90

Nein. Nicht mein Ding.

Innovative sounding album, but not as memorable as others.

Well after a familiar start with Pacific Start which I knew it quickly degenerated into a long boring procession of dance music. One of the things which intrigues me here is do the people who actually like this stuff put on the disc and sit down to enjoy it like I would if listening to a classic album by Pink Floyd say? (For Pink Floyd insert your own favourite who you would sit and listen) Or is it a case that they would only listen when out clubbing or whatever the occasion is when this stuff is played? I just cannot imagine putting this on for a leisurely analytical play but like I have said before I’m getting on now and this music was never produced for the likes of me. 1/5 14/8/24

Not bad as background electronica. Apparently they were pioneers. 2.5, which I suppose I have to round up to 3 because I did the same for OutKast

Pretty progressive for techno in 1989. Way better than Daft Punk

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

Why the hell is there so much electronica on here? Another snoozefest of the same shit repeating in 4-5 minute intervals.

This aged really badly; it sounds so dated now. It's saved from a one star review by Pacific 202, which is a fair bit better than the rest (though maybe that's just because I remember it as a single back when this was released).

Not great, I imagine on acid its better.

Techno classic

Generic 80s background music that cannot possibly be enjoyed. If I knew someone that actually liked this, I would have to punch them in the face.

Miércoles de banda desconocida. El primer track me recuerda a Pet Shop Boys ("I want a dog" vibes): es también sonido de esa década, vale decir. A medida que van pasando las canciones, se va tornando más oscuro sin soltar lo bailable ("Cobra Bora"), con búsquedas introspectivas ("Donkey Doctor") que recuerdan a lo que un poco después empezó a hacer The Chemical Brothers. Favorito: 808080808.

Lotta fun over here

I liked how the opening of the first track starts with the riff, and then extrapolates a bit from there. Obviously the keyboardist had fun soloing over this stuff. The biggest thing is that no one song stands out for me. Most of it can definitely be thought of more as background music than anything else. It kinda makes it hard to pick out any one thing that's like, wow! They all had the same vibe to it, which made it 40 minutes of one track, spilt into 8 smaller pieces. I wonder how it would sound on shuffle. The last track seemed like an epilogue, which I thought was kinda weird. You could tell the band had fun putting this together. It was well-constructed for me, though. Just not a big thing I was into.

How does one get into acid house? Or what activity do I need to be doing to truly get into it? The opener Magical Dream had an interesting keyboard beat and some decent synth layers overtop - it reminded me a bit of regular dance (think Snap) that was trying to take off in the late 80's, early 90's. But I grew tired of it quickly. Same thing for most songs on this album; waiting for it to be over to see if the next one might captivate me for the whole time. That's borderline 2 material, but that felt a bit harsh. Plus I made it through the album without skipping, though the music just ran in the background and I didn't realize when the album was over and new artists started to randomly play. So, I'm ambivalent.

"A pioneer of the acid house sound." I'm sure this is great to hear in a club, and I'll give them credit for not having any sounds I dislike (which I can't say for a lot of these types of albums), but it's nothing more than a background bop to me. Cobra Bora caught my attention, so I'll call that a favorite track. Moving on.

They say most of electronic music sucks, this album is proof that they are right

75

great

cool early electronic music

steikt

Solid

One stone cold classic, 7 other noisy wordless 'tracks'

An album fully instrumental with repetitive sounds/instrumental runs **

Decent electronic music, not bad background music for working. Probably hits different in a club setting lol

I fw this hard

one of the albums of all time

I can see how it would have been pretty innovative for the time. Magical Dream was the standout song.

Weirdly relaxing, very aligned with the decade change. Enjoyable.

Favourite songs: Donkey Doctor Least favourite songs: The Fat Shadow.... Plus the rest of this album was horribly boring.... Nothing happened.... 2/5

Its alright nothing great. Its a continuation of 80 commercial pop new wave. Well executed, fun and cool to know someone is still keeping the genere alive 50 years later. But being it instrumental sounds more like fillers in a mix between pet shop boys and erasure songs.

Might sound better if I was in the mood for it, but the tunes were whacky

Borderline 1-star. Could make for nice background music in a movie scene, I guess.

You can hear the production that New Order did so well in here but none of the humanity. 2.5.

