I used to hammer “Laughing Gas” by Juno Reactor  on the Nova Mute label back in the day (1993 if memory serves)…I can still remember the yellow and blue cover, but the 12″ is long gone sadly and since then I’ve not really taken much notice of his output. This may have been a mistake and a bit of an oversight on my part I must confess…

The “label” here is Psy-Trance, but I reckon Ben Watkins (for it is he) goes far beyond what I would expect of the usual formulaic stuff churned out under this banner. Juno Reactor are apparently huge in Australia, Japan and pretty much everywhere but the UK and I can see why… the Juno Reactor live experience is by all accounts a bit of a spectacle with loads of musicians, singers, percussionists and dancers taking to the stage. This album certainly feels like a bit of an epic that would be really something at a huge festival whilst in an enhanced state!

The Golden Sun …Remixed is, not surprisingly, a remix of the 2013 The Golden Sun Of The East album and it is really rather enjoyable…OK, I really loved it!!

You’ve got banging beats and pumping-fist-in-the-air basslines, but there’s an intelligence here that sets Juno Reactor apart. Yes, you’ve got the Eastern flavours so beloved of Psy Trance, but there’s a harder edge to this record. We’re not talking French speedcore or Gabba as the beats are relatively moderately tempo’d and there are grand sweeping rushes that will send the crowds chicken-oriental when the beat kicks in again. There’s a feeling that Juno Reactor has a bit of a punk/indie aesthetic too – samples come in many guises with Guillotine having an absolutely fabulous guitar riff that just works so well at building and pushing the beats.

There are nine tunes on this record and, had I still being DJing, I’d not hesitate to play one of them out. The productions are big, sweeping and impressive and it needs to be played loud to full appreciate it. The accompanying bumph talks of cinematic this and that and I suppose this is a decent way of describing this record…sort of. If I was trying to label this album I’d go for “melodic-tribal-game soundtrack-techno that messes with your brain a bit”…I think that might catch on!!!

Out on the Metropolis Label and barely been off the main rig since it arrived! Highly recommended!!