Juno Reactor - Labyrinth

Originally formed out of the Goa vibe of the early 90's, Juno Reactor continues to improve music with impressive beats and tantric sonic vibes. The band at the time consisted of Ben Watkins, and Stefan Holwick (Total Eclipse) who collaborated to produce an intense experimental ambient soundtrack to go along with performance and sculpture artist Norma Fletcher's "The Missile Project". The band was named after a 70 foot long concrete structure that Watkins' girlfriend constructed that was called Juno Reactor. The word Juno comes form a Latin word meaning god or goddess. Together the name came to stand as a powerhouse of the ancient religions.

In 1993, Juno Reactor released its first single on Nova Mute titled "Laughing Gas". Subsequently following the single came their debut album, Transmissions. This release exposed the world to the dance-techno stylings of Juno Reactor, and it was greeted by a huge success. Shortly there after, the band released their second album on Alex Patterson's (Orb) Inter-Modo label. The album, titled Luciana, was essentially the tracks created for "The Missile Project".

After leaving Nova Mute and Inter-Modo, Juno Reactor signed to UK's Blue Room label to release 1995's "Guardian Angel" single and their third album Beyond the Infinite in 1996. While the driving force behind the music was still a heavy barrage of trance influences, Watkins added in more diverse elements, such as break beats. The 1997 release on Wax Trax/TVT Records, Bible of Dreams, marked Juno Reactor's fourth album. Relatively different from the previous three albums, it marked a dynamic transformation away from the typical dance-techno formula that continues to dominate the genre. With the single "Congo Fury", Watkins introduced Amampondo, Nelson Mandela's favorite traditional South African percussion act, to the world of Juno Reactor. Later that year, Watkins took Amampondo on a five week tour of the U.S. with him opening for Moby. The performances proved a crowd pleaser, and Juno Reactor kept Amampondo as a full time tour collaborator.

Other than the Juno Reactor releases, Watkins has also had tracks appear on Mortal Kombat, Eraser, Virtuosity, Lost In Space, the Romeo & Juliet trailer, Beowulf and Once Upon a Time in Mexico. In addition to the various movies, Juno Reactor soundtracks have been played during baseball, basketball, grid iron football, the Japanese Grand Prix, and three tracks on Play Station®'s Jet Mojo3.Juno Reactor's sixth album Labyrinth continues the world music fusion that is uniquely Ben Watkins. The new album contains two tracks from the Matrix film series, "Mona Lisa Overdrive" (named after the William Gibson novel) from the freeway chase scene in The Matrix Reloaded , and "Navras", a Juno reactor remix/reworking of the Don Davis composition "Neodämmerung" that appears on The Matrix Revolutions soundtrack..

With only nine tracks, Juno Reactor keeps with a history of albums that are short and to the punch. Watkins also continues his trend of collaboration, this time with artists that include guitarist Eduardo Niebla , vocalist Taz Alexander, and percussionists Maji Thobejane, Nick Burton, Greg Ellis; and of course Budgie, of Siouxsie and the Banshees, providing drums on the trip-hop/trance song "War Dogs".

The first track "Conquistadore I" opens with haunting tubular bells that set the deliciously moody scene for the lyrics that were selected from "Dies Irae", a mid 13^th century Latin hymn from the Requiem Mass (a mass said for the repose of the dead). Niebla's guitar and Alexander's vocals form a romantic union that contrasts nicely with the EBM-driven madness that follows in "Conquistadore II".

On Labyrinth, where nearly every track is strong in one way or another, the highlight must be the song "Navras". Navras is a Hindu word that describes the experience which brings about the states of transcendental bliss. These nine states are Love, Humor, Pathos, Wrath, Heroism, Horror, Disgust, Supernaturalism, and Peace. The lyrics were taken from the Upanishads, ancient Hindu religious texts. Instrumentally, the song begins with a powerfully stated Orff-like choral verse backed by Russian- influenced orchestral work, followed by a Middle Eastern/Asian strain on the flute by Deepak Ram that provides an emotional reprieve before the epic finale.

Labyrinth is just more evidence that Juno Reactor is a band that is head shoulders above the seething mass of electronic composers on the scene today.