Electric Universe - Blue Planet

[Anoebis]

Electric Universe - Blue Planet

 

 

Artist: Electric Universe

Title: Blue Planet

Label: Spirit Zone

Date: 1999

 

Track listing:

 

01. 07'21" Fly

02. 07'26" Compressor

03. 05'48" Renania

04. 06'54" Meteor

05. 05'14" Rock Da House

06. 05'32" The Tribal Session

07. 08'30" Magnetic Field

08. 07'26" The Space Dimension

09. 09'13" Lovescience

10. 06'12" Journey Into Outer Space

 

Review:

 

Not a good CD!! It's very various but it isn't all Go!! Song 6 is just

percussion with a bassline and nr 4 is pure House (=pure Shit) and nr 7 is

more "normal" Trance!!Luckely there are 2 good Ambient songs on it (nr 9 And

10)!! The best tracks from the Goa-songs are: 1,3&8. Bom Shankar

[Guest Stathis_gti]

This is the best cd that Boris Blenn have ever released under the name of

electric universe.Far better than his last "waves".Not full on trance, varius

like avoebis said.But i can'T believe he said that track4 "METEOR"is pure

shit.This is by far the best track of this album.House???I dont thing so.And

Tribal Session is very good if you like purcussion (i love it)!The rest are

above average.

[Guest AtomikElf]

yeah, it's trancey, not too goa-ey, but pleasant nontheless. it's the only

"electric universe" i have, so i compare it with the rest of my collection.

and it's about a 6/10 or so.....

[Guest [Anonymous]]

fat production here, good stuff for djs to work with, but nothing that sticks

with me...

[Guest effron]

Track 4 - Meteor , gold awarded song

[Children]

Pretty Good ! A little better than « Stardiver » album :-) Tracks are less

psychedelic than stardiver but still very psychedelic ? some Tracks are very

original, like Track 6, which really well suits its name (like these tribal

sounds, but the Track could have been better with more work around them) :-)

My favourites are Tracks 8,10 (chill Track) And particularly Track 4, probably

the Best Track from Electric Universe at the moment for me ! Tracks 3,5 (too

rock-style) And 7 are a little boring, but other Tracks are interesting !

Rating : 6.5/10

[Guest firgo]

lots of styles here...i like it.best are 1,2,4,10.no.10 is 1 of the best

ambiental tracks ever made(together with DMT and jaia's sommeil paradoxal.and

meteor has beautiful guitars.overall....7.2/10.

[Guest [Anonymous]]

stop that bullshit.. someone has to brake the sound or not ?! i love the album

, very well produced and very good energy

[Guest fheierli[at]mails[dot]ch]

A little bit better than Waves. The fourth album contains a few of good

acid-tracks (Fly) and two beautiful ambient-tracks. The guitars in Meteor are

ridicolous. Hear S.U.N.-Project, Infected Mushroom or Tim Schuldt: that's good

guitar sound. The best tracks are 1,5,8,9,10. Rating: 7/10

[Jon Cocco]

My favorite Electric Universe if I had to pick one, and the best EU album next to Stardriver IMO. I love the risks Boris took with exception to two songs (2, 6) that leave much to be desired. The artist clearly knows what's catchy so I'm not sure why he'd allow two weak songs to be on an otherwise stellar album. Great album overall! If you weren't sure what you thought of this back in the day, give it another listen. It may sound different to you as is sometimes (often) the case with music (with more elements) like this.

[Guest ww[at]kkd[dot]ewd]

great!

[Guest firgo]

"The guitars in Meteor are ridicolous"??????.Hey,fheierli,clean your head and

blood and then listen to the track...It fucking RULEZ!!!!!!!10/10 for that

track.

[seraph]

Boris Blenn continued his cosmic trend here but he actually lacks something to be truly appreciated and considered this album as classic.

 

There are some good tracks : FLY, METEOR, MAGNETIC FIELD, THE SPACE DIMENSION, JOURNEY INTO OUTER SPACE but the rest of the trax didn't grab me that much.

 

He has unique style and he is delivering it here too...I like Boris Blenn style...7.5/10

[psyhead]

It's Boris, it's good. 10/10

[seraph]

Even after so many years, Blenn's first albums still rock, he is the true master of psychedelia.

[Basilisk]

I really don't think this is much of a good album... one of the weakest ones from Blenn in fact. Meteor is pretty good, but I prefer the 2004 remix. The final track is an excellent piece of downtempo, but that's it. The rest is a bit wishy-washy. I wouldn't recommend it - there are much better EU albums out there.