Reminds me of drug fueled nights in smoky establishments. I can only imagine the scenes of an underground rave in the early 90s with this blasting. Fun stuff in here but not an album I care to listen again from start to finish.

Just beeps, it's just beeps.

beetje irritant maar wel ok

So leicht Techno-mässige Musik, brauch ich nicht

Unexpectedly cool

808 State? lol Hawaii? yep. Funny I remember that from when I used to activate VoiceStream phones. only got through like 3 or 4 songs

Favorite Track: Pacific 202

Interesting hearing old electronic music but man this hasn’t aged well

This list has not been kind to electronic music. And neither have I really. The picks they chose just aren’t that good. I can’t think of one I’ve reviewed very positively, other than the one Kraftwerk album I’ve heard. As much as I claim to love electronic music, I don’t listen to it that often. And truthfully the really good albums are few and far between. What I’ve realized is that it is better as an element of some other genre, like indietronica or even metal music, and less as its own thing. Few people have mastered the ability to make interesting full length electronic albums. It’s also a genre that suffers from a lot of overly long songs and repetition. I was actually vaguely familiar with 808 State until today. Because I’ve heard Pacific State before. Or more like I’ve heard the songs it’s been sampled in. I’m convinced that electronic sub-genre names mean even less than metal sub-genres. Because how much of a difference is there really between acid house and ambient house? The average listener is not going to know, or really care about that distinction. This album isn’t actually horrible though. Not the best piece of electronic music I’ve ever heard by any means. And nothing super mind blowing. But I can appreciate some of what they are doing here. I like when the group leans more into the ambient side of things and incorporates these super spacey and lush synths. I’m always a sucker for that kind of stuff. The drum programming is also nice. Pacific 202 is great, and sounds like it would fit right in at some sort of neo-futuristic Cyberpunk-esque club. The way the album flows feels progressive and interesting enough to keep me engaged through out. This also allowed them to avoid any real repetition. The songs I didn’t like just didn’t do enough to stick out to me. That’s all this album is, really. Okay. Nothing more than that. Rating: 5/10

I like this album. It's weird. I wouldn't put it on at a party so I'm confused as to why it's like club music. This is like summer driving music to me. I've listened to it early morning, afternoon, evening, it works. But I like this kinda repetitive, synthy, dark stuff

Boring electronic…next album please

90s electronica is always going to age poorly and this album is no exception. I guess it's ok, just gets annoying after a (short) while. 4/10.

This was all very unpleasant.

Nice in the background

Could have it on repeat in the background for quite a while

Some cool stuff but as a whole it's kinda meh

808 State was one of the forerunners of Acid House/Techno at the end of the '80s and was an essential influence on the Electronica genre in the '90s. Either you like the genre or not. I do.

I’ve been to a rave party that had the same kinda vibes. This album was more experimental for my taste but the second half of it was wild, in a good way.

Not for me.

Surprisingly progressive for the time, very enjoyable listen.

Album 462 of 1001 808 State - 90 Rating : 1 / 5 Electronica BS. Geez, I hate that crap.

This slaps. Fast beats and sticky synths. Techno that’s not afraid to get a little weird and playful. Loved it.

Some fun late 80's electronic music that sometimes sounds mystical, sometimes dreamy, sometimes silly, and blends in some odd meters, but often borders on being a bit too repetitive. The overall drum sound is amazing and something that I really specifically like, and the panning of the drums is really well done. It feels ahead of it's time production wise. It's a strong 3 for me but not quite enough for a 4.

Not bad, but can’t see the point why it should be on a ‘must listen’ list.

It reminds me of background music you'd hear in some games from the early 2000s. I don't dislike it, but I won't be listening to it again I think.

Groovy beats. Nothin wrong with that.

You know what? I don't think this album was intended for Monday mornings and getting caught up on emails. I need different drugs and a different mindset to get on this level - the coffee just ain't cutting it. It's far less irritating and dated than some of this kind of thing i've heard before but I still had to skip a lot of it. Not for me, probably never was.

