Jam & Spoon - Tripomatic Fairytales 2002 (2016 Update)

Epic: 1993

(Click here to read my original TranceCritic review.)

This CD, too. Truly, one of the earliest examples of artist hubris in dance music culture. Either that, or this was the true musical style of Jam & Spoon, and Tripomatic Fairytales 2001 was the commercial sell-out to earn those sweet chart-topping dolla’ bills so they had artistic freedom from there on out. Considering the sort of music Misters Ellmer and Löffel continued making after this, however, I’m kinda’ going with the former. More pop pieces on future albums Kaleidoscope and Tripomatic Fairytales 3003. Happy hardcore as Tokyo Ghetto Pussy. And let’s not forget Jam’s various commercial projects prior and concurrent with his work alongside Markus. Nay, these chaps definitely had their ears trained for the pop end of the dance music spectrum, making Tripomatic Fairytales 2002 all the more an anomaly within their mutual discographies.

That they always had these ideas floating in their heads but never the commercial clout to see them blossom until this album is the most likely scenario. Another possibility is they were specifically commissioned to make a record of experimental ambient and dub, an utterly daft theory until you realize they initially had a record deal with seminal Belgium techno print R & S Records. Obviously they had greater success with German print Dance Pool, but the first Jam & Spoon EPs - Tales From A Danceographic Ocean and The Complete Stella - were with R & S. Fast forward to Album Time, and that deal is still in effect, Tripomatic Fairytales 2001 released by R & S within Belgium while Dance Pool dealt with the rest of Europe; Epic handled N. American distribution. You may recall R & S also had a spiffy new sub-label called Apollo, dealing with that new-fangled ‘ambient techno’ genre one Aphex Twin practically invented. Lo and behold, here’s Tripomatic Fairytales 2002 coming out on said sub-label within Belgium. The theory fits! Meanwhile, Dance Pool handled the rest of Europe’s copies, and N. America never got one, because who on this continent would ever be interested in druggy ambient from a pair of German euro-dance and trance producers (me, me!).

Given the more leftfield pieces on 2001 and the way out of field pieces on 2002, one question does keep nagging my mind: who was the overriding muse between these two? I’ve no doubt Jam & Spoon had a fair bit of creative synergy between the two of them, but a lot of the psychedelia involved here strikes me as a singular source of inspiration. While I can see both collaborating on the lengthy tracks like N.A.S.A. Nocturnal Audio Sensory Awakening and I Saw The Future, a totally experimental piece like LSD Nikon or meditative ambience of Salinas Afternoon had to have been the work of one or the other. But who, I wonder, and where they’d even get their ideas from in the first place. Can’t deny I’d love to meet Mr. El Mar just to ask that. Also, what the deal is with that omelet track.

Jam & Spoon - Tripomatic Fairytales 2001 (2016 Update)

Dance Pool/Epic: 1993/1994

(Click here to read my original TranceCritic review.)

And this CD. One of the earliest attempts at bridging the trance-pop gap. Also a bizarre blend of hypnotic German techno and sun-kissed beatnik Balearic vibes. Not to mention among the first trance albums I purchased for myself, though Dance 2 Trance’s Moon Spirits beat it to my primeval collection by at least a year. Still, I thought I was buying a euro-dance CD with the DJ Dag project, whereas I’d just started my trance indoctrination with Tripomatic Fairytales 2001, willing to take a risk on an LP full of unfamiliar tunes - Follow Me and their Age Of Love remix was about all I knew from them. And hoo, was it an ear-opener, going in weird, unexpected places that even folks already familiar with big singles Right In The Night and Stella were wondering just what the duo were smokin’ in their studio.

Clearly I was too young to know much about the European club scene Jam & Spoon were a part of, and there’s scant reports of initial impression from punters purchasing Tripomatic Fairytales 2001 hot off the shelves. I can guess they were expecting more of the recognizable hits, so how did folks react to the electro-tribal thump of Heart Of Africa as an opener? It took me by surprise only because I wasn’t well versed in much of anything these guys had done yet. Was this track a crazy double-take for those familiar with even their early, charmingly titled techno B-side My First Fantastic F.F.?

