Codec and Flexor

Full of 303 bass sounds and drum machine beats, consider this one essential if your current CD collection is lacking in the dance music department. And I’m not talking the typical EBM/Metropolis Records roster dance music. This German duo cooks up some smokers here reminiscent of the good ol’ days of Wax Trax and late ’80s house music. I loved that stuff. So energetic and pulsating, the kind of music that actually makes you want brave the sweaty body booty shakin’ of the night club and shake it all night long. That energy is captured and packaged here for your listening (and booty shakin’) pleasure — just you try sitting still to track two, "Robot Funk.” Despite the retro feel, the overall sound is updated with break beats and vocal treatments giving it a twist of 2003. The songs are deliberately rhythm-oriented, with little instrumentation but simple synth sequences and the odd bit of guitar strumming. They even throw in a pop song ("She”) just to show us they can, but they’ll make more friends with their dance tracks on this release. Nice way to stave off monotony, however. Although their roots are in techno, this isn’t music to wave your light sticks and suck your soothers to. A couple tracks have the repetition of your average techno number, but the straight ahead four-on-the-floor kick drum should appeal to dance music fans of all genres.