This was just ok. Not typically my style of music

All I know about 808s is that they are shaking up the dance floor. So I assume this is some kind of dance music. So it's not overly dancy, but largely electronic nonetheless. It is fairly nice ambient music and I really dig the loons on one of the tracks, but outside of that I couldn't really distinguish the others as well. When tracks just kind of blend and play on through that actually helps for something to have in the background while doing something else. Good album for the purpose I'd use it for. Favorite track "Pacific 202" 3.5/5

This place simply hates Electronic Music. White dudes from the 60s pretending to have the blues? Five stars. Beeps and boops? THAT AIN'T MUSIC!

I can taste my jaws clenching around my rave pacifier. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Fairly interesting and enjoyable electronic music.

Listening to this in an office cubicle that was likely constructed in the 80s really transports you to 1989. I found myself bopping my head along, especially to Cobra Bora. What a fun tune.

ich bin ja immer froh wenn mal was elektronisches kommt aber das war schon wieder etwas lame

The experience of listening to this album was not unlike listening to an hour of the background music in Wii sports.

4.5/5

Nah man, nah. This sucks. The album cover is ugly too.

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.

It's fine. It's definitely ahead of its time considering it's from 1989.

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!

Sounds a bit dated now but I did own at the time

Esta parte de "Madchester" tan electrónica es la que menos me interesó, aún así la escuché bastante en su época y llamarse 808 les honra por homenajear a la máquina. Recordaba "Magical dream" y "Cobra Bora" por el título y al escucharlo también "Ancodia", "Pacific 202" que debe tener parte de la culpa de todos los saxofones que se metieron después todos los DJ en los años 90 o "808080808". Mucho mejor de lo que recordaba y esperaba.

This album manages to seamlessly be both evocative of the 80s without being outdated, nearly pioneering a sound that can be heard not only in acid house scenes of the 90s, but also genres such as hip hop or IDM. It knows how to tread lightly when it comes to sampling, although that doesn't mean you don't get a few cheeky ones in there that are fun to spot, and overall the whole project is just a lot of fun. More energetic than its contemporaries, 808 State manages to present a mostly instrumental release while still keeping it engaging to the common folk, especially boosted by its oh-so-familiar PlayStation-like sound design, although obviously years before that console's appearance. It just comes off as a love letter to the lighter electronic tunes that came before, whilst ushering in a new scene that takes the genre more seriously, giving way to a nice blend. Helping things tremendously is its relatively short runtime, in which later electronic albums seemed to ignore concise and tight instrumentation, while this one nails it. It does have some hiccups in the way of still being relatively repetitive, as many tracks can be cut down a minute or two with little loss, and I can't imagine legitimately getting up and dancing to this, instead it feels more like playing a racing game, and I'm never sure if that's a compliment or not. But this album still has enough bright moments for me to appreciate and enjoy what it presents. Hoping an earlier or later release from this group may click with me even more, but this album may have hit that groove just right.

Not my style, but well executed.

could i write poetry to this? n

I kinda remember 808 State from back in the day. Then I was reminded why I forgot about it. I don't see how this is a "must listen."

Totally a hookers and blow album

808080808 caught my attention. This is just electronic dance music though - not my bag, baby, even if it was influential and before it's time.

The Original Acid House / Techno album that shaped the underground 90's scene and thousands of artists in the modern era. Even when it's not my style, I've found great appreciation in this project for showing the origins amongst the interconnected web of music

Noteworthy songs - 808080808 Magical Dream - Kinda catchy synth, but the rest is bland. Ancodia - Good background noise. Cobra Bora - Actually kind of cool, reminds me of Bomberman Hero. Pacific 202 - N64 vibes, but melody isn't great. Donkey Doctor - Nothing too special, weird ending. 808080808 - Really cool beginning. A little slow in the middle but stays interesting enough. Sunrise - Nothing remarkable. The Fat Shadow - Eerie. Very short.

Eh

jolly enough, not my thing but I can see how, if you like this stuff, it's a good example of the genre

De ce que je comprends, cet album a eu un gros impact sur la scène électro, j'imagine que je peux comprendre pourquoi car ça sonne comme plusieurs des clichés. Ce ne m'a pas tellemetn impressionné comme album mais je peux comprendre le respect dû à cet album. 6/10

Kraftwerk did it better a decade earlier

Good beats, some cool experimental sounds.

Some chill PlayStation game menu vibes, but not much substance.

