90

This would be perfectly adequate if I were on ecstasy in an abandoned warehouse or condemned townhouse and wanting to dance while some dude who brought his dog, who is very chill, keeps trying to talk to me about like, deep stuff.

This album has some of the most complex and beautiful drum programming you are likely to ever hear. Makes you wonder what happened to not just these guys but to the scene as a whole. After a masterpiece like this which is truly blueprint for that big sound that everybody attempted to immitate. Check out 'Cobra Bora'. Just when you think it has done it's thing, it takes off to another level. Pure techno jazz of the very highest order. An absolute masterpiece from start to finish. This is more apparent now than ever before and although to the untrained ear (or novice) this may sound dated, its only because of those big stadium sounds (as used on ie. Cubik) that will make people think this. Unaware to them, It was these guys and more to the point, this LP that came above all, first in line with that sound. Think again. This is a classic of monumental proportion and defines that year not just by title alone but to hear it, is to go back to the finest techno music of that that year, 90

like Tubular Bells on speed

very weird it is actually pretty entertaining

The thing about, Revolver (for example) is it doesn’t matter what year it is or what drugs you’re on, there’s just good music on there. Yeah, they were on acid, yeah it was ground breaking for the time but I can listen to it today and simply enjoy the songs. I feel like without the context of the year and the drugs, 90 by 808 State isn’t very engaging to me.

I listened to this album for 39 minutes and now I'm clinically insane. I worry for the people who seek this out voluntarily. Best track: Magical Dream

5.0 - When it comes to enjoying electronic dance records, I generally have a spotty history. I'm not sure what constitutes excellence within this genre but for me it has a lot to do with balance between a handful of variables. First is tone: is there a balance between light and dark, heavy and floating elements? Second, is there the right amount of surprise, familiar and unfamiliar? Third involves the beat: how well does it come together? Does the beat sound canned and cheap? Does it sound cool and tasteful? I realize as I'm writing this that there's a certain alchemy to dance music that I can't presently articulate. And I can't pinpoint exactly why this particular album puts me in a joyful trance where other electronic dance albums I've listened to have failed, sometimes miserably (see "Fat of the Land", "You've Come A Long Way Baby", "Darkdancer", "Exit Planet Dust"). But I do know that I'm fully engrossed and my brain is happy.

God so much of this is cliche now but they invented it

I generally like this as it stirs up a fair amount nostalgia for this aesthetic. The fact that this came out in 1989 simply blows my mind. I can't think of any electronic music from that year that is as sonically dense as this, balancing samples, synths, and drum sequencers so fluidly. I have newfound respect for their place in the evolution of electronic music. Kinda prefer the Utd. State 90 version that starts off with Pacific 202.

as far as dated dance music goes this was pretty good

If a crappy C-movie was made music. First one I can't finish.

Pacific 202 and 808080808 are just banging, but the rest just get a head nod here and there. Solid, but nothing outstanding or timeless.

You threw enough British electronic albums at me, I was bound to like one of them eventually.

Oh snap haven’t heard this in ages. Had a cd single off this one. I am transported back in time from the first few beats. Wow this is a trip. It’s still so good. It’s the Hacienda, the Limelight. It’s old Broadway, the subway, the street hustle, the art, the rent parties. It’s the world before the internet. Before electronic and club music went mainstream. I can smell the steam from the smoke machine on the dance floor at the Palladium. When the rest of the world was listening to New Kids on the Block, this was happening in the club. It’s still so good.

