Although flying a bit under the radar during the turn of the year and because of the feeding with highly recognized Dark Electro music-albums at our pandemic home-office days by such well-known projects like Dive, Placebo Effect, Fix8:Sed8, Pyrroline or at least FLA, we shouldn't oversee the latest output of Germany's Mind.Area. The solo project of the Human Decay musician Maikko Advance and his releases have been often well recognized guests here on our pages although it's a while back when we heard from him the last time. “No Enemy of Progress” is at least his 4th complete studio album and we also shouldn't forget Maikko's spectacular 5 EP releases mostly accomplishing with the respectively albums.
What has always impressed me with Maikko's works is his true DIY mentality. Since his very first beginnings with the EP “Thenceforward” (2008 – X-Line / Alter-X Promotion Project) he has watched out to publish his works freely available via netlabels. The Russian Alter-X group, whose website is still online at www.alter-x.ru, has been the initial part for Mind.Area with the first releases, later on the German Ionium Records has picked up this course to push the talent of Maikko with a widely arranged promotional offensive. Despite the fact of Maikko's membership into Human Decay, it is undoubtedly that he is a prominent and well-known contributor of the Dark Electronic music scene. Therefore his DIY course surprises a bit because I think that he could have a lot of possible label deals to sign in his hands.

Secondly, it is Maikko's special kind of production and composition. If we refer on classically produced Dark Electronic Music, mostly people specify this automatically with the often mentioned and praised Puppy-an influence. Mind.Area is the vital proof that this style of music can offer so much more influences and diversity. Be it Maikko's meticulously produced arrangements filled with musically ingredients taken out of diverse music styles like IDM, Synthpop, Ambient, Dub Step or Trip-Hop elements, or be it simply his kind the install his vocals in his very own, multi-faceted way between calm and harmonic to dark whispering up to raw and outraging, he always manages quite well to allow different influences to break with beloved traditions as well as with one-dimensional directions. To break and there with expected paths has always been one of the winning points for Mind.Area.

Same counts for this new album. “Gone Life” is sort of these tracks being composed and arranged pretty near to the well-known and beloved veterans with ominous and haunting vocals and dense synthesizer pads, while it at least offers that glimpse of intelligence not to fall too close into this death valley. “Failure” with its Trance-like, nervous synth bass lines and the calmer sound voice of Maikko blends over into a much lighter outfit. Maikko's voice works excellently as an instrument too, just if you check with “Parasite” and its nicely installed vocoder effects. “Muggler Heart” as well as “Mention” are breathtakingly arranged instrumental tunes giving you an insight in the wide-ranging sound universe of Mr. Maikko.
In between we'll find the to me best track on here, the spacey sounding “World Without” - asides the once again thrilling sounding vocoder effects on his vocals it is stunning to hear how this track drills into your head without any aggression, just arranged with a simple percussion structure and beautifully installed synthesizer layers.

No doubt, also Mind.Area sends once again a valuable sign out of the Dark Electro music camp which rewards you, the listener, after a few more-than-usual spins with a thrilling and top-notch produced sound experience. In case you'll prefer to own a hard copy, Maikko has again signed a deal with the Moscow-based label ScentAir Records.
This isn't the first collaboration between them and Maikko as this label has already brought out his last album “Glowing Grey”. So „No Enemy of Progress“ is in the first instance a downloadable, self-released album while ScentAir has produced the physically product, a professional CD pressing, and takes care for sales and distribution things especially in the Eastern European area. Even if our pandemic days may delay the one or another shipment, this album is worth to wait a bit longer. Go and get it.