Ja global avg jatkaa hupputyötään.. meikäläistäkö ei enää tarvita.. köydenpäätyyn vetämään vaan avg alas... Paskaahan tämä.. Eka biisi magical dream yllätävän omanlaatuinen kaunis biisi jonka jälkeen hankala laskea ykköseen... pitää useampi biisi kuunnella

Now and again, I get excited about receiving an album with electronic music. Something totally new to me. Alas this is not really up my alley.

It's got a cool, seasick and disorienting groove to it, with sounds that develop in weird directions. I thought the first two tracks were weak but after that I got into it

liked it more as it went on, hotline miami-y fave: 808080808

Cheesy electronica. I didn't hate it. Good background music.

Kinda weird kinda mid kinda cool?

fine overall. Songs blended together, not my style of music.

Electronic dance/rave music without many lyrics - not really my vibe but very solid for what it is. I had to get past Donkey Doctor though, the electronic "bray" sound every once in a while (I'm guessing?) was really annoying.

I feel like there is a better album that can be used instead of this one for this genre. At not point did the music get above background noise level and it actively got worse culminating in whatever that last song was. I'm not a fan of this genre and I will not be pursuing any more from this artist.

After a couple tracks I got kind of bored with the album. Nothing really stood out after the opening track. Probably not something I plan on listening to again

электронщина без пения (и не фбс) что-то не увлекла меня

Das mag ich nicht,das ist viel zu anstrengend.

I feel like I may have rated this higher if I was in a club rather than working. Decent enough, I'm just not into techno or house.

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

Severely unremarkable

idk anything about music theory but as a person with ears, this shit stinks

Plenty of repetitive diddle diddle but devoid of emotion.

Un album difficile d’accès, qui martèle son unicité par ses rythmes infatigables

Aaaaagh! Maddening hour of techno gobbledygook.

Had low expectations since it was an electronic album, but it was a pleasant listen. Some danceable moments as well.

I think rn it would take a groundbreaking and revolutionary instrumental-esque album for me to rate it higher than a 3. This was fine. I fw it but like it didn’t get me excited. Ik there were some lyrics but not enough.

Interesting but not particularly enjoyable 4.5/10

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.

Songs just felt so monotonous

Another just kinda boring electronica album that doesn’t really stand out to me at all and is so mediocre that it makes me mad

Yet 80s/90s British band. Wikipedia defines the genre for this one as “acid house”, 1001albums calls it techno. I was hoping for something good today. Guess not. On to it: Nope. This is just as bad as I expected. Soulless. Background music for the rave scene, to keep you pulsing along with the drugs. I mean, it serves a purpose, but it is entirely disposable as music. Nothing remotely memorable. No discernible melodies. Looking at reviews, it seems the positive reviews carry a “nostalgia for the aesthetic”. I wasn’t there, so I don’t have that. Certainly nothing I “needed” to hear. 1/5

Magical Dream 2.8 Ancodia 2.3 Cobra Bora 2 Pacific 707 2.1 Donkey Doctor 1.7 808080808 1.9 Sunrise 1.6 The Fat Shadow (Pointy Head Mix) 1.4 Score: 1.975

Never of of them and didn’t like!

Meh

Banger! Has aged excellently for an electronic record more than 30 years old. Funky grooves that work well for both surface listening and deeper examination

Kova

There were a couple good beats that you could maybe freestyle to or get some homework done while listening to. Otherwise, this is boring and forgettable.

2.0 nope.

didn't move me really.

Top Three Songs: 1) Donkey Doctor 2) Pacific 202 3) Sunrise Bottom Three Songs: 1) 808080808 2) Cobra Bora 3) Magical Dream

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.

Vibes, tidlig house/techno

Sounds like " HELP! I'M TRAPPED INSIDE A COMPUTER!"

First listen was a little irritating, but on the second listen it grew on me a little. Pacific State is the best track. Donkey Doctor is decent too.

A lot of it felt very backgroundy, and reminded me of Sega Genesis games. I could picture Sonic running along to Pacific 202 easily. The dorky vocal lines almost tipped the scale into the negative territory for me. But, I'm feeling generous.

Sounds like the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack. Just imagine Axel Foley getting putting a banana in a tailpipe as you listen.

inte kul alls

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.”

did not enjoy enough

Mej

Good

Mjög gott stöff. Iconic í Acid House geiranum og gerði mjög mikið fyrir teknó senuna. Fjarka þetta.