Got aware of Graham Massey and his electronic band 808 State through Björk, since the man co-wrote the music of "Army Of Me" and "The Modern Things" on *Post*. *90* was released six years before that, and listening to it, it's not hard to understand how groundbreaking this record was for the whole acid-house genre. Lush textures and adventurous forays abound, and 808 State rarely dig the same groove twice. Which, in this particular genre based on *repetition* is rather commendable. So just like what LFO (another act harbouring a Björk collaborator) did to darker, more minimalistic strands of "house music" when they released their debut *Frequencies*, Graham Massey and co. accomplished something extremely valuable in the field of electronic music. They made it sound vital AND digestible in an album format at the same time. And that's quite a feat when you're playinng those styles. The highlights on 808 State's subsequent albums (*ex:el*, *Gorgeous* and the criminally underrated *Don Solaris*) are even *more* impressive, by the way. Unfortunately, the tracklisting on those later records is also admittedly bumpy--always with a few outlier cuts that are far from matching said highlights. In comparison, *90* is a much more cohesive and *tight* listen. Each track perfectly flows into the next, even if *all of them* explore very different moods--you're never quite sure of what you can expect, and yet the left turns still make a lot of sense. So yeah, why shouldn't we select this one? I still think that compared to *90*, the first half of *Don Solaris* is near-perfect, though. Give it a listen if you're interested in electronic music in the broadest sense of the term. For that last LP 808 State released during the nineties (not counting B-Sides and remixes compilations), the band went far beyond acid-house--they also successfully tampered with abstract hip-hop, pop-rock, drum'n'bass, big beat, steel drums and steel guitar samples, among many other things. The second half of that 1996 album loses the stellar momentum built up in the first, hence why you can't call this other LP *cohesive*. Yet the sounds on it aged a little better than the ones on *90*, I think. *90* still had one foot in the eighties, you see (it's sort of implied in the title, right?--this record references the decade to come, yet it was still released in *1989*, mind you). It's nice that 808 State pointed the way forward, yet they couldn't *fully* get rid of a few "clichés" here and there. At least, the album sounds less "dated" than New Order's *Technique* or Johnny Marr and Bernard Sumner's *Electronic* project. When referencing that particular British "genre" (and the years said genre thrived), anthology lists always quote those two albums. *90* is rarely quoted, though, and honestly, it is clearly a notch above both of those records. Which is why I'm glad Björk made me know this album and the band that released it. You can always count on her and her insatiable quench for interesting collaborators to discover other great artists. 3.5/5 for the purposes of this list of essential album, rounded up to 4. Which translates to a 8.5/10 grade for more general purposes (5 + 3.5). Number of albums left to review: 287 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 315 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 175 (including this one) Albums from the list I won't include in mine (many other records are more important to me): 231

Except for the parts that sounded like the alarm on my phone, I very much enjoyed this. Fun dance grooves with tiny melodic surprises.

I remember listening to Pacific 202 and Cubik in the mix on Dave’s Dance music (CKLN) while we were unpacking & hanging pictures after moving to Toronto in 89. Compared to the so-called techno and acid-house that was all the rage (in the UK anyway) at that time, 808 State was more melodic. More songs verses tracks. The album gets off to a great start, but fades a bit at the end. The song Cubik was included on the North American release of this LP so I'll add 1 point for that banger.

A seminal album that I haven't listened to until now. Absolutely ahead of its time and has so much soul for a record that is completely electronic.

Overall I really like it. There are some groovy beats and the drum machine work is exceptional. I’ll say that the music gets a bit ambitious and not all of the concepts land. As a whole this is very genre defining for the time and holds up today as a period piece of electronic house/trance.

When I put it on the dog left the room.

although highly unlikely, it is possible for someone to get - in one week - the albums 21, 25, 90, 1984, 1989, 1999 and 2112. and i think that would be a really funny thing to happen to someone. anyways shoutout to the fish on the album cover

Simply just some damn good techno that still sounds fresh despite its' release date. Solid 5 Stars. (Also, it's kinda wild my group got this kind of album after getting Dead Kennedys yesterday, no?)