Interludes. Skits. How many dance albums did this way back when? Some brief instrumental pieces or drum loops, sure, but spoken word peices like Muffled Drums and Who Opened The Door To Nowhere were a rarity, especially for a supposed trance (or pop) record. Nor did Misters Mar and Spoon skimp on throwing whatever struck their muses into the pot. Ultra long builders like Odyssey To Anyoona and Path Of Harmony, standard (for the time) trance numbers in Nuerotrance Adventure and Paradise Garage, or indulging some ethnic sounds with Zen Flash Zen Bones and Earth Spirit.

Hey, I mentioned way back when that there were many different version of Tripomatic Fairytales 2001 - let’s delve into those! The original-original version had an additional interlude called Operation Spaceship Earth, mostly of orbiting sounds and giggling children. Yeah, I can hear why this was jettisoned for Find Me in the re-issues. A couple years after though, they jettisoned Zen Flash Zen Bones to add another new single with Plavka, euro-cheeseball Ibizan tune Angel (Ladadi O-Heyo). This was not such a good move, and was removed for the 2010 re-issue, along with Find Me. Operation Spaceship Earth was reinstated though, and brought along a bunch of vintage bonus remixes and the epic Follow Me. Huh, you could have gotten that track on a 1993 limited edition version vinyl release, along with The Tribe and all the Tripomatic tracks arranged in a different order. Bet that one fetches a handsome fee on the open market.

B.G. The Prince Of Rap - The Time Is Now

Epic: 1994

As he was teaming up with DJ Dag and Mark Spoon to help invent some little genre known as trance, Jam El Mar also spent time getting in on that European hip-house action that Technotronic made all the rage. Heck, if Lord Discogs is anything to go by, his first production with Bernard Greene on Rap To The World beats out Dance 2 Trance’s We Came In Peace by at least a few months. And while the latter is hailed as a Very Important Record in the annals of trance, it by no means had the immediate success Rap To The World did. Eventually his work with Dag and Spoon would eclipse anything he did with B.G., but in the early going of his ‘techno’ career, Mr. Ellmer had himself a chart star with The Prince Of Rap. All the better for making that cash-money to fund his underground projects, yo’.

Fast forward a few years, and though trance has taken off in Germany, euro-dance took off bigger, and ol’ Jam and B.G. knew they had the foundation to capitalize on a scene that gave us Mr. Vain, Rhythm Is A Dancer, and Get-A-Way. Still, name recognition only takes you so far when dozens of new acts with hit singles are continuously shoved into clubs and radio. Perhaps they suspected a little extra oomph to stand out from the glut was needed, thus bringing in one Stefan Benz to the party. Mr. Benz had been making italo disco since the late ‘80s, moving onto euro-dance as many producers of that era did, even scoring another successful act in DJ Company. Then he went onto cheese-ball hard trance and ‘hands-up’ stuff through the ‘00s, but who cares about that.

Nay, let’s remain focused on The Time Is Now, and the three big tunes off here. Though none of them did as much action on the charts as This Beat Is Hot, Colour Of My Dreams did the best amount of damage, hitting top fifteen in Germany, and even scoring number one on Canada’s dance charts. It’s got the smooth rap from B.G., a catchy chorus from Paris Red (who did the bulk of vocals on the album), and punchy synth hooks. Better is Can’t Love You, especially as Jam El Mar’s vintage, buzzing sawwave synths drive this tune throughout. Can We Get Enough? was the lead single, something of a rough bridge between The Prince Of Rap’s earlier hip-house into euro-dance fare (that bass!). All are mint tunes of euro-dance’s peak years.

