2LP version (CD is released by Last Gang Records in the U.S.). One of the future's brightest electronic musicians, Berlin's Alex Ridha aka Boys Noize presents his second full-length album, Power. Ridha is, alongside peers Erol Alkan and Justice, part of a new mongrel breed of techno/electronica artist with a maverick bent and solid vision, beaming a myriad of influences from the past through a prism to create something fresh, new and exciting. Ridha has also become a sought-after producer of note, having worked with Kelis, Black Eyed Peas and Gonzales and officially remixing for the likes of Depeche Mode, Snoop Dogg, Late Of The Pier, and Royksopp. He has also mixed highly-regarded DJ compilations such as Bugged Out! and I Love Techno 2008 (MM 034CD). Instead of following the commercial path after the unexpected success of Oi Oi Oi, Boys Noize passed on any big feature names, eschewed the great pop approach, and avoided feeding trends. Power starts where Oi Oi Oi ended and shows the freshest of electronica and techno music. "Gax" features synths that flange forever, next to dark, robotic, chanting vocal samples, bolstered by an addictive, recurring synth pattern; "Drummer" is all rave-y bass-drum thud and swish, with squelching patterns rubber-balling and rising ever upwards; "Starter" is pummeling, stuttering drum machine, pitted against grinding guitar samples and crystalline plinks; and "Trooper" features steady, hard tribal drum patterns and a foreboding clarion call against A.I. vocal samples, like some sort of score to a cyborg apocalypse, and so on. Ridiculously danceable, futuristic, forward-thinking techno that announces the dawn of a new age.
