{"product_id":"photek-solaris-2024-reissue","title":"Photek - Solaris (2024 Reissue)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe first reissue of Photek (aka Rupert Parkes) 3rd album, originally issued in 2000 at a point when drum n' bass had gone ‘roid-rage, and Photek would attempt to redress a balance toward to its roots in deep house, with mixed results that also belied his sidestream of scores for film and computer games.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFinally released from the artistic pressure and unrelenting hype surrounding his full-length debut (1997's \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eModus Operandi\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e), Rupert Parkes moved on to embrace Chicago acid house and minimal techno for his sophomore Solaris. Whereas \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eModus Operandi\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e portrayed an artist trapped within the style he'd pioneered (paranoid drum'n'bass), \u003cem\u003eSolaris\u003c\/em\u003e sounds more like an album Parkes actually wanted to make (instead of the one his fans expected). Indebted to hard-edged Chicago acid track producers like \u003c\/span\u003eAdonis\u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003eArmando\u003cspan\u003e, Parkes constructed brittle, distorted drum-machine breaks (instead of the usual endlessly tweaked skittery breakbeats) and matched them with claustrophobic analog effects, most of which hark back at least a decade or so. Parkes also made the acid house connections direct by enlisting help for two vocal tracks from Chicago institution \u003c\/span\u003eRobert Owens\u003cspan\u003e (\u003c\/span\u003eFingers Inc.\u003cspan\u003e). The first \u003c\/span\u003eOwens\u003cspan\u003e track, \"Mine to Give,\" attacks with suprisingly unwavering beats and a rumbling bassline straight out of the Windy City sound of the late '80s. The other \u003c\/span\u003eOwens\u003cspan\u003e contribution, a smooth production named \"Can't Come Down,\" is more reminiscent of Parkes' productions for \u003c\/span\u003eLTJ Bukem\u003cspan\u003e's Good Looking Records (like the atmospheric jungle classic \"Pharaoh\"). In fact, only one track here (\"Infinity\") flirts with the drum'n'bass darkside fans and critics had pigeonholed Photek in, though there's an undeniable air of paranoia and menace throughout the album. Near the end, Parkes even salutes the growing legion of experimental-techno producers with a trio of excellent minimalist down-tempo tracks: an ambient isolationist track named \"Aura\" and two brittle trip-hop productions, \"Halogen\" and \"Almost Blue Heaven\" (the latter with vocals from Simone Simone). For better (and occasionally for worse), \u003cem\u003eSolaris \u003c\/em\u003eis just as dense and intensive a package as Photek's previous work. Still, the range of styles points to a more ambitious future.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" style=\"border-radius: 12px;\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/3gHlQ2mYGcwVoqnhcVQUCo?utm_source=generator\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003cbr\u003e↓\u003cbr\u003eLabel: Proper\u003cbr\u003eFormat: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Repress, 140g\u003cbr\u003eCountry: UK\u003cbr\u003eReissued: 2024\u003cbr\u003eGenre: Electronic  \/ Original Release: 2000\u003cbr\u003eStyle: Deep House, Drum n Bass\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFile under: House \/ Electro \/ Techno\u003cbr\u003e⦿\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Proper \/ Science","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44264690122910,"sku":"080552024077","price":75.0,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0584\/5434\/3838\/files\/image002.jpg?v=1725362245","url":"https:\/\/theanalogvault.mom\/products\/photek-solaris-2024-reissue","provider":"The Analog Vault","version":"1.0","type":"link"}