The rest of The Time Is Now is practically all filler though. Decent enough if you’re a hardcore collector of this stuff, but hardly essential material twenty-plus years on. Well, except for the curious two final tracks, actual hip-hop cuts, including a posse jam in This Is How We Do It. Guess the Prince Of Rap needed to remind everyone of his American roots. He sure didn’t have much chance to show off his lyricism on anything else here.

The Movement - The Movement (Original TC Review)

Arista: 1992

(2014 Update:
When I wrote this, the notion of 'step' as a jokey descriptor was long thought dead, a relic of '90s drum 'n' bass genre splintering. Then dubstep started getting popular, and soon we saw 'step' for any damn variation of music adding a half-step beat. Chillstep, brostep, trancestep, psystep, popstep, drumstep, whalestep, and so on. I wonder if anyone is bold enough to try hipnostep.

This review was fun to write, though filled with a ton of awful grammar, some of which I've cleaned up for this posting. I think it captures the guiltless giddiness one can still experience when listening to old school rave music, no matter how absurd some of it came off. Jump! remains good stupid fun in a way that's rare in today's stupid-fun music. You're damn straight I'm wearing Nostalgia Headphones for this!)


IN BRIEF: Aaaaaarrrrreeee yyoooooooouuuuuuu reeeeaaaaaaadddddyyyyy!!??

You gotta love the cheekiness of some groups. Hardly content at being lumped into the same category of rave hardcore tearing up parties across the Atlantic, Los Angeles based act The Movement came forth with their own style. Comprised of the blistering beats and hoover-rific hooks of Belgian raves, and adding hip-hop influences from rhythms to MCing, this brand new form of techno would burst forth from the southern California scene as they promoted their own brand of L.A. P.L.U.R. And this new revolutionary genre’s name? Hipno!

Yes, you read that right. Hipno. Never heard of it? If so, don’t feel bad; you’re not alone in the confusion.

Hipno. It’s the kind of name folks bullshitting stupid genre names would come up with: like braindance, or progressive dub, or boomcore, or bassline-house, or speed speedcore, or chicstep, or indie techno, or vocal trance, or ‘rocktronica’, or no-step ambientcore, or hip-hop tripstep fallcore, or progressive stepcore, or anything with ‘progressive’, ‘step’, or ‘core’, or... well, you get the idea.

Yet, The Movement were so proud of their clever new genre name, they went and had it trademarked on their label, Sunshine Entertainment Corp. Yes, you read that right too. Trademarked! How, exactly, do you trademark a genre name?

Ah, it doesn’t matter. What does is whether The Movement’s sound was worth trademarking a name for it. In a nutshell, this is hipno: one part 2 Unlimited knock-off; one part ragga MCing ; one part hip-hop beat interludes; mixed in the L.A. rave scene’s jovial attitude.

And you know what? It actually works!

Lead track Jump! makes no bones about what it aims to do. The intro rhythms warm you up, then break down to let Hazze (the MC) give you a countdown. “5... 4... 3... You know the rest!” Then, boom! You’re right into the thick of it with thumping beats, shout-a-long “jump everybody jump”s, and vintage old school rave synths. While the riffs may sound stuck in 1992, the rhythms for Jump! still carry incredible weight to them even today. Eventually, the song calms down, hip-hop beats boppin’ about before picking the pace up again, head ing out for a big finish. Man, but is this track ever a lot of-

Eh? What’s that? Oh, I have them on right now? Sorry about that.

*Removes Nostalgia Headphones*

Okay, Jump! is fun, but that enjoyment is based on pure novelty: listen to it once in a sitting, get a silly grin on your face, go with the flow, and move on. Problem is, The Movement don’t. While some acts can milk a simple formula for an album’s worth of material, The Movement clearly lack that level of aptitude, and you quickly realize they’re a one-trick pony.

