Search - Photek :: Solaris

Jeff H. from ROYAL OAK, MI
Reviewed on 12/20/2006...

Photek producer Rupert Parkes moved on to embrace Chicago acid house and minimal techno for his 2nd release 'Solaris'. Parkes made the acid house connections direct by enlisting help for two vocal tracks from Chicago institution Robert Owens (Fingers Inc.). The first Owens track, 'Mine to Give', attacks with suprisingly unwavering beats and a rumbling bass line straight out of the Windy City sound of the late '80s. 2000 Astralwerks release.

Some good bits, but...

Brian J. Roach | Brooklyn, NY United States | 09/19/2000

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Wow! So very disappointing. I understand and respect an artist's right and need to explore new avenues of expression, and, as a Photek fan I realize that he couldn't go too much farther with the minimalist drum and bass he'd become known for. However, I think this record mostly falls flat. First of, the two old-school house tracks are terrible. Aren't there enough crappy house tracks out there? The rest of the tracks retain elements of Photek's dark and intricate sound, and in my opinion there is about a 50/50 sucess/failure rate. Nothing is as awful as the two house songs, but all in all, i think i'll stick with "Modus Operandi" and "Form and Function." I'd try to listen to some of this before you run out and buy it, because it's a big step in a different direction, and if you're expecting "Modus Operandi", you're going to be disappointed."

If this is bad then I can't wait to hear the good stuff!

bowery boy | seattle | 08/21/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"i've never heard of photek.then one day i stumbled upon 'solaris' at the music store and was instantly taken by the CD for two reasons: 1)the CD cover, a cerulean blue sky meeting a cerulean blue sea in some far off exotic locale was the most gorgeous CD cover i've seen in a long time and 2) the CD title 'solaris' is the name of one of my favorite foreign sci-fi movies. so warily i shelled out the fifteen bucks for it, popped it in my stereo and was immediately suprised by what i heard.judging by other reviews, die-hard fans are saying he's selling out with this release and i don't know if he is. if 'solaris' is any indication of what he's capable of doing then the man is a genius.'terminus' is a weird track i liked the moment i heard that familar yelping synth sampled from autechre. two sets of conflicting yet complimentary jungle beats battle it out over a lot of synth keyboard.'junk' is my favorite track w/ it's throbbing warbled bassline, a trippy jungle beat and the word 'junk' repeated at intervals. i can never sit still when i listen to it. this track is the closest thing to perfection on 'solaris'.'infinity' is true d'n'b and sounds a lot like roni size w/ a little bit of u-ziq thrown in for good measure (maybe it's all those rising strings that make me think that).'lost blue heaven' is like a dragged down, slowed up version of the orb's 'plum island' even down to the echoed out bjorkesque vocals. drifty, dreamy dub.'solaris' is another track of pure perfection. a throbbing house beat doubled back on itself that you can feel at the bottom of your belly with an eerie melody and a weird solar wind effect (possibly a sample from the movie 'solaris'?). if swayzak did dark menancing house tracks this would be it.'glamourama' sounds like filler to me. minimal trance stuff i danced to at early 90s raves in san francisco. a repetitous beat, 4/4 claps, hi'hats and some gal rambling on and on in french. YAWN.i also have to admit the two actual 'house' tracks on here, 'mine to give' and 'can't come down', are pretty weak (although robert owens has an awesome voice, it just doesn't quite gel with photek's beats). of the two, 'mine to give' is the best. it's turer to the stripped down minimal Detroit techno grooves associated w/ a lot of house music which is probably why it's one of the singles off this release. in any case it's still good stuff.i know i will definitely buy photek's previous releases. if this is considered his worst 'sell out' CD, then i can't wait to hear what's considered to be his best."