Outpost Transmission [Import]

808 State | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 31, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Bad News
• ASIN: B0000635F3
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,290,290 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. 606

2. Chopsumwong

3. Wheatstraw

4. Boogieman

5. Roundbum Mary

6. Lemonsoul

7. Suntower

8. Dissadis

9. Bent

10. Souflex

11. Crossword

12. Lungfloo

13. Slowboat

14. Yoyo

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 808 State back at full throttle!, December 28, 2003

By 

Cesar (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Outpost Transmission (Audio CD)

There are few electronic musicians in the world that have reached the level of superstardome that 808 State has. They are responsible for producing some of the most forward thinking music in electronic music history and are pioneers of the legendary sound conceived as "acid house."

From early beginnings, 808 State has managed to push the envelope of conventional music and contributed to shaping the evolution of electronic music.

Their music inspired a new breed of artists and pioneered a wave of UK-techno crossover acts such as Orbital, The Prodigy, Leftfield, Underworld, Fluke, The Chemical Brothers, and stood at the forefront as a founding figure of the electronic music world.

Among many accolades, in February 2000, 808 State's album Ex:el, was recognized by URB Magazine as one of "URB's best dance and hip hop albums of the decade".

After many years of touring the world, the band headed back to the studio for what would be 4 years of spiritual and musical solitude.

808 State finaly released "Outpost Transmission" in 2003 priced as a novelty album for their dedicated cult fan base. Many uneducated listeneres may expect to hear conventional dance beats. But the fact of the matter is that Outpost Transmission is a master piece beyond any simple and repetitive production.
From hard punching break beats,(roudbum mary, Boogieman) to mind bending acid house riffs (crossword, 606, wheatstraw), to melodic serenades (lemonsoulm) this album is truly a rollercoaster ride!

The boys truly reach down to their roots, even though the sound has evolved, they maintain their integrity of experimentation and in all together have created a timeless master piece.

This album is recomended for those who are truly electronic music lovers and for those who wish to truly understand what electronic music is and was all about. The album fills the gap between mainstream music and sits bold as a now rarity and a true "underground music" album!

It is known also that 808 State shares a passion for the progressive house genera as they perform and produce much of it. It is unoffisial, but it is rumored that a full progressive house production is on its way for 2004. It is also rumored that 808 State is currently plannig their return to the united states after 7 years since their last visit, which personaly i belive is genious and have awaited for their return for to long!

I give this album 5 stars and recommend that you check it out.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars patchy return from a great band, December 26, 2003

By 

Davey Magoo "Slipper" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Outpost Transmission (Audio CD)

""If you have a problem with this release and you already enjoy 808's past work...there is definetly something wrong with you.""

whoever said that...it made me laugh. I'm a huge fan of the band, have been for a number of years. The band were peerless from 89-91. Ex:El was genius, although the next album Gorgeous was mediochre....but then a 3-4 year break and they return with the STUNNING Don Solaris. Another 6 years, and we have Outpost Transmission....and im not at all thoroughly satisfied. I didnt like any of the vocal tracks, its not a sound i can relate to....and there are a number of tracks on there (Boogieman, Crossword, Roundbum Mary) which i consider to be just fairly unintelligible noise. This is concurrent with tracks like 1999's 'Invader', and some of the material on their "State To State 2" release [The Ten Ten, Villians & Nerds, Relay, Fuzz Nasty]. I dont like these heavy, noisy almost industrial Tracks, they hold the wrong emotions, and seem to make up the majority of the band's material nowadays....their worst since 1988's 'Newbuild' [ive never liked raw acid house]. At least in the early 90's, the hard tracks [Leo Leo, Cubik, In Yer Face,....] sounded interesting and held some emotion within their noise.
The bonus tracks arent much different either....after waiting for so long to hear "Quincy's Lunch", i was quite frankly disappointed. Tracks like Suntower, Wheatstraw, Slowboat restore some faith in the album, they have some real energy, some atmosphere. but it sadly stays on the shelf in favor of Don Solaris almost every time. Listen to a track like "Kohoutek", paying particular attention to the last 90 seconds....then stick on anything from Outpost. Theres just no comparison. The new album just doesnt have nearly enough of the same warmth. 3 stars.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rhythm obsessed, June 12, 2003

By 

R. Goldstone (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Outpost Transmission (Audio CD)

808 State have really gone beyond the call of duty with Outpost Transmission. Although you can dance to it, this is not your typical "dance music." The whole album is an ornate, sophisticated, jumble sale of peculiar electronic gizmos no one else knew existed or had a use for. The 808 have always been rhythm-obsessed. Here, they often use more than one completely different rhythm per track, starting and stopping them frequently to make room for a menagerie of aural curiosities.

Several tracks have an Oriental motif happening, like Slowboat, a cheery little melody, Dissadis which sounds like a soundtrack for a movie about samurai warriors, and Souflex which starts with cheesy scales then unexpectedly shifts to spy movie strings. Cool. Chopsumwong and Suntower are meandering and `experimental-sounding', the latter has you flying through a magenta sky overlooking an alien landscape of bright orange trees and fluorescent green sand dunes (visual impressions may vary by listener). Lungfoo employs sax, flute, vibraphone (I think), and gongs. Yoyo is Orb-ish - with a fast fluttery rhythm, synth washes . . . plus electric guitar. Right now my fave is Bent with its truly wicked drum corps / hip-hop rhythm & timpani thing. Some rapper could have had a huge hit with this as the backing track, though it's very good such a thing did not actually occur.

Three tracks have vocals (if you don't count Boogieman which samples someone saying "boogieman boogiewoman"). 606, featuring Simian, has a bouncy bassline and a dramatic tone to kick it off. Lemonsoul starts out like a Depeche Mode track but then pensive keyboard playing and sleepy vocals (supplied by Guy Garvey) break through. Crossword's got beat poetry courtesy of Rev. D. Wayne Love. Admittedly, I don't know who any of these people are.

A note regarding the UK and US track listings: both issues have Dissadis. I have the UK version and the 4 tracks it has that the US does not are Boogieman, Roundbum Mary, Slowboat, and Yoyo, while the US version has Quincy's Lunch, Brown Sauce, Long Orange, and Doctors & Nurses.

Is Outpost Transmission worth the price? Oh, yeah. It's PURE GOODNESS. Would it be worth it to get both the US and the UK issues with a total of 18 shiny new tracks? Yes - simply forgo the purchase of mediocre dance music that you know you'll soon be bored with and get the import instead. That's what I'd do. But at least get one or the other. 808 State compose their music for the joy of it, not to satisfy some esoteric criteria as the reviewer below would like. So enjoy!