Aside from the ragga-influenced Tell Tú Mama (another fun track, true, but rather by the book), every other original track (and there’s only three) follows the exact same pattern as Jump!. Same beats, same MCing, same synths, hell even some of the same riffs! The only thing that really changes much is the topic of the track: instead of jumping, Shake That — encourages you to shake your ass; Don’t O.D. gives a quaint warning against overdosing on drugs, which I’m sure made BMG happier about signing a rave act; B.I.N.G.O.... um, you remember the song with the dog, right? There’s bits of charm at some points (I’m still a sucker for the ‘aah’ pads in Don’t O.D., even without Nostalgia Headphones) but equally annoying things too. Let’s just say I wasn’t sad to see whistles fall out of popular favor in rave music.

So, what about all those mixes in the second half of the album? Do they tamper with the formula much? Not really, as all but one are done by The Movement anyway. The Funky Hipno Remix of Jump! relies the hip-hop beats rather pumping rave ones, and the Tribal Mix of B.I.N.G.O. settles for brisk, unremarkable rhythms. The other two may as well be extended mixes.

The one non-Movement remix comes of something of a surprise when you look at the production credits: Holographic Jump! is a remix by none other than Jam el Mar. And, while not the most brilliant remix Jam’s ever done, it’s certainly a nice change of sound on the release. Sure enough, he does the old school trance thing with Jump!, as loops layer over each other with spacey pads and simple rhythms. Sounding more like a Dance 2 Trance production than a Jam & Spoon one, the main riff he uses is quite raw, but then what hasn’t on here?

In the end, hipno died before it ever got off the ground, after which The Movement went onto other things, some with better success (Richard “Humpty” Vission has had a decent run as a house DJ since). Because this ‘revolutionary’ genre is hardly revolutionary at all, this album isn’t even worth picking up as a historical artifact of failed genres: it bears far too much similarity to regular old school rave music to be treated as anything but.

However, there is still some fun to be had with this. The lead single Jump! was probably one of the better hits of this kind of music, and although there isn’t much else to be had here, the unapologetic silliness of some of these tracks is good for a laugh if you’re just chilling out with friends. If you ever see this in a bargain bin or used shop, and can’t get enough of that old school sound, you could do worse.

(Special thanks to the folks at Discogs for some of those genre names)

Dance 2 Trance - Moon Spirits

Blow Up: 1992

The first trance album I ever owned, though I didn't buy it with that intent. Oh no, I was after a euro-dance album, and Dance 2 Trance was an act I recognized from a couple compilations. Throwing it on when I got home, the opening ambient-chant of Kayenta caught me off-guard – I wasn't expecting a Deep Forest clone! Then We Came In Peace played, and that's a cool melody, but why's this music so minimalistic and loopy? Wait, all these tracks are like this? That's weird, but not as weird as the lack of vocals. Ah well, I'm sure P.Ower Of A.Merican N.Atives will have Linda Rocco on- what the...! Nothing here either? Damn it, I must have gotten some bunk demo version of Moon Spirits. No wonder it was in a used shop. What a gyp.

It wasn’t long after when I clued in that Dance 2 Trance weren't euro-dance, but a number of years did pass before I understood their impact on electronic music at large. For these two guys, DJ Dag and Jam El Mar, invented trance. No, really, it was them. It’s right in their name, man!

Seriously though, their self-titled debut single was more of a New Beat thing, a popular mini-trend around mainland Europe of the early ‘90s. First released on Suck Me Plasma in early 1991, the B-side featured a curious little tune called We Came In Peace, stripping away New Beat’s aggressive EBM roots in favour of a hypnotic, space trip. Other Germans caught onto the sound, and soon labels were exclusively churning out the stuff. A genre and scene were born, enduring to this day despite many permutations since.

