[.ca] Emotional Technology

Emotional Technology:
Every electronic fan knows that BT is almost indisputably the finest producer in electronic music today. It is his love and his obsession and that comes across in every thing that he does. On the original UK version of Movement in Still Life, BT unleashed a truly incredible track in Satellite as an outro to the album. It featured tricked out guitar, electronics, organic percussion, and BT's very own singing. Now... after an amazing album exploding with deep trance, house, sick new school breakbeats, and some of the best production ever recorded, Satellite's eclecticism was like a breeze of fresh air. Enter Emotional Technology, or as I like to call it Satellite 2. Sure he has the breakbeat/rap number and the dance tracks (a few of which are decent), but any listener can plainly tell BT's focus on this album is on these disgusting regurgitations of Satellite. He croons and he woos the ladies with his deep thoughtfulness and obscure rants. However, he is not Justin Timberlake or John Mayer and the result is... well frankly, embarassing. Throw all of these songs away and we are left with a handful of dance tracks and a breakz diddy. Knowledge of Self is a pretty phat song to throw on in the car and drive fast to. I was ecstatic when I saw that Guru was being featured on the track, but was expecting him to spit a verse, which he never really does. I couldn't help but think this was a less exciting rehash of Smartbomb. As for the trance tracks, the music would be extremely impressive minus the vocals (which render nearly every track on here unlistenable.) The exception and the highlight of the album is The Great Escape. The vocals grate a bit on the nerves after repeated listens, but are used sparsely. BT really goes to town on this track and occasionally you will find yourself actually wondering if what you just heard actually happened and how anyone could produce such sounds. This is the BT I know and love, sappy love songs are not. BT should follow this album with an "Ooops" and get back to a sound that he helped invent instead of trying to run with the 'poppers'.

emotional tranceology:
i don't see what the negative fuss is about. no doubt BT is still the mastermind in his genre of music. though he has become more experimental from his earlier works of Ima and ESCM, he is getting better and more composed with his sounds. although i would like to hear more trance instrumentals, i still think that this cd is good. i have been a long time fan of BT and got hooked to all other trance artists since then. his music just brings you into a realm of relaxation and comfort from all your troubles. Force of Gravity is a song that really stands out on this record. really great loops and effects and overall really well sung by JC Chasez. i absolutely dislike boy bands but his vocals really set a deep mood for the song. anyway, don't doubt this record, if you are a long time fan of BT or you just heard about BT from scores or some random commercial, i suggest you dish out a few bucks to listen to this cd. put it in relax and enjoy. if you are new to his sound also definently check out his older collections from Ima Escm and also the R & R and 10 Years in the Life.

