There’s a real air of celebration present here, as this disc marks the 10th album released on Alex Tronic Records. The set’s sheer tightness alone is breathtaking. Tracks are there for just long enough for you to get into them before ending. This means you immediately want to hear them again. Every track is crisp with a real vibrancy at it’s’ centre. There are neither monotonous solos nor tracks which you have to be “on one” to get. The whole set is laced with hooks which draw you in and undercurrents to ensure you damned well stay there. This is enhanced by the inclusion of guest performers, most notably Erik Tricity, guitarist with Scots noise-filth heroes Metal Tech. He laces tracks with a serrated viscerality which slices through the ear canals with manic joy. Tronic has pulled off that rare trick of blending familiarity with innovation. It sounds truly delicious. Forty nine minutes pass by in half that time and the immediate inclination is to hit the play button and live through it all once more. Memories of your favourite song have already formed long before this disc has stopped spinning. That means it’s one for the end-of-year polls already. (4 Stars)
Title: Alex Tronic – To Infinity Label:
Alex Tronic Records To Infinity can loosely be described as a psychedelic techno-pop album, the work of Paul Croan – who owns the Alex Tronic label. Eclecticism is Croan’s biggest strength, converging splayed guitar chords with ascending Roland 303 notations. Female vocals add a haunting quality to many tracks, swaying to the echo of luscious Ambient-Techno by employing some soothing orchestral strings and spiralling effects. To Infinity is a more than passable effort from Croan, with three or four very very good tracks. Although its combination of liquidised guitar and earthy beats does tend to drown out some of the subtler elements of the album, when the production is spotless the results are consuming.
Top Downloads Chiller Death Of Light Life’s A Dream
The Skinny
The latest offering from Alex Tronic records is a real treat, for a number of reasons. The opening notes of the first track Life's A Dream (In my Scratcher) suggest that the record may be going down a darker route, but within seconds the tone changes to one that promises a brighter journey. It happens quickly yet subtly and means the record opens rather pleasantly. Also, techno music can be rather inaccessible. As a genre, it seems to rub a lot of listeners up the wrong way, but this probably won't be a problem for To Infinity. The overall tone of the record makes it not only accessible but highly enjoyable, whilst the instrumentals work well on every track. The inclusion of vocals from Susanna Holland and Amy Duncan are a large part of what makes this record the human and satisfying work it is.
This album is a pure summer idyll. Close your eyes when listening to it and your feet will burn with the tingling feeling of the sand underneath, your eyes will surely pulse with the sense of awe and wonder of what you are hearing and discovering and your brain may threaten to explode. As Moby himself said, in 2000, in my dreams I’m dying all the time, and when you hear this, you will surely be happy to do so, also. Sunsets of fire, visions of slowly unfolding ecstasy and a slow, sure, crawling and nagging sense of melancholy will quickly envelope you. What you will most definitely be left with, is a sure sense of having had an experience, of having been on an aural and emotional journey. What Tronic and his partners in crime here do, is to give us variety and soul and depth, alongside the relentless bass thrum and 4-4 beats. This, then, in conclusion, is a particularly satisfying listen
Alex Tronic - Mind Matters , Alex Tronic - Obsessional , OUR HUMBLE OPINION: Chaos Existence www.chaosexistence.net Wow!! What are these sounds? Alex Tronic delivers some truly unique stuff here (hear) ;). From breaks to trip hop and drum and bass. 'Mind Matters' is a trancey breakbeat journey with some funky scratch elements and spaced out vocal samples. 'Obsessional' slows things down to a trip hop beat, while maintaining a nice groove through a deep bassline. Scratching is thrown into the mix as well as ambient vocal samples. Constant high pitched cyclical sounds dominate the upper regions of this track. The beat doubles up halfway through and adds a nice drum and bass feel to the rest of the track. "Chilled Breakbeat Bliss". Future Music Hip hop meets ambient in this exciting production, with 'Mindmatters', being filled with suprises. Have Joy Division ever been sampled in a breaks track? I doubt it"
"Alex Tronic is like pulling a great white fluffy duvet over yourself" Cooled Magazine "A dazzling trip through soulfull sounds, is the best way to describe Alex Tronic. It will wash over you as you sit back and chill. A new beginning, a turning point in musical education. Euphoric, warm and very original"