Bunkka

by

Paul Oakenfold

Edit

This review must actually be written as 4 seperate ones:

For the "hardcore techno" Oakenfold fan:

Don't buy the album. You will be disappointed. He does not follow his standard formula of trancey synthesizer toys in all but a few tracks. That's really all there is to say: if you want what Oakenfold's famous for producing among his longest-time fans, buy Tranceport, not Bunkka.

For the virgin Oakenfolder:

This album demonstrates that O has talent in the studio as well as in the club. He collaborates with a wide variety of vocalists to produce an album where each track is individual and can no longer be categorized as trance, progressive or otherwise. Some tracks, like the radio-beaten Starry Eyed Surprise, offer a lighthearted, sunny feel that's pretty new for O. Others, like Hold Your Hand, will remind you more of something Moby or the Chemical Bros. might produce. Still others, like Get 'Em Up (feat. Ice Cube) appeal to a hip-hop audience. Despite the apparent genre transgressions, however, these tracks maintain the simplistic 4/4 synthetic beats utilized in his earlier work. O does, however, also includes a few tracks with a breakbeat feel (Ready Steady Go, Southern Sun).

For the people who heard "Starry Eyed Surprise" on the radio and want to hear more:

Don't buy this album. You will be disappointed. No other track even remotely resembles it.

For those looking for something fresh and unique, in a flavor remniscent of Moby:

Buy this album immediately, you will not regret it for a second.

Okay, so first things first... this isn't a mix cd, its his 'artist cd.' I knew that going into it, and I still bought it because hey, its oakenfold... should be pretty good right? Welll... not so much. It's barely even okay.

I really love Oakenfold's earlier mix cds. Transport is absolutely amazing, Another World and Essential Selection are great mixes too. But i noticed as he got more and more popular, with the whole Area:One tour (saw him perform there, he was a million times better at the clubs where i saw him) that his cds were starting to decline in quality. 'Travelling' and 'Ibiza' just weren't all that interesting. And then came this cd. Yiiikes. Its just really boring. It's like bad pop music, only techno-fied. Starry-Eyed Surprise might be good if he would drop that lame rapping guy... uggh.. the lyrics are soooo bad, and so poorly constructed. Hypnotized is another alright track. The only high point is 'Southern Sun'... but even then, the remixes (Tiesto and Solar Stone) are far superior. The rest of the album is rather forgettable. I've listened to it maybe 4 times. And trust me, its not one of those cds that you have to 'get into' by discovering it's 'deep layers.' There's nothing deep here. If you want one of those cds, check out Sasha's airdrawndagger... its amazing, faaaar better than Bunkka.