Polished to perfection, but lacks focus.:
I love BT. I own every album the man has put out, and consider his previous outing, Movement In Still Life, to be one of the greatest CDs ever made in any genre. Despite all this, I couldn't help but be disappointed with Emotional Technology. BT's latest isn't without its strengths and merits, but it isn't without its flaws either. The album starts strong with Knowledge Of Self, which sounds like the logical evolution of some of the nu-breaks / hip-hop sounds BT worked in MISL. The next track is the utterly disgusting Superfabulous, which I have yet to listen to all the way through; I simply can't take more than 45 seconds of it before I have to skip to the next track, which thankfully is better. Somnambulist embraces the pop sound of Running Down The Way Up (off MISL), but ups the quality and ante with catchier lyrics and a more perfected sound. Unfortunately, from here it gets weird. The Force Of Gravity isn't a bad trance-esque number, but it lacks the "something" that made Flaming June and Godspeed so wonderful. I don't know what "something" is, and I don't think BT does either, otherwise it would have probably been put in there. Dark Heart Dawning sounds like Satellite. The Great Escape and Paris are probably the strongest outings on the albums; both feel more focused and "BT-like" than the other tracks. Circles is a bland, Shame-esque song. The Last Moment Of Clarity isn't very memorable. Communicate could have been the best thing since Flaming June if it had been instrumental; the melody and post-production effects are phenomenal. The two final numbers are just so uninspired sounding that I consider Communicate the last song on the album. Emotional Technology is polished in post-production to a shine so bright, it could hurt eyes if it were visual (though probably nowhere near as much as the cover art picture of BT himself hurts the eyes). Every stutter-step, every sound effect, every note, everything has a purpose, a rhyme, a reason, and is exactly where it should be. The detailed layering of the songs is mind-blowing; no one builds a track like BT. Unfortunately, BT's talent for instrumental music doesn't boil over into the lyrical side. His vocals aren't bad, but his voice certainly doesn't have the qualities of, say, Seal. His lyrics are what really bring him down this time around, however. Uninspired, repitive, childish, ("Communicate, communicate, communicate now, use your words so we can communicate..." or "Our love is cyclical, it moves in circles..."), they're just... not good. If they were limited to one or two tracks, this'd be all right, but unfortunately, every song on the album is a vocal one. I read an interview with BT somewhere in which he said he wanted to make this album very different from his previous ones, to get some stuff lyrical and more mainstream stuff out of his system (this definitely explains songs like Animals and The Only Constant Is Change). I hope he did, and I hope he follows up with a more house-like album akin to ESCM (something he said he wanted to do). Emotional Technology isn't all bad, but it definitely isn't good, especially given its artist. I see a lot of 5 star reviews here for ET, so it clearly has struck a chord with a larger mainstream audience, and introduced them to BT, which is good, I suppose. But I just can't help but feel confused by this album. Maybe when his studio equipment and first version of the album was stolen, he just couldn't get inspiration back. Whatever the reasons, this album is one of BT's weakest, and while worth a listen, probably not worth paying full price for. And I seriously wish he had made Communicate instrumental.

Good trance album....tho too experimental at times...:
Not typical trance music. Overall can get tiresome, tho has some very kewl parts. Not instantly catchy, but inventfully melodic. 1. grabs your attention and makes you want to hear the cd 2/5 stars 2. ugh...i hate rap. 0/5 stars 3. pop tinged disco with a repeated spoken-sung phrases; catchy 3/5 stars 4. Somnabulist: Awesome; best track on the cd; i love it for its radio/pop friendly sound/format. He's so ingenuous. His voice is enjoyable. 5/5 stars 5. Too long. It's good tho when it gets to the singing; i'll probably rip the vocal parts so i don't have to have the several minutes of random sound. 0 for noises, 3 for singing parts. 6. Too slow/bluesy, bad melody: 1 star 7. Slow, but well composed, ethereal: 3 stars 8. Random: 2 stars 9. Mellow rock sound that's catchy and upbeat on chorus: 4 stars 10. more traditional chill trance sound, not driving enough: 2 stars 11. Ah relief, trance: 4 stars 12. um ok, vocals are good, high out there feeling: 2 13. ooooo nature sounds overall too slow, not driving and melodic enough, tho nice compositionally/experimentally

Another masterpiece...:
Artist like BT come into the world with such understanding of what music is, it's kind of scary. BT has never been shy towards his production techniques or abilities and in Emotional Technology he let loose. This record is filled with those excellent glitches and bumps he has made so famous, rounded out by an all-star team of collaborators. Rose McGowan, JC Chasez and Jan Johnston make an appearance in Emotional Technology. Almost all the songs in the record are a downtown club's dream. Songs like "Superfabulous", "Somnambulist" and "Knowledge of Self" deliver steady and energetic sounds that fill up the air, while the more chilled-out tracks like "Dark Heart Dawning" and "Animals" show a different side of Brian Transeau. With Emotional Technology BT has created an effective, polished, fun and engaging record that lives up to the artist we have come to know as BT.

• Meeting of a Hundred Yang
• Knowledge of Self
• Superfabulous
• Somnambulist
• Force of Gravity
• Dark Heart Dawning
• Great Escape
• PARIS
• Circles
• Last Moment of Clarity
• Communicate
• Animals
• Only Constant Is Change