B12 Vinilo y CD

Review: Second time around for B12's superb sophomore set, the dystopian, sci-fi themed "Time Tourist". On its initial release in 1996, the album was marketed as a 22nd century "educational soundtrack" to the "primitive past" (I.E the late 20th century). It's a theme entirely in keeping with the original ethos of Detroit techno, and it's no surprise that the accompanying music offered a typically "Artificial Intelligence"-era slant on the Motor City sound, re-imagining the work of the Belleville three as a killer suite of ambient techno, intelligent techno and dreamy ambient cuts. This edition has been expanded by the addition of four previously unheard tracks that originally missed the cut, all of which are as breathtakingly good as those that did. In a word: essential.

Review: B12's 1993 debut album, Electro-Soma, has long been regarded as one of intelligent dance music's "must-have releases". Offering a decidedly intergalactic blend of otherworldly techno, ambient and deep space electronica, it remains a brilliant piece of work. Here, Warp Records give it the reissue treatment, packaging the peerless original album with a second disc of early B12 rarities and hard-to-find cuts recorded during the same period. There's naturally plenty to admire on this bonus disc, from the shimmering electro bustle of "Transient Pathways" and Motor City futurism of "Debris", to the intoxicating ambient brilliance of "Go With The Hiss". That this material is every bit as good as the tracks included on Electro-Soma is testament to the (then) duo's rarely matched brilliance.