Kool stöff.

Strange concoction of beep boops.. not a fan

Would not be out of place in a Metroid game.

Best Song: Pacific 202. The most upbeat and dancey track. Worst Song: Cobra Bora. Sometimes a song can try to do too much, and goddamnit is there too much going on here. Overall: Even if any particular song has one or two interesting elements, the album never gives you enough time to enjoy it as each track is overloaded with a trillion elements, switching between them with absolutely no warning.

Lol and then the synth beat kicked in and I realized I was deep in the 80s here. Not too many words.

Rock solid and really fun

80's electro - feels very very modern

Didn't care for this

Banging electronic music

Or really music in my view but I guess it is an album which years ago you could have melted and made into a flower pot.

This is fine

I wasn't sure about this one until I started looking at it as the soundtrack to a retro style video game. Then I really started to get into it.

Meh

When this was made the dance revolution that would define the nineties (far bigger than grunge or Britpop, a proper cultural revolution) was a live events and singles affair. DJ Mix albums were recorded onto dodgy cassettes and sold at Camden Market. Two years before the first Prodigy album, four years before 'dance bands' like the Chemicals, Leftfield and Underworld would start to crank out proper dance albums this feels like a long EP. Absolutely of its time, and signposting the way ahead to greater glories, there's nothing here to equal the timelessness of Pacific State but its aged pretty well.

Really enjoyed this. It's like great video game music or something.

It was annoying, but I didn’t hate it like I do Metallica or Eminem. So, I guess it’s 2 stars. I expect I’ll get William Shatner next.

OK background music. Good early example of electronic music as I'd call it today.

bad but i suppose not terrible

Magical Dream Pacific 202

It has a few really great bits, and you can see how the innovated a lot that would come after, but it feels a bit dated now. They hand built structures that a kid can make on an iPad now. Important, but not essential listening.

Electronica pero con sonido de los 80.

This album is unlistenably bad. Perhaps it had a huge impact on the genre at the time, but the only impact it has for me is to remind me that the genre really fucking sucks.

3.5/5

Not exactly an album to listen to and hum along. Very of its time and I'm sure fine in a club.

They say the 808 is timeless. Unfortunately, that's not true of 808 State. This whole thing was dated and frankly kinda lame. I expected better. Disappointed.

A long string of sound effects and random volcals on top B-side keyboard music beds. Not a fan.

i did not need to hear this at all

1001? No way.

As I type this the average rating for this album is 2.9. I done know why! I loved this. Great rhythms and melodies. The orchestration, such as it is, is wonderful. Maybe I’m just an electronic guy. The more I spend with this it could creep up to be a perfect 5 but for now it’s 4.5/5

Crap

👍🏻

I liked this more than I expected. I find a lot of electronic music annoyingly repetitive, but this was good! I wouldn't consider it a must have, but if I come across a copy I will definitely take a closer look.

Didn’t like it. Couldn’t listen to the whole thing. Listened to most of 3 tracks. Not for me

I drank beer all day and then put this on, lad vibes are rattling through my chest. Killer fucking album innit?

Felt like I was in a 90s movie driving down the highway or at the club. Fun album. Very repetitive but worth the listen for at least a few songs

This had its time and place on the dancefloors in the 90s, but it's not the type of music I would listen to outside of that. It sounds a bit dated and is somewhat tedious.

Acid house. Ni fu ni fa.

I don't do enough MDMA for this album.

2 This feels like the soundtrack of a creepy banned wii console Love the png of a fish and a solar eclipse. Gotta have that

Flemme

Not my favourite of the genre but that one single is great.

Britische Acid-House-Pioniere. Aus heutiger Sicht etwas angestaubt.

This sounds like what you would get if you asked an electronic music person in 1989 to make an album of what they think music will sound like in like 2020. It sounds "futuristic" in a way that is distinctly '80s. It's generally not really my thing, but there are some moments that are reasonably nice. I like the bird noises on "Pacific 202." Favorite song: Pacific 202 3/2/24

I've never heard them before. It was interesting.

1) Who would have thought that futuristic music from 1989 would sound dated?!?! 2)There's 40 minutes of my life I'll never get back 3) Why is this on this list?

