The Harder View

Electronic music fans! After an 11-day holiday in hardstyleless, hot, greasy Greece, followed by a streak of graduation parties back home, your chief reviewer is finally back to supply you with some thoughts about DJ Activator’s ‘debut’ album. After a year of pretty much total absence from the scene and endless amounts of rumours and previews, the end product is finally in stores. So what is in store for you, listeners?

Opening CD1 with his favourite animal, Manuel Tessarollo immediately sets a dark, promising atmosphere. And for good reason – check out the upcoming interview with him on this site for more info. When the bass kicks in halfway through this sinister track, it becomes clear that Acti is going pedal to the metal with this album: heavy kicks and an originally happy melody modified to become discomforting and unsettling.

After passing by Activator, one of the two songs already released, we are plunged into the oldschool, screechy intro of One I Love. Remarkably enough, as the title suggests, the break consists of that well-known traditional Irish song that reminds of Scarborough Fair somewhat.

Track number 4 is the first real winner on this CD. Some Easy Living is a highly addictive cover of a 70’s hair-rock song so stuffed with cheese it beats the market of Alkmaar. The pace is picked up again by the also already released Authentic Style, after which we go Back in the Days – a very succesful recreation of the oldschool atmosphere.

Moving on from early 00’s oldschool to another set of 80’s-or-so vocals, Everything probably has the most delicious reverse bass of the entire album.  It is abruptly followed by an intro that picks you up and puts you on your already dancing feet: the intro to the potential dancefloor smasher that is Rising Sun. And the sun rises to see Figalicious, a hardcore porn track with a climax carried by more fat, bouncy, well-rounded reverse bass. Aherm.

Next up are two of those tracks that people have really been looking forward to. Set You Free and Lullaby both have absolutely gorgeous melodies, but like many tracks on the album, their intros are not memorable enough. This really points us to Authentic Style’s biggest problem: there is not enough variation. With both synths and kicks often sounding samey and the intros not showing enough diversity to create a different vibe each time, it sometimes becomes a bit of a drag.

The following three songs cannot take away the feeling that, although Activator has clear reasons for making an album, maybe they would have been better off released as singles. They are by no means bad – in fact, they are way above average – but there is just no sense of connection between the 18 tracks on this CD.

Although with an oldschool gimmick track, a very manly singing track, a hard melodic kicker and a half-hardcore final song, a little variation is added, one more issue that stands out is the odd mastering. All of the album sounds slightly fuzzy and muffled. It might work in large halls and clubs, but when listening on a home system, it does decrease listening pleasure.

Already 500 words into this review, CD2 can be dealt with quickly. It is a collection of Tessarollo’s solo classics. Fortunately, unforgettable classics such as NRG and QT 13 were not forgotten. Completed with modern masterpieces such as Icon and June, it is a perfect showcase of Activator’s capability and a valuable addition to the first disc.

In conclusion, Authentic Style as a whole certainly is not bad. In fact, there are many songs on it that will grow on you and are actually very, very good, especially melody-wise. The question is just if it was a good idea to add them together to make an album, as they often sound alike. A final issue is the aforementioned strange mastering.

On the other hand, you will probably not at all regret buying this, especially if you are not familiar with Activator’s older work, which also happens to be great. If you are a DJ, however, it might be better to wait for the full version releases, which will probably start coming out soon.

Tracklist:

CD1
1. Sinister Owl 3:48
2. Activator 5:00
3. One I Love 4:55
4. Some Easy Living 3:31
5. Authentic Style 4:20
6. Back In The Days 3:58
7. Everything 4:49
8. Rising Sun 3:19
9. Figalicious 3:48
10. Set You Free 4:06
11. Lullaby 3:56
12. Move Your Feet 4:03
13. This Is The Place 4:54
14. Time To Rave 4:05
15. Welcome To The Record Shop 3:34
16. Supersonic Bass 4:18
17. Kick My Brain 4:33
18. Fucking Noize 3:27

CD2
1. NRG 3:25
2. The Bass Be Louder 3:13
3. The Noise Of Act 4:35
4. The Head Busser 4:04
5. QT 13 4:21
6. The Sound Of The Bass 4:35
7. Feel The Drums 4:24
8. From Dancefloor To Dancefloor 4:26
9. Domination 3:44
10. Pass The Grass 3:41
11. Squeeze The Trigger 3:22
12. I’m A Natural Born Dj 5:01
13. Crap Out 4:11
14. We Call Him 3:36
15. I’m Gonna Diss U Right Now 4:00
16. Icon 4:27
17. June 4:25
18. In The Club 2:57

Verdict: 80/100