The clubbing success of that single and follow-ups like Where Is Dag? and Hello San Francisco got Dance 2 Trance onto a major label, Moon Spirits the inevitable LP that followed. I wonder if Dag and Jam were caught off guard by their success, because this is one raw album. We Came In Peace and P.o.A.N. are undeniable classics of the genre, but Sit Together, the Golden Gate Mix of Hello San Francisco, and even Where Is Dag? have the barest of musical ideas going for them, some synths and hooks outdated even by ’92 standards. Elsewhere, hazy downtempo cut Mr. Cannabis, prog-rocky Remember Exxon Valdez, and moody trance-grumbler Freaks have cool ideas running through them, yet too often sound muddy or half-baked. Compared to their following work like Take A Freefall (added to later editions of the album) much of this music lacks studio polish, as though rushed out to meet market demand.

Unfortunately, Moon Spirits isn’t an important album in trance’s history, totally skippable if you already have the singles off here. Dag and Mar would make better music following this, including as Dance 2 Trance. Check Moon Spirits out if you’re curious what an early-early crossover trance LP offered, but seeing as they were still trying to figure it out themselves, there’s a fair bit of miss with the hits.

Jam & Spoon - Tripomatic Fairytales 2002 (Original TC Review)

Sony Music Entertainment: Cat. # 474918 2
Released 1993

Track List:
1. Hermaphrodite (2:10)
2. N.A.S.A. Nocturnal Audio Sensory Awakening (11:15)
3. LSD Nikon (2:34)
4. The Future Is In Small Hands (5:25)
5. Salina's Afternoon (4:03)
6. V. Angel. Is Calling (10:11)
7. Words And Dana (1:00)
8. Ancient Dream (8:41)
9. I Saw The Future (11:32)
10. Castaneda Future Illuminations (2:04)
11. Secret Kind Of Love (8:02)
12. World Of X-T-C (5:52)


(2010 Update:
Had I heard The Orb's Ultraworld album before I'd written this, I'd have been stunned by just how much Jam & Spoon bit Dr. Patterson's style for this album. As for my review itself, I don't know why I was so hard on it. Yeah, it's not a brilliant CD but I still enjoy it on occasion. There are some gosh-darned lovely little melodies floating about these songs. J&S just needed to trim the fat a little better. Its scarcity has made it rather expensive to buy though.)


IN BRIEF: The ambient fairytale.

A sort of B-side to Tripomatic Fairytales 2001, Tripomatic Fairytales 2002 didn't garner much attention with its lack of any clear-cut singles. The only folks who seem to be aware of its existence are ardent Jam & Spoon fans and it's not too surprising why.

Yes, there isn't any of the snappy pop hits that made casual consumers rush out and grab 2001 but nor are there any of the underground anthems that made them critical darlings as well. Rather, 2002 is Jam & Spoon flexing their muses as far as they're willing to go -and believe me, it stretches far indeed.

If you found the duo's more indulgent tracks on 2001 not to your taste, you'll probably not get much out of this release. If, however, you were genuinely intrigued by the more experimental nature of, say, Who Opened The Door To Nowhere, then this just might be right up your alley. Jam & Spoon must have had a ton of quirky ideas in mind while making 2001 but were held back due to the obvious necessity to make that album more commercially viable. Here, they get to do whatever they wish and the results, well, vary.

It gets off on a promising note, for sure. After intro track Hermaphrodite’s eerie, ominous ambience opens the doors, lengthy N.A.S.A. (named after a former club night in New York) takes us on a moody excursion through spacey ambient dub. Despite the sparseness of the track, it manages to keep your attention thanks to the breathing room the sounds on display have. The first third of the track alone consists of nothing more than a looping bassline, alternating Gregorian chants and noodly prog guitar bits, and little sounds effects sprinkled about; it's a simple yet effective combination. Eventually, things get a little more bouncy as the ambient cousins of the Stella synths gradually emerge, followed up by some reggae rhythms. The end gets a little odd with the soaring jet samples but it doesn't really detract from the track as a whole. It's not easy to create a ten minute plus downtempo song where the mind doesn't tend to wander, but Jam & Spoon pull it off with N.A.S.A.

