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

very weird it is actually pretty entertaining

like Tubular Bells on speed

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

When I put it on the dog left the room.

one of the albums of all time

Fantastic

still holds up really well today

Very cool, amazing for working

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.

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 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

great

4.5/5

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.

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

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

For me tryna discuss this album, there's two obvious questions I needa ask. First: "What, exactly, **is** acid house?" And second: "**Why** is acid house?" To answer that first question, it turns out it's very simple: house music with basslines from this one specific synthesizer, the Roland TB-303. There's more to it, of course, but that's basically its big defining characteristic. And, like, somehow I expected more? Like, I'unno, I figure if a genre's gonna get its own name, there'd be more going for it than that (again acknowledging that I'm simplifying a lot here). As for the "Why" — really more a "How"... Well, "Da Funk" was always my favorite song on Daft Punk's HOMEWORK, anyway, so no doubt that's why I had as little trouble with this album as I did. Like, I won't say I can't understand why someone would feel like this music would only be good at a rave or when you're on drugs or when you're on drugs and at a rave, but, like, I'unno, sometimes I like a good electronic groove to jive to. This album provides one of those, so, hey, I can't really complain. So... Yeah, I can give this thing a 4. I've got no heavy complaints about it. I mean, I don't listen to HOMEWORK as much as I do DISCOVERY or RANDOM ACCESS MEMORIES, so that's generally more the kind of dance, electronic and house I'm into, but y'know. It was a nice way to spend a bit under 40 minutes. And this was released in '89, too? Goodness.

Not a huge fan of the era but I enjoyed this one

I feel like 808 State are one of those bands that music recommendation services always recommend to me and it looks like I did a deep dive into them about 10 years ago. Anyway, I quite enjoyed this and certainly look forward to exploring further. Faves: Magical Dream, Pacific 202

Got this only a week after the Shamen album that's from around the same time, and it's lucky for the Shamen I got em in this order because they don't do well in the comparison. This is a bit clunky, sure, but how could it be otherwise? They were inventing a lot of what would become conventions as they went! Fave tracks - "Pacific 202" is the monster here, for sure. "808080808" is a banger too.

Groovey disco sounds that are quite nice. First song has a similar sound and feel to Ultraflex, which is a modern band.

First two tracks started off pretty uninteresting, but as soon as Cobra Bora hit I was all in. Solid house album that makes me wish I had a turntable so I could sample this.

Sometimes in the early days of a new genre, before it's really settled into a predictable pattern, you can see a lot of experiments. Techno came about from African American teenagers in mid-80s Detroit before quickly finding a more permanent home across the Atlantic. The UK in particular loved the genre and early artists helped space the house. Much later, people would criticize the endless repetition and squelchy noise, all designed to keep people dancing and spending money, without much need for creativity. 808 State were different. They programmed complex beats and sought out more organic samples to contrast the synthesizers. They became heavily influential among so called EDM artists like Aphex Twin and much of Warp Records' roster. Graham Massey would later gain particular notoriety for working with Bjork on her early solo material. Bjork, along with New Order's Bernard Summer, would also appear on 808 State's third album. The music on '90' is strange. Tracks like 'Pacific' feel like a dream layered on top of reality. I picture the California coastline under a bizarre multicolored sky. I appreciate that this album won't be most people's favorite but 808 State have always intrigued me.

This is definitely up my alley. Manchester band, late 80’s early 90s House Music. So many great tracks but “Pacific 202” is the highlight (where has this track been all my life 4/5 (going to listen to US version with extra tracks might even be better)

Not really my jam but a fun listen

Come for the sax, stay for the loons.

and just like that i'm into acid house...also 1989??? brain-breaking 8/10

It was a rollercoaster. It is big 4 by me.

man, i love the trombone/horn(?) on Pacific 202! plus the synths and drums on it are groovy as hell. this whole album is a very warm and groovy but vibey record. Ancodia has that hypnotic synth line that i can't get out of my mind. Magical dream is this sparkly funky dreamy song and donky doctor reminds me of a more chilled out prodigy. this whole album is great and keeps getting better with more listens. it's a decent to strong 8 for me right now!

I didn't think I'd like this but I did so there

I hadn’t heard of 808 State before today. The fact that Apple Music tells me it is 80’s Electronic music gave me high expectations, which we thankfully met. There is definitely a time and place for instrumental electronica, and definitely moods where I might find it more irritating than enjoyable. However, sitting at my desk today and having this playing was a very pleasant experience, and will likely lead to this album being played a fair few more times in similar scenarios. It felt like bubblegum for the ears.

I liked this album lot more than I thought that I would. Electronic music usually doesn't do much for me but I found myself enjoying this quite a bit.

I enjoyed this! Not every song was a total hit, but I liked most well enough.

Guys… I think I get acid house now

This is video game music. I have heard so many games BGMs try to mimic this style over the past 10 years of playin indie games and this is it. If you like this kind of house jungle music this is great. I could see how this would not do it for most people though. 8/10

Buen sonido

Favs: Ancodia, Cobra Bora, Pacific 202 Least fav: Magical Dream.

Classic!

Consistently high quality, and Pacific is (still) one of the greatest dance records ever made. Donkey Doctor is probably the next most banging. Aciiiiid. Peep peep.

A wild, progressive electro album. I was surprised by the sound, considering that it comes from this era. Of course there are elements that sound strange by today's standards. But overall I liked it very much, I will have to listen to the album more often. I liked Pacific 202 and Sunrise the most.

More interesting than I thought it would be. Really solid Acid-House.

This definitely used 808s A real pleasure - as a fan of the genres that derived form this, I know only the big single but found this to be an excellent album I loved it more the more acid it became You can really hear how influential its sound is, the descendants couldn’t be more clear. Orbital (or were they contemporaries?), Aphex Twin (in fact huge chunks of Warp artists), Leftfield, Chemical Brothers, Prodigy, Underworld, Fatboy Slim; British 90s dance, breakbeat, jungle, hip hop, even current-day French electronic is significantly indebted to this. So a definite landmark Best: Donkey Doctor

The second summer of love had come to pass and who better to ring in a new year and a new decade than the 808 greats. From the inviting and soothing vocals that greet the listener with the trippy telling of a magical dream to the bonkers end that comprises The Fat Shadow, 90 encompasses all the excitable possibilities that lain in front of those who seeked to listen. Of course, this has the incomparable Pacific 202 on here so those who have sun-kissed memories of this song will perhaps flock to this one even more. Favorites: Magical Dream, Ancodia, Cobra Bora, Pacific 202, 808080808, Sunrise.