Juno Reactor: GODS & MONSTERS CD

A brand new age of music arrives as composer Ben Watkins takes us into uncharted territories of sonic awareness. This is the seventh awakening of Juno Reactor, which has transformed its sound through film music. From The Matrix films, Reloaded and Revolutions, to his work in the Japanese films Brave Story and Dimension Bomb, which premieres at The Kennedy Centre in Washington on February 16th, Watkins fascination with Japanese animation makes it way in Gods & Monsters with the excellent cover painted by Koji Morimoto. It’s inside Morimoto’s characters that Juno’s music currently lives, the mystery of the unknown. WARNING: DO NOT DRIVE WITH THIS MUSC ON! When the road disappears it’s dangerous. The evolution of Juno Reactor defines the moment; it changes day by day as Watkins surrounds himself with the best musicians that realize a vision consumed by multiple worlds and diverse cultures. From the thriving pulse of the “Inca Steppa” to a peek inside a schemer with “The Perfect Crime,” these sonic adventures leave our world behind to enter another. It’s the pulsating drums of Greg Ellis and the primitive percussion of Mabi that are the backbone of musical delights. We hear the vocal talents of Ghetto Priest, Yasmin Levy, and Ben himself, as well as those wonderfully twisted articulations that are cut, spliced, turned upside down and filtered through a demons tongue. The intensity of the “Immaculate Crucifixion” leads us into “Las Vegas” where we hear the trumpet of Byron Wallen. And it’s shades of The Matrix with Israeli singer Ladino and Tigran Aleksanyan on the duduk, ney flute, and zorn in the frantic middle eastern “Tanta Pena.” But it’s those last two adventures where we hear Watkins’s voice dominantly emerge with the intricate acoustic guitar work of Eduardo Nielbla on “The Perfect Crime” and avant-garde pianist Mike Garson (David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, and The Smashing Pumpkins), on the eyebrow raiser “Pretty Girl.” The performances on Gods & Monsters are brilliant, so sit back and take it in, every precious second of it. As the light dims we hear the echoes of a life gone by in a land far, far, away. Sweet melodies from invisible thought guide us into dimensions unknown. Into the mind portals we travel eternally dancing to the reactors hum in a world consumed by Gods & Monsters. (written by: Rudy Koppl)Released April 22nd, 2008 on Metropolis Records.Track Listing:01. Inca Steppa02. Tokyo Dub03. Las Vegas Future Past04. Mind Of The Free05. Immaculate Crucifixion06. City Of The Sinful07. Tanta Pena08. Pretty Crime (Superman)09. Pretty Girl