From here, though, your patience for studio tomfoolery may be tested. LSD Nikon is an odd sonic experiment, taking an old soul-jazz song, muddying it up with effects, and throwing in camera shutter sounds played at varying speeds at random points. Sound interesting? Sure, but it doesn't really make much sense once it comes together either.

Alternatively, The Future Is In Small Hands is a minimal trip of beatnik ambience. Bits of pulsing bass, airy voice pads, and hand drums fill in the gaps but the song's mostly carried by lyrics sung by Hans Helmer Sauer. As such, your enjoyment of this track will live or die by his ability to carry a note. Well, let's just say the use of male vocalists in electronic music was suspect even back then.

If you thought Small Hands was minute, then Salina's Afternoon is downright microscopic. Aside from being bookended by samples of running water, this track consists of nothing more than gentle keyboards playing a light, improv melody -this is pure ambience at its calmest. Does the track amount to anything? Well, no, but that's always been the case for ambient music, to be honest. It's nice to play in the background.

V. Angel. Is Calling... Man, I don't have a clue what Jam & Spoon were trying to accomplish with this track. The first chunk of it consists of subtle eerie synth washes while sounds of phones being dialed and answered play out. Because the dialogue is all in German, I can't make out the details (you have to tri-lingual to get the full effect of 2002, as there's French as well as English and German on display in many tracks) but, as near as I can figure from rough online translators, it's something about a corpse trying to make a phone call but is unable to talk -hence all the "hallo, hallo?" on the other end of the phone. If that sounds odd, the rest of the track doesn't make much sense musically either. Sure, the synth washes, rolling bass resonance, and bubbly sound effects make for an interesting mixture but it isn't coherent either. This wouldn't be so much a problem if the track didn't run for so long. By the end of it, you kind of wonder what just happened.

Words And Dana is just that, and it doesn't make much sense as a skit either, so let's move on and get into something that, finally, makes sense as a song again. Ancient Dream is a quiet, gentle track which doesn't try to do anything fancy. Starting out with a briefly looping sample of some sort of folkish melody, Jam & Spoon pull a quirky little trick in adding another loop of it just a half second behind, creating an interesting doubling effect. Adding simple percussion (no kicks!) and synth washes to complement it, Ancient Dream becomes a lush, calming tune that'll put your mind at ease -that is, until a looping sample of a Bushman gathering emerges from the background, growing in volume until it drowns out everything else to finish up. O-kay...

Another biggie track here with I Saw The Future which, despite the live percussion provided by Dieter, comes off sounding like some sort of jam session with loops. Everything you're going to hear in this track - from various percussion, synthy pads, and repeating vocal samples - are introduced very early on. The draw of the track is to see how the trio will embellish these elements as the song progresses. They don't stray far, though, so don't feel bad if you begin to lose interest two-thirds of the way through -you won't miss anything you hadn't already heard.

As far as interludes go, Castaneda is probably one of the more interesting ones as Jam & Spoon play around with the speed of a vocal sample while ominous, futuristic ambient sounds threateningly weave about in the background. In contrast, the gentleness of A Secret Kind Of Love works wonderfully as a follow-up, even if the track itself might leave something to be desired. Again, not that this cousin of Small Hands is bad (it certainly comes off more successfully than the former track did), but because this too is carried by the vocals of Helmer, you'll pretty much enjoy it depending on how you like his singing.

And finally, as we come to the end of 2002, we find the only real similarity to this albums big brother, 2001. How the latter's final moments felt jarringly misplaced with the inclusion of Find Me seemingly tagged on when Stella's Cry would have been the perfect closer, this album also has the same quirk, although not quite as abrupt sounding. Whatever you might feel about Secret Kind Of Love, the gentle ambience it ends on would make for a nice closer. However, it is followed up by the bouncy, dancey World Of X-T-C. The reggae influence on this track is certainly fun but it sounds way out of place on 2002's experimental nature. Ah well, par the course in the case, I suppose.