Ideal para una noche de tunga tunga

tenes que estar muy arriba para escuchar esto y que te termine gustando, pero no me encontraba en tal momento para agarrarle cariño

Electro, pero no me ha atrapado.

Grosse vibe écran d’accueil de jeu Playstation première génération. Si j’étais le genre de personne à mettre des baggys fluo et à passer mes weekends en rave dans des hangars abandonnés à gober des ecsta comme si c’était des tic tacs, j'apprécierais sûrement ce disque. Mais comme je ne suis pas ça du tout, c’est plus compliqué, mais j'ai connu pire. “808080808” fait un peu musique de “Streets of rage”. Je note le “L-O-V-E” à la dictée magique sur “Ancodia”.

The electro funk isnt for me, sorry.

noise

Not a fan...is it electronica

Bleh

Video game music

If you’d asked me to remember 808 state and whether I liked them or not I would have said Yes! Then I listened to the whole album - I only remember Pacific 202 and my answer is a lugubrious No. But not even in a committed visceral way, more like - I just can’t be bothered.

I think I like some stuff by 808 State, but none of it is on this album.

these guys are trying to kill me with all this edm. why do they love this genre so much?

Totally fine if it were 4:00 am and Keith and I stepped out for a fag in the warehouse parking lot but otherwise it's a lot to listen to in one setting even for this EDM fan.

so i think my taste in electronic music is very particular. a lot of the stuff i have been presented so far i have not really liked and hasn't really given me a sound that i really like. this album did. i had a lot of fun listening to it, i thought the songs felt dynamic and interesting. i still think it gets relegated to background music, but at least it's kinda fun background music.

Nope.

Really digging “Cobra Bora” it’s got some attitude. Likable uptempo electronic dance music. I much prefer instrumentals in this genre, and this albumis no escption. I think the weakest songs on this have vocals and they feel a bit labored: less funky or sincere. Like the artist is try to wedge a vocal track into his groove because he's "supposed to?" Likable nonetheless. The back end of this album is a little heavier, which I also like in this kind of music. Mostly a party, though!

I was expecting Hawaiian slack-key or island sounds, not EDM! Did a little research on the band and they are kind of pioneers in club music. Cool and interesting; I'm sure this is used often by DJs and gets/keeps people on the floor.

I can see the appeal of this record, but it’s just not the kind of music I like to listen to.

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

Dit zal vast baanbrekend zijn geweest eind jaren tachtig maar dit heeft de tand des tijds behoorlijk slecht doorstaan. Primitieve bagger

Likte da egentlig litt, kan vurdera å beholda da i albumlisto for et par gjennomlyttinga til

Definitely not my bag

Funky, Dancing, Charming!

Far more enjoyable listening to this understanding what the 808 actually is. Back when it was released I couldn’t work out all the hype. It seemed just like any other dance music.

1.8 - I've never been into this and don't think I ever will be.

The album as a whole is not really my bag, but Pacific 202 (or is it called "Pacific State" or just "Pacific"?) is a real vibe. If I understand it correctly this track is the oft-imitated OG; I remember having this on the DDJ having downloaded loads of House/Electronic tracks and I definitely thought it was a modern track. On the whole though the album didn't do much for me. I want more acidity in my house. Fave Tracks: Magical Dream, Pacific 202 3.1/5

This was fine and was decent as background music.

Glaube ich bin zu wenig am druggen, um das feiern zu können

notmy style

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

Finally, a 90s British electronic album that doesn’t overstay its welcome. Some interesting samples here.

inconsequential electronic dance music. 1.5 stars

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

Bleh.

totally not my thing - too much electronic for today or really ever for me.

dnf det var för mycket. jag skulle ha blivit galen. sry.

Never heard of this! At all! Really dug it! Love the little tastes of the Hustle and Do You Know the Way to San Jose. Good boss battle music.

Electronic music suitable for dancing I suppose. Good production, well executed but very repetitious. It’s just not for me.

Weird 1/5

eher langweiliger elektrobestpop

Этот альбом я сильно упустил, прям что-то откладываю, откладываю. Я ожидал, что 808 будет обозначать БАСС, а тут какая-то лёгонькая электроника? Внезапный контраст с ожиданиями. Эйсид хаус/Дэнс/Техно. Получается, это machine girl и aphex twin в одном флаконе. Мне нравится. Не настолько чтоб я прям улетел, но мне было по кайфу.