I’m at a very happy 5. My brain is obviously already predisposed to video game music, so the second I saw this was “acid house”, I got a little bit of hope for something around that general soundscape. The year though, 1989, gave me pause – acid house, this early, even for December 1989, still feels a few years behind when house as an entire genre really found and hit its commercial stride. The optimism was there, but much shakier. This could’ve been really, really bad. Thank goodness that this is really, really good. This is CRAZY for 1989 – what’s here is so deeply entrenched in the Roland MIDI soundscapes that would define some of the prime Redbook CD audio quality of early 90s gaming, and most of it could easily pass as video game music. Pacific 202 is just a Sonic CD cut, and you can’t convince me otherwise. These are full compositions, mixed really well in the ear to give a lot of the instruments their shine & room to breathe (save, oddly, for the first track). There’s not a dull moment anywhere on this album, at least for my ears (save, oddly, for the last track, but that barely counts). The fact that it's a full setlist with transitions helps a lot to keep the flow of the album going too. If you’re not into video game music (or house as a genre), this probably won’t click at all, and I find that a little disappointing. Obviously, taste is subjective, but to deny this from being in one’s musical diet is like refusing to watch game shows because they’re too happy-go-lucky. This is a fantastic example of acid house, house music in general, and a great showcase of the Roland soundscape (and presumably MIDI by extension) for 1989. This feels far ahead of its time, and I have to imagine this really did act as a point of inspiration for other artists in the genre moving forward. It’s perfectly attuned to my tastes, and genuinely one of the best discoveries I’ve had throughout this album experience. Super easy 5.

This might be one of my favourite work focusing albums. Has a lot of great sounds and beats.

A fun album! I think overall, it makes good passive/background music, but not something I'd reach for to sit down and listen to. That said, I really enjoyed it for what it is. 'Pacific 202' was my fave.

This is the reason why I signed up for this project - to discover albums like this.

great discovery. It was engaging from beginning to end and feed curiosity for more in the same style

groovy electronic instrumental

I loved this! Good stuff. I'm listening to it again for the third time.

Techno classic

I think that because these guys fall into a hole somewhere between pop, new wave, dance, and electronic, that they’re often overlooked. It’s so,e of the liveliest, most fun music I know! Perfect for partying or chilling. I’m a huge fan in general, and I think this is their masterpiece.

6/18/24. Great discovery today! Not sure why, this gives me a Daft Punk feel where a certain electronic album resonates with me, and a lot of time I cannot explain why. The grooves are infectious!

This was sick. Easy listening during the work day. Would prob put it at 4.5 but fuck it I'm going 5!

9/10 - Absolute banger of an album. I enjoyed almost every song on this. This is exactly the pre-edm electronic music that I love. Every song had something new and it changed as the songs went on which was so cool. I loved the way that the songs evolved. Overall a great album that I will listen to more.

I absolutely love this album. It's a nostalgic trip back to a time when electronic music was truly unique, with each artist having their own distinctive sound. Unlike today's EDM scene where many tracks sound alike, the artists of this era, including 808 State, maximized the potential of their equipment, often limited by what they could afford. This album showcases the creativity and ingenuity of that time. While I understand why some may give these old-school electronic albums low ratings, to truly appreciate them, you had to have been part of that era and understand the cultural context of the time, as well as what was happening in the music scene.

Banging electronic music

Almost worth it for Pacific 202 on its own, but there are other great tracks here. I like.

Exhaustively polished dance music, especially for a record that came out pre-1990. There are hints of electronic music to come everywhere, and the sound design still blows a lot of modern projects out of the water.

This album is a great lesson on the importance of song selection and sequencing. I was linked to the US version Utd. State 90, which is significantly different than the UK version. The US version is missing one forgettable track (The Fat Shadow) and it includes 5 additional tracks. The UK version starts off with two of the weakest tracks (Magical Dream and Acodia) while the US version opens with one of the strongest (Pacific 202). All 5 additional tracks on the US version (Boneyween, Kinky National, Cübik, Revenge of the Girlie Men, and State to State) elevate this album. I’m rating the US version, which is at least a 1 star boost from the UK version.

Quirky, catchy, and solid beats, especially for the time.