[Trance2MoveU]

 

Artist: Electric Universe

Title: Blue Planet

Label: Spirit Zone Recordings

Date: 1999

 

1. 07'21" Fly
2. 07'26" Compressor
3. 05'48" Renania
4. 06'54" Meteor
5. 05'14" Rock Da House
6. 05'32" The Tribal Session
7. 08'30" Magnetic Field
8. 07'26" The Space Dimension
9. 09'13" Lovescience
10. 06'12" Journey Into Outer Space

 

 

Boris has had an interesting career hasn't he? A man capable of magic goa trance like Online Information and beautiful downtempo as Paradise Connection also made some wicked night time full-on during the first half of the new millennium. But these days...

 

 

I'm of the opinion that once he had nothing left to communicate he left his Earthly skin suit to return to whatever planet he was from. This was his fourth album and I believe it encapsulates his career perfectly. A mixed bag of goa trance, his insistence on using cheesy guitar riffs, and several moments of wondering how high he must've been to leave some of this sh*t on the album. It's a grab bag of experimentation full of tracks that short and sound unfinished. Audio sketches if you will that show flashes of creativity only to be lost in a cloudy haze of catatonic stares and crumpled up bags of Doritos. Far from essential, I've come to the understanding that he does his best work when the bpm's are low.

 

Mdk

[Blair Thaumic]

I'm going to repeat what I said on the Unify post. Listen to Der Dritte Raum - Wellenbad and then listen to this. The psy-techno tracks (Fly, Compressor, Renania) are very much in a DDR vein, and Tribal Session comes off as the kind of drum/loop led experimentation Andreas did a much better job of in 1996. Indeed, it's only a sketch, and it grows tiresome.

 

I blame Meteor for helping to start the unfortunate 'psytar' trend, so it's hard for me to be charitable towards it. One of the most overrated, overplayed, and over-remixed tracks of all time. Take away the guitar riff, and it's barely even a track.

 

Those rough spots aside, there are parts of this album that I unashamedly love. Rock Da House is an insanely catchy breaks-goa confection, full of gooey lines and pounding Big Beat drums; and the slower, more pensive tracks that form the last 4/10ths of the album are without fault in my eyes. I particularly like the electro beats and bassline on Magnetic Field.

 

No, it's not an essential album, but for at least 50% of it, it's worth a listen. This is Boris' experimental Electric Universe album, his dark horse if you will. Who knows, something in here might be the perfect glue for your next psybreaks or downtempo DJ set.

[Jon Cocco]

1.  Fly
2.  Compressor
3.  Renania
4.  Meteor
5.  Rock Da House
6.  The Tribal Session
7.  Magnetic Field
8.  The Space Dimension
9.  Lovescience
10. Journey Into Outer Space

Blue Planet is my favorite Electric Universe album. I love some of the risks Boris took. Some of the sound/melody work here is FANTASTIC, so satisfying and topical, while other tracks do something inventive, often with catchy results, save two songs IMO. The album is less psychedelic than Stardiver, which is a purer aka more concentrated Goa. Blue Planet is more varied and expansive in sounds and track variety. This is one of the most unconventional (in some ways), interesting, solid, and distinct (character, personality, vision) albums released by Boris/Electric Universe and in the genre.

1. Fly is an example of when repetition effectively works in Goa, thanks to certain sounds and change ups in layers. The song has a very simple but catchy ('signature" I call it, like a vibrating ring, two notes) echoed synth that comes and goes at just the right times. It exits by 3:00, but soon appears to linger in the background as BOUNCY, TASTY GOA, dance-friendly melodies are introduced. ACT 2 is very catchy! There is a slight transition and the last act develops the beast with psychedelic details!!! The last act's combination of sounds and melodies is excellent. The direction is fairly simple but gripping, and the vibrating ring synth tops it off. Great work. Well done!  A- / A

2. Compressor opts to be more synthetic, minimal, and PSY sounding. It's here that the album takes its first dip for me. The music is more experimental, but not in the best way considering this isn't Goa Trance or Goa influenced, nor is it very good. I'm generally a fan of the artist's sound/melody work, but this does not showcase that either. Best thing I can say is the last act has a relatively catchy rhythm, but it's NOT great. There is no engaging synth for me to hook onto, something to warrant DESIRED repeat listens or a recommendation. Nothing sells this song like the nighttime 'signature' synth in the previous track. I don't enjoy this song.  It's not bad, but not what I consider good, fun or satisfying. It also doesn't sound like it should be on this album IMO.  C+

3. Renania is more in tune with the sleek GOA sound and feel that the album introduced to us with FLY. Though simple and similar sounding throughout, the MELODIC synth work is good! The song is surprisingly short, at 5:31. it doesn't overstay its welcome, but a little more evolution would have been nice. Fly was better IMO, with more development. Am I supposed to pretend that the previous song didn't exist? This is so much more engaging by comparison.  B+ / A- 