Could not find on Amazon Music

nais! Likte det

Dritfett! aldri hørt om

3.0 futurista

I don't think this album has aged well. I generally like electronic music (including ambient, techno etc), but this one leaves me a bit cold. I have a couple of more recent collaborative Graham Massey albums that I very much prefer. Having played this half a dozen times, it has grown on me. But not that much. No particular stand out tracks for me.

It's 'okay' I guess.....very stylised techno and quite dated now. It's nice to listen to but can be a bit samey in places.

It got me bored soo easily and soo quickly that shocks me. I mean, it's just a pure weird instrumental thing i don't understand maybe because i'm not a fan o this type of music. It might be great in a party with lots drugs and teens there. So no, i don't think this good.

Sounds like someone had fun in their basement putting this one together.

nice electronica

More electronic dance music. You can't 'listen' to this. It's just for dancing. I could just about stand to exercise to it. Amazing what you can do with a Casio keyboard, sampler and drum machine. I reckon I could knock up something as good as this in an hour or two.

Good clean electronic music. Does not stand up well in the midst of other EBM/Post-Industrial scene artists and music. Nothing of note track wise. Wonderful for background/ambient music. Non-intrusive.

Synthesized dance tracks. Punchy rhythms. More instrusive than interesting.

Nice change. This isn't my genre, but I'm trying to be open to it. And honestly, I can appreciate the experimentation that went into this music. Very fresh sound. They are using samples from everywhere to make the music - the nature sounds in Pacific 202 particularly hit.

Gefällt mir nicht.

Classic 90's techno music. A little boring now-a-days but still not bad.

I checked the work HR policy on dropping acid during work hours and apparently, it's a no. This forced me to listen "unaided", 3 stars. anyone got any Acid?

First song was good electronic music, was hard to find anything enjoyable after.

3/5. I swear this most have been the inspiration for many video games to come, this feels like it comes directly from a video game score, specifically retro or indie. It's repetitive, it is electronic, but the little additions thrown in keep it from being stale like a violin, or heavy bass note that pops up. It's not a repeatable listen for me but it was pretty good.

It's solid acid house and does what needs to be done. You can tell in musical context why it's important, but it's just not my bag.

I bet this was really cool in the 80’s

2/5

I had my hands in the air the whole time

I felt like I needed to watch the Matrix after this. 3.5/5

Surprisingly enjoyable. The songs have samples(?) or very familiar tunes that really make the album good. Standouts: Ancodia (L-O-V-E Love), Cobra Bora ("The Hustle"), Pacific 202 (a.k.a. Pacific State). For an electronic album that I didn't like at all the first few times I heard it, I am really getting into it now. I'm somewhere between 3.5 and 4.0....

3.5

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

Tegelijkertijd heel gedateerd en heel modern

Was pretty banging front to back, and for 1989 feels pretty ahead of it's time. Liking the older electronic stuff i've got from this list like this and the Orbital albums, can see myself going back to them.

This was way better than I expected. Dense and layered and bouncy and wicked cool, if dated.

Very fun background noise, I would have favored a bit more substance but I am not unhappy with it!

This was a bop. Parts of it sounded almost like vapor wave, but of course not quite. Definitely dug this one, I'll be coming back to it.

Was underwhelmed until I saw that this album came out in 1989. So it was pretty ahead of its time, and "Pacific State" is a great great track that I heard a lot in a lot of DJ mixes in the 90's. Across the whole of the album I would say it felt a little uneven and nothing really matches up to "Pacific", but still some impressive stuff showing what was to come in house/electronica.

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.

I'm sure UK 80/90's electronica has its place in music. just not for me. this sounds like music that robots would fuck to, if so thats pretty cool imagining two terminators grinding gears to this.

Yeah it’s fine I guess

It is Ok as background music for work.

Takie tam plumkanie elektroniczne. 2/5

OK, I yield.... I'll tell you anything you want to know, ANYTHING... JUST STOP PLAYING Cobra Bora

4.5

Only knew Pacific 202 prior to listening to the album. It could have stayed that way.

Two stars because it was short enough that I finished it. Not the worst electronica I’ve been tasked with listening to so far.