I’ve been thinking about why the 90’s electronic records on this list don’t really resonate with me. It’s not because I think the music is bad or uninteresting, necessarily. It’s because most of them have not been very dynamic. I get it, it’s dance music designed for a night of dancing and drugs and fun. No problem with that. It’s that there’s no real ebb and flow in the songs. They kind of start, keep the same tempo, the different parts of the instrumentation always repeat at the same volume and are played at the same velocity. It feels mechanical, but not a good way. I don’t know… This ended up being a lot of words just for me to say, “this album is alright.”

I have a soft spot for a lot of these sounds. People like Aphex Twin would take this and iterate on it. So I see this album as important, but not necessary amazing. Probably very cool if you were into this when it came out tho

Nr. 45/1001 Magical Dream 3/5 Ancodia 2/5 Cobra Bora 2/5 Pacific 202 3/5 Donkey Doctor 2/5 808080808 2/5 Sunrise 2/5 The Fat Shadow NR Average: 2,29 Not my Kind of music

> leftism shit

Definitely not. Would not include this on a top 5000 album.

That was nothing more, or less, than I expected. Boring enough to be a lullaby, but just too irritating to let you sleep..... except I did go to sleep.

one of the albums of all time

ACIDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!

Awesome. High quality electronic dance music. 1st time listening to 808 State and really enjoying it. Definitely better than the low ratings suggest.

This music fucks

Fantastic

still holds up really well today

Very cool, amazing for working

naama täysin jäykkänä.. aivvan kivenkova naama tärisee värisee niinmaan VITUSTI!!! lazer ääniä = 5... vittu jähmettynyt kroppa heiluu m-mitä vitttataua on tämä===??? hirveä naama hirvittävä naamavärkki kauhuinen ilme .. kaikki jäykkää paitsi kädet.. kädet riivattu... riivatut kädet... levottomat kädet levottomat kädet ota kiri ota kiri loppukiri harakiri kiri kiri kiri kiri.... tarvitsee manaajan lempeät otteet.... persaukko niin pieni kun vittu MAHDOLLISTA... world record puckered asshole...... paska ei voi edes HARKITA ulostuloa.... pysytään visusti anusaukon lämpimämmällä puolella eikö vaan... cozy vibes... chill vibes (for piece of shit) cobra bora

Conditional 5: be in a french laundromat on a rainy day. This album hit the spot in a really cool and weird way

great

4.5/5

Dritfett! aldri hørt om

Instant tech house banger 5/5

Right up my street - excellent album

Classic beats.

Really great and clearly very influential

This era of electronic music is still refreshing in 2023. In fact, it's amazing what 808 State could do with much less technology. This album is a classic of the state of the art in 1990.

Awesome, the influence on a lot of electronic albums in the 90s is obvious.

Now THIS I can really jam to. 808080808 goes hard af, "Sunrise" is pure bliss, and "Cobra Bora" sounds like a 90's Sonic stage. That's good stuff right there.

I just always thought of 808 State as the Pacific 202 band, and little more. But this is a great album, and Pacific 202 actually proves to be one of the weaker tracks.

This album is basically the musical equivalent of the frutiger aero aesthetic. It feels way ahead of its time. If someone told me this came out in 2004, I would not have been surprised. An album wayyyy ahead of its time with some profound influence on techno, edm, and even hip hop. On top of everything, the music in Neon White completely copies everything good from this album. Best Songs: Magical Dream, Cobra Bora, Pacific 202, 808080808 Worst Songs: Donkey Doctor

Takes me back to listening to the House music radio station with Hans on GTA san andreas

Not as good as Underworld but not far off. Early 90's Manchester Techno? Yes please

Never heard of this group or album before and really loved it.

tum tum

2/18 Can't wait till I get a car. Standout Tracks: Cobra Obra, Pacific 202, Donkey Doctor, 808080808

very good sonic cd

Going heavy on the electronic albums this week, that’s cool. Also cool to hear such an early record in the genre be so vibrant and fun. I’d call this a must-listen for the influence. #136

From start to finish you can clearly hear how big of an influence this album was on everything from acid house, to the beginnings of trip hop in the early 90s and then continuing into modern electronic and even phonk. While some sounds seemed a bit dated the album as a whole is danceble from start to finish.