4.  Meteor is so musical, rock-influenced, and varied-- and thankfully more helmed in the more expansively creative realm of Goa. This has SO MANY ELEMENTS that I like. Warm, emotive, catchy, and distinct. There's no track like this. It's very experimental, but unlike Track 2, the experiment here is CATCHY. It's also determined and motivating (inspirational) sounding and I love that! So enjoyable!  B+ / A-

5.  Rock Da House is a straight up nostalgic, rock n' roll electronic song, with GOA influence in the second half. Since Meteor, the risks seem to be paying off. I'm sure not everyone will love (or expect?) this. The music is punchy and creative, coupled with rock and BREAKS, very ATYPICAL for Electric Universe in a good way IMO. I'm not suggesting Boris makes an album full of breaks but that element works well here. Though short at 5:16, the song wastes no time sounding good. This is a solid, catchy, and experimental number with some very nice, complementary synth work in the second half.  B+

6.  The Tribal Session starts out so nice, with ambient and psy scapes. I generally like tribal influenced Goa, and the first 1-2 minutes are good. The song simply grows REPETITIVE and a bit too naked (lacking in supporting sounds and melodies) for me. After a promising start, the music feels under-developed and off-topic even for this album to me. It's not fun when (intro aside) several minutes into the song, you feel like you're hearing the SAME SONG and then it ends. I don't care for this track and find it pretty average.  C

7.  Magnetic Field is softer, more traveling Goa on the cosmic side. It has a nice storytelling element and very good (warm, pleasant) sound/melody work. Talk about old-school sounding! A little more character and *oomph* (energy) could have complemented, and the song does get a little repetitive (at times), but there are some really good elements, e.g., synths here. The song is longer too (though this could have been a minute or two shorter) and adds another distinct and thankfully good (after the previous track) addition to the album!  B+

8.  The Space Dimension is more complex, unique, and cutting edge. The robotic (futuristic) synths are great. The ambient adds emotion. The Goa (sound/melody) synths compliment. This is IMO the best experimental track since 4 and 5 that Goa-wise tops both. This is my FAVOURITE uptempo song on the album. The electronic approach is distinct, engaging, and memorable. Three great acts and the whole song sounds refreshingly different than ANYTHING I've ever heard. The sound/melody work is so good, topped with a TWANGY Goa melody halfway through. I love it.  I just want to dance to thins thing, both the melody and the overall song, and the length is perfect.  A- / A

9.  Lovescience is a very good mid-tempo number. The artist makes such good mid/down tempo tracks. I find that the song grows a little repetitive roughly two thirds through as it maintains its core, developmental sound slightly longer than I found necessary. Fortunately, a complimentary synth with subtle nuances stepped in to enhance the last act. Very nice work!  B+ / A-

10. Journey Into Outer Space is a notably stronger mid-tempo gem. I find the elements here more engaging. This is an excellent way to end the album. The song is interesting, chill, cosmic, and arresting! Just go here this thing already.  A

Blue Planet is a distinct, unique, and underrated gem in electronic music. There is plenty of variety and experimenting which leads to some of the artist's best work, though not every track is a hit. A few songs (2.6) share examples where the experiment DOES NOT go great, and I question their existence on this album considering the artist obviously knows what's catchy (standards?) so why are they here? They sound as if made by a different artist, for a different album, likely forgotten if it was full of songs like that. Fortunately numerous songs exceeded my expectations (1, 4, 5, 8, 10). Naturally everyone has their favorites. I noticed a song or two I really enjoyed that someone else called SHIT!!! The last two songs are mid-tempo, and the final one is more cosmic. It's REALLY good!!! The Goa album's influences include: Psy, Rock, Breaks, and Electro. Talk about TAKING RISKS. There is enough ingenuity here that works for me and many others. The artist's previous album, Stardiver (1999) is more consistent (purer) when it comes to GOA. Stardiver is harder-edged and more energetic, but also more repetitive at times. This is Boris's first if not second best album IMO. I mean his debut ONE LOVE was topped by Stardiver. But in terms of general electronic combined GOA music (album wise), I find this to be the most satisfying when it works more often than it doesn't. Find the songs that agree most with your senses and enjoy! Nitpkcks and few weak tracks aside, the songs have character and (more or less) personality! Yes!!! Blue Planet is a cult classic in electronic/Goa Trance!

Highlights:  1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10

8/10  /  B+ 

STREAM THE FULL ALBUM HERE ON GOOD EAR BUDS OR SPEAKERS !!!!