An artist that got me listening to techno as a kid

i hate this with a passion

Excellent and fun acid house album from the late 1980s rave scene of Britain, I enjoyed it quite a lot.

Generic rave music.

cool cover, some alright tracks cobra bora pacific 202 sunrise

Great background noise!

You've heard of the Beatles 50 years after they split up? There's a reason for that. You've never heard of 808 State? There's a reason for that too. Don't waste your time.

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.

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.

The initial excitement on seeing this album was short lived. Magical Dream shows how much this sound has dated, and whilst it picks up slightly with Corbra Bora it certainly doesn't excite me like it would have 30 years ago. Pacific 202 is the gem on this album, a variation on Pacific 707 which is still a great record/tune/track/sound/thing

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

A three I guess. This one is hard to rate.

joa.. das hat mich ganz schön aufgewühlt..

- early Acid House - es gibt sogar ein paar Acid House Sachen, die ich feiere (z.B. The Kraze) - das hier gehört definitiv nicht dazu - kann der Musik leider einfach nicht viel abgewinnen, auch wenn es immer mal wieder coole und kreative Momente gibt, lässt es mich im Groben und Ganzen kalt - in Teilen klingt es fast so, als hätte jemand sein neues Fisher-Price Keyboard ausgepackt und einmal alle Einstellungen ausprobiert - Punkte gibts für Pacific 202 (ist cool, hat wiedererkennungswert), und für die Pinonierleistung im EDM Rating: 1,5/5

- Wer hätte gedacht, dass 808 nicht nur für einen maßlos überbewerteten Sound steht, sondern sich aus dem Basisgeschrammel des Composers ein vollkommen einfallsloses und uninspiriertes Album produzieren lässt. - Ich habe durchaus soft Spots für alte Formen von Elektro (Kenny Larkin, Aphex Twins, Orbital usw.) aber ich hatte bei diesem Album wirklich das Gefühl, mir die Demo-Loop-Samples von einem alten Synthesizer oder den Soundtrack eines alten Arcade-Games à la Metroid anzuhören. - Man kann ihm höchstens zu Gute halten stilistisch einheitlich zu sein und einen in eine bestimmte Zeit zurückzuwerfen, jedoch in eine, in der ich ungern meinen musikalischen Alltag verbringen möchte. Manche Melodien sind ganz nett und manche Samples halbwegs originell. 1,5/5

- Beim Hören habe ich beinahe physische Schmerzen empfunden - 0/5

Blind album. Was petty good I'd say. It's good house for sure. Good house for sure. Good house for sure.

Short-ish and fun dancing whilst cooking vibes, enjoyed

I thought I'd dislike it a lot more than I did

Techno album, enjoyed listening to it

Felt a bit mundane, uninspired and not that interesting

Dirty warehouse vibes, all forgettable

Pretty early/raw electronica. Could really hear a lot of early AFX in this but whereas he perfected the genre, this was just... dated and pretty disappointing. 2.5*

Instant tech house banger 5/5

Driving beats, funky riffs, gloriously corny tones, and a catchy sense of melody - it's like a darker harder disco sound played through a Nintendo for a rave in an abandoned train yard.

808 actually I liked this better than some other electronic albums. There were somethings that were unexpected and it feels more live than some of the other stuff. Favorite was cobra bora. got bored by the end. Sounds like it must have been ahead of its time, I would’ve thought it was from the mid 90s 2

I hate this. We were overdue for something like this though, they’ve been kind to us lately.

Couldn't wait for this to be over. Electronic music just isn't for me.

Interesting mix, the style is like 2000s club but with 80s sounds. Went hard for about 3 songs

Pretty meh. Nothing really stood out but it’s not that it was bad. just not memorable

It's OK albeit a bit dated. It's fine for background music.

“Welcome to techno city-“ favorite line of the album! Cool early electronic music with nothing too exciting or substantial to be memorable. Not many opinions on this album; I can see it as an important stepping stone for the genre. Three stars.

This is exactly what kind of music would play during an 90's-2000's hacker scene. Oddly enough the album by Kraftwerk is a few years older and better showcases the roots of what electronic music is today. All in all it was okay for background music but had so much going on that it wasnt interesting enough for me to want more 2 stars

Electro, pero no me ha atrapado.

3.3

Always down for some more house music. This one is fun, although it definitely feels a bit dated and 80s.