A Step Forward

Shango is a large step forward for Juno Reactor, and the electronic music scene in general. While Juno Reactor has always done a good job of avoiding simple dance and rave music, Shango is an excellent example of Juno Reactor's progression in musical maturity and style.

A precursor to this album, Juno Reactor released the "Pistolero" single in October, 2000. While "Beyond the Infinite" (and "Samurai" in particular) was influenced by eastern sounds and signatures, Pistolero has a fast-paced Spanish flavour, complete with fantastic acoustic guitars and vocals. The remixes are well done -- the Man With No Name remix sticks out in my mind as a particularly fun interpretation.

Aside from the Spanish influence in the Pistolero track, Shango is also heavy with the rhythms and music of Amampando, a very popular South African tribal drumming band. The song Huelelam puts them in the forefront, an extraordinarily energetic track that showcases their talents while still capturing the essence of trance techno.

On the flip side, the Nitrogen tracks (part one, and part two) are very mellow. They're a perfect follow-up to the hard hitting tempo of Masters of the Universe. Very relaxing and melodic.

All things considered, this is my favorite Juno Reactor album, even though it's a pretty dramatic departure from their "regular" style. I highly recommend it to people who are in the least bit interested in electronic music. Especially all you Juno Reactor fans out there!