Juno Reactor

Juno Reactor is a collective of musicians and percussionists that are centred around Ben Watkins. Originally, just the work of Watkins and long time collaborator Stefan Holwick, the Reactor began as an experimental, ambient audio component to an art installation named "The Missle Project," in the early '90s. The experimental spirit has never left the group as they travel through the realms of trance, Goa and world-beat to deliver Shango, their fifth release and first for Metropolis Records. Shango is a named for the Nigerian God of Thunder, and the African influences shine through with percussion provided by South African percussionists and long-time collaborators Amampondo. The album is a fairly dark piece of work - reportedly alluding to world governments and media sterilising the perceptions of a major European war for public consumption. Tribal influences mix with ominous industrial sounds to produce a complex and haunting whole. Collaborators on the album include the Orb's Alex Paterson, on "Nitrogen pt. 1" and guitarist Steve Stevens (Billy Idol) on the first single "Pistolero," a flamenco flavoured ode to the old west. Break-y remixes by Fluke and the Headrillaz appear on the single. It is a thoroughly complex record and it develops new and interesting elements upon repeated listens.