This is the first time I have the occasion to review a dance / techno / hip hop release which isn't coming from the so called alternative scene. First let's try to focus a little more on the man behind all this. From the label's website you can read: "Levan, an established musician in his native Georgia. As a guitarist, he has recorded two albums with bands, "Mystery" (progressive rock) and "Mother on Mondays" (Electro rock). In 1996 he started new dance music production project "Estrada". In 1997 "Estrada" produced two smash hits which reach number 1 in Georgian national charts. Levan also hosted his own dance music slot on Radio One, Tbilisi. He moved to London in 1999. In April 2002, his collaboration with Jean-Marc has resulted in the founding of MNI". At this point you'll think that this is only commercial rubbish, well, most of the music is commercial in a certain way but if you mean that Levan's music has been thought for the nightclub mainly, you're right. Based on jungle rhythms and featuring different singers on a couple of tracks, Levan music is focused on powerful rhythms and bass lines. By listening only the first two tracks you can hear funk influences as well 80's electronic ones (like on "Brown Bag" or on "Urgent". Everything is well blended and mixed and the result is quite entertaining. Each track begins the same way (starting from a rhythm and adding pads, samples and various bleeps) but the nine songs of this demo are interesting and amusing at the same time and this is good. The track I prefer is "All Night Long" with Sikha on vocals.

German Godfathers are back! Kraftwerk's new single "Tour De France" is techno and ambient. The disc features three versions and the "Long Distance Version 2." Morelikely four versions. The electronic pioneers who have influenced 80's bands like Depeche Mode, Human League, OMD and many others, still have that magic touch to continue on making good technology music. The single is also used for the bicycle race theme in France, which American champion, Lance Armstrong won. An excellent groovy track to get off into.

Jack Dangers' Meat Beat Manifesto has been and is, for that matter, one of the most influential and seminal names in the electronic scene. While Lakeshore\:run recordings has announced the re-release of newly packaged and mastered versions of Dangers' 1989 debut "Storm the Studio" and "Armed Audio Warfare", San Francisco-based Tin Corp. (run by Ben Stokes) has come up with a remix-war CD that features some of the most respected names around. Antipop Consortium's High Priest, DJ Spooky, Merzbow, Scanner, Twilight Circus Dub Sound System, Komet, The Opus, Jonah Sharp, DJ Swamp, Eight Frozen Modules, Norscq, The Mellowtrons and D.H.S. (alias Mr Stokes himself, who partnered up with Dangers on the opening track) did all lend a helping hand for the creation of this historic electronic reincarnation. The original mixture of hip hop, electronica, dub has pretty much been left unaltered except almost fifteen years have probably added a touch of drum and bass here and there. Even though I am quasi a fan, to be absolutely and fully honest, with a huge line up like this one I would have expected unforgettably cool moments of sensory climax, instead my socks got knocked off few times throughout this record. This doesn't mean it ain't good, because it is, but it just could have been better in my humble opinion. Besides that, Meat Beat Manifesto are one of the best acts around so my hat always goes off.

LIVING ON VIDEO is a real thrill as it's the first DVD of underground sythpop that's been ever produced and this is a fantastic news for all the fans of electronic music. The DVD presents twenty songs/bands with also different options for some of the tracks, such as: alternative sound track with band members comments or, in the case of Fr/action, you can see the video as a little indipendent short movie. Not all the videos are exciting but most of them are real entertaining, this is a list of the ones I appreciated most: Soviet, Freezepop (really cute their animation video of "Stakeout"), Nasa (astonishing their professional video of "Back To Square One"), Cosmicity (with a mix of 3d animation and live sequences of their hit "Technology"), NukleoN (again with a mix of 3d and video, Dan brings us "Homewrecker"), Ganymede, Neuroactive (3d animation seems to rule here... :), T.H.E.M. (the weirdest video of the lot opening with a sort "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" parody for their "Here We Go". The video has been released by the Laboratorio Diabolico just as for the Blow-Up. Laboratorio Diabolico is an Italian duo who moved to California and started to produce videos), Neuropa, Fr/action (with their fantastic indipendent movie version of "Vigilante" where a thief was unlucky enough to meet a professional criminal), Gary Flanagan (the most instimistic and romantic video of the dvd for his "Summertime"), Axoe and Blue Audio.[br]
In any case, here's the complete list:
1 Soviet - "Commute"*
2 Freezepop - "Stakeout"
3 Blow-Up - "Fly With Me"
4 Nasa - "Back to Square One"
5 Cosmicity - "Technology"*
6 ElectroSquad - "Envy"*
7 NukleoN - "Homewrecker"
8 Moulin Noir - "Maria Calling"
9 Ganymede - "Daylight"*
10 Neuroactive - "Space Divider"
11 T.H.E.M. - "Here We Go"
12 Neuropa - "Lifeline"
13 Fr/action - "Vigilante"*
14 B!Machine - "In Thrall"
15 Null Device - "The Sad Truth"
16 Gary Flanagan - "Summertime"*
17 Axoe - "Calling"
18 Blue Audio - "This Is the Way"
19 The Peoples - "Kaleidoscoping Eyes"
20 Brave New World - "Drug" (live)*[br]
I suggest you to look for this dvd: you won't be disappointed and you'll release that you're holding a piece of underground synth music history!

It's quite simple to review this first Slyde album as in this period a lot of similar bands are facing the charts as well as your tv screens through MTV or the other various roch channels. Slyde formula is quite simple as they blend rock, metal, folk and a little bit of goth. Similar to Evanescence the band seems to have a more positive attitude as the rock ballads have got a lighter attitude. Perfect example (and best tracks, in my opinion) are "Take Away My Pain" and "Into The Light". In any case they are too polished for my tastes and maybe a little too rock to being rewieved here but just in case you're willing for something not too much demanding give them a try...