Alex Tronic Records - Volume 1

A brilliant exhibition of talent. The album begins with some nice trip-hop by Strangest Thing, Dr. A & Naz - Boogie Down is a classy way to start off any album. The album moves through some ritzy tunes, with El Bip taking it to the reggae and dub fans, then some nice Scottish hip-hoptronica coming from Hooverfish and MC Solareye, much missed since his performances with D.o.P.E ceased. Sixpeopleaway have a gorgeous, glitchy, acoustic number, followed by Keser with a wonderfully rich instrumental / electronica piece. A few tracks later, some squeaky clean down-tempo material from Pockets of Resistance slots in nicely. Alex Tronic save the best for last, with ÅsA (pronounced: Orsa) injecting Picture Perfect Dreams. This is a band which will be turning heads in the coming year. On the whole the album is extremely varied. The only thing which doesn't change is the production quality and raw talent, which is consistent throughout. [Pete Burns]