Great! I really enjoyed this one.

obviously i love this nonsense. "Donkey Doctor" looped twice before I noticed

Quite enjoyable. I haven’t heard older electronic stuff as much and I sort of liked the simplicity. Didn’t blow my mind but I do like it.

This is a pretty cool album, but I think it's a bit uneven. Songs like Kinky National are awesome and I think they hold up quite well. On the other hand, songs like Pacific 202 are not quite hitting. I can't tell if that's because they're just kind of out of date, or if they're just bad songs. But I'll tell you what - when this album gets it right, the songs are BANGING. This is such a tough rating, because the good songs are *really* good, but the meh songs just drag down the overall vibe. 3.5 is the right call here, but do I bump it half a star or dock it half a star? Considering how early this album is in the electronic era, I'm leaning towards a bump. Because this isn't early, German, experimental noise electronica, it's catchy, bouncy and revolutionary.

Just so fun

Never heard of these guys before this. I didn’t like the first song, but the sound settled in for me and I ended up liking it. Kind of hypnotic. I don’t think I’ll listen to it much after this but it was enjoyable.

On one hand, was the music that great? I dunno. On the other hand, I appreciate how tactile it was — it felt like you could see or feel the music playing out — so I’ll call it a 4.

Techno beat. Had it on in the background while I was working and took no note when it paused. Not sure what exciting I guess

Not really my thing, but it's status as a genre-defining classic comes through. I was happy to listen through it a few times.

It's incredible to me that this record was released in 1989 and it still sounds fresh and powerful. Thanks in part to vaporwave and other nostalgic electronic sub-genres, 90 sounds like it could have come out last year. It's a fun, danceable record, with a lot of great ideas swirling within. Probably one of my favorite new-to-me albums from this list.

Quite dancable

4/5 Perfectly fine.

Sounds surprisingly fresh; only a couple of tracks sounded dated, and even they sound more early/mid 90s. I was expecting every track to be 8 minutes, but it's much more restrained than many electronic albums. I'm not going to revisit this album, but I appreciate it's good and was probably groundbreaking.

ate !

A+ space bee music to vibe to, thanks

Good album.

Disco dance casi instrumental. Ritmos sonidos que ahora han quedado algo obsoletos pero que en su momento marcaron la pauta. A caballo entre new Order, Pet shop boys, balearic beats y toda la música acid, este disco sigue brillando con luz propia. Madchester finales de los 80-principios de los 90... MDMA... cultura rave... Pacific más que una canción era un estado de ánimo. Antes que Inifinity de Guru Josh, 808 State ya habían reclamado su trono. 80808080 suena a gloria.

A little dumb but I had fun with it

Mellow, pleasant, great working music

This is brilliant. Both original and good is a rare combination and this had both in spades. It spawned a whole musical genre / culture that continues to grow and thrive to this day. The fact that is still slaps is amazing, the beats are brilliant and i loved listening.

Que buena discovery. Me gusto mucho la banda 4.5/5

Liked it a lot

January 7th, 2025 The line between 80s rave music and 90s video game music is nonexistent Does that sound like a complaint? It certainly is NOT -_- I basically took it as one ~30-minute long song. One long, noisy dumb fun song Maybe because the album/artist name is almost all numbers, was expecting something generic and impersonal- but with the bird sounds(?) in "Pacific" and the dark fantasy synth-bells in "Sunrise", there is enough here to override my ambivalence to techno/house music.

Completely meaningless enjoyable noise to me, but bonus points for naming a track "Donkey Doctor"

Love it