Trax Data

What can I say? Love synths, 80s style, four on the floor beats, and something to dance to? Look no further!

This is an awesome disc - too bad no vinyl.FPU are on level with Legowelt and Unit Black Flight in creating authentic sounding John Carpenter/ Jan Hammer -esque 80's style electronic grooves with current sounding style. If you like Legowelt or Metro Area, you will probaly love this CD. I consistently find myself hearing this on my mp3 player and being like "who is this? it's so goood!" and then am reminded it's FPU. Classic! Really hard to believe this came out 7 years ago! Like great Detroit techno, this has a timeless robotic funk.

Frosty, 80s-tinged electro techno from Peter Benisch's FPU project and his TRAXXDATA album. But what makes this album stand out from others is the range that Benisch manages to squeeze from that era. SO while the opening track "Calabi Yau Space" floats somewhere in outer space, "You Don't Pay My Bills" crashes down to earth like Mir. The robot voice of "In the Future with Machines" is cold and processed -- but that's the point. The tongue-in-cheek "Seven of Nine" is a lovesick paean to the Star Trek: Voyager character, while "FPU Theme" brings to mind the classic track "LFO" by LFO. "Waiting for Snow" sounds like the lost theme to a mid-80s sci-fi show -- in other words great fun to listen to. Finally, "Endgame" wraps up the album with a slightly peppy track, punctuated by a vocal grunt and those long synth chords that we've grown to love. The 80s should come back every decade.

You could easily call this the best electronic album of 2003 (so far, anyways). Regardless, FPU, moniker for Swedish mastermind Peter Benisch, has created a sound far beyond the more generic type practiced among his electroclash contemporaries---a sound all his own. After listening to this album, his signature sound will be heretofore unmistakeable. Most songs are considerably downtempo. Much of the album starts off like a trance track, with thick, unaccented bass drums. Then, more high-pitched elements come in---synth-toms, high hats, snares and the like---and the sound is refined and moves toward a reflective, serene and futuristic melody. The best tracks use this bass drum sound coupled with a "chugging train" effect. This is a synth sound that quickly cycles perpetually, until the melody seeps in, kick-starting the song. "Crockett's Theme" is the best example. The epic "Crockett's Theme" (put on numerous compilations) is one of the more lifting pieces. It seems a song of this caliber was meant to be, that it couldn't have been created at any other time than the one FPU happened to choose. And It does sound solemnly reminiscent to the 80's "Miami Vice" theme by Jan Hammer (the show soundtrack from which it was penned), while at the same time this and other tracks bring to mind more, like the Swedish landscape perhaps. FPU's usage of a variety of vocoder sounds also personifies his sound. Tracks like "In the Future with Machines", "Time Safari" and "Seven of Nine" (a song proclaiming his fascination for a Star Trek character) show how nicely cold, squarewave vocals juxtapose with warm, analog synths. In "Racer Car", one of the more melodically-deprived songs, Benisch (FPU) uses his own voice. This masterpiece reflects the electro sound, but in a much more sincere, subjective and most importantly, creative manner. None of the songs feature sassy, pretentious and obnoxious females bellowing about drugs, sex and success. FPU is more introspective. He's found himself in the place electro sounds best. This niche is hard to place; it's as if he's torn between Swedish Lego architect & nouveau romanticist revivalist. Comparing FPU to other artists is difficult, attributing his sound to others even more so. However, when listening to this album, other synth-based 80's acts like Depeche Mode, Talk Talk, and Soft Cell come to mind. If this particular breed of electro interests you, also check into stuff like Carl Finlow, Silicon Scally, Metro Area, Arpanet, D'Arcangelo, and Bifrost.

I just got the FPU disc in the mail yesterday and I've been listening to it pretty much non-stop. On the way to work I felt refreshed, driving to Seven of Nine and Time Safari. At least half of the songs are incredible, and the rest are good. Not a single annoying or pretentious moment. Peter Benisch (the man behind FPU) exercises a lot of restraint, and consequently, the level of taste is nice and high. Finally, a CD that doesn't insult me or pander to me, and yet sounds so, so good! The melodies and textures are, at times, breathtaking. Especially in Seven of Nine and Crockett's Theme. This guy is one of the brightest lights in the Tech-Pop world.

CanadaはMontreal発のTechno Label「Turbo Recordings」からReleaseされた、FPUの1st Full Album「Traxx Data」。FPUはSweden出身のArtist、Peter Benischの別名義。Retro Futureな世界観を堪能するには十分すぎるAlbumです。VocoderによるVocal、SynthesizerによるErectricなMelody、Harmony、そしてHeavyなRhythm。決して回顧主義には感じない、全く新しい「音楽」としてのTechno Musicを体感させてくれる。