I guess the big question remaining is whether this CD is worth your funds. It all depends on how much of a Jam & Spoon fan you are, really. Personally, I have very fond memories associated with Tripomatic Fairytales 2002, as it was the soundtrack to a significant time in my life (yeah, yeah, we all have earth shattering moments when we're sixteen). However, having listened to a great deal more experimental ambient music since then, I definitely can see the flaws in this release.

Make no mistake about it. Music of this sort can be very hit or miss with a great number of people. While I wouldn't say this is a major musical misstep in their career, neither does it distinguish itself much from the crowd. The music on hand with 2002 is strictly middle-of-the-road ambient music, with a few moments of intrigue interlaced with a few moments of bewilderment. If you go in expecting this, you'll be fine.


Score: 5/10

ACE TRACKS:
N.A.S.A. Nocturnal Audio Sensory Awakening
Ancient Dream

Written by Sykonee. Originally published 2006 for TranceCritic.com. © All rights reserved.

Jam & Spoon - Tripomatic Fairytales 2001 (Original TC Review)

Sony Music Entertainment: Cat. # EK 64230
Released 1993

Track List:
1. Heart Of Africa (6:49)
2. Odyssey To Anyoona (9:59)
3. Two Spys In The House Of Love (0:32)
4. Stella (6:19)
5. Neurotrance Adventure (5:42)
6. Zen Flash Zen Bones (6:10)
7. Who Opened The Door To Nowhere (2:44)
8. Right In The Night (Fall In Love With Music) (6:04)
9. Muffled Drums (0:40)
10. Path Of Harmony (7:02)
11. Paradise Garage (6:30)
12. Earth Spirit (6:28)
13. Stella's Cry (7:25)
14. Find Me (Odyssey To Anyoona) (Radio Mix) (4:00)


(2010 Update:
I guess for a review attempting to describe what this album sounds like to a newer generation of trance fans, this came out alright; albeit too wordy like so many other reviews I was writing at the time. However, I regret not really delving more into the significance of this release more, in that it truly was a daring attempt on Jam & Spoon's part to make a crossover trance album. Also, I neglected to mention all the various, um, variations of 2001 that were issued, as new hit singles kept cropping up and replacing less-favored tracks. Ah well, Discogs can clear much of that up for you if you're curious enough.)


IN BRIEF: Looking back in trance time.

I hadn't planned on doing this review anytime soon. There's always a certain fear in going back to a release you hold fond memories of but know will not stand up against genuine scrutiny as much as you'd hope. Equally difficult is when it is an album, for whatever reason, you hold a sentimental place in your heart -you would love to give it a glowing review but any trace of sentimental fanboyism will ruin your credibility faster than a lip syncing pop star. Yeah, it's not fun doing these kinds of reviews.

However, with the recent and all-too-soon death of Markus Löffel, a.k.a. Mark Spoon, I can't help but feel compelled to tackle this now. I never knew the man (obviously) so writing some sort of obituary is out of place -that's for friends and family. Also, I never really followed much of his career. Most of the music I'll remember him by came out in the early half of the 90's, a time when I was hardly clued into what was going on overseas. Still, the work he did with Jam el Mar laid the ground for much of what was to come in this whole trance thing. As with many others, it was the Jam & Spoon sound that swayed me to the underground.

This isn't going to be a typical review. To judge Tripomatic Fairytales against the history of trance is unfair, as this release is very much a product of its time. Likewise, it would be quite tasteless of me to try and spin some sort of perspective on this release with Mark's death. Instead, I'm writing this to give those who may not have heard much of the Jam & Spoon catalogue beyond the major hits an insight into some of the other works they produced.

Tripomatic 2001 has always been known to be a somewhat difficult album for casual fans to get into. The big hits - Right In The Night, Find Me - seemed strangely out of place on an album filled with oddball experimental songs like Zen Flash Zen Bones and Earth Spirit. Such was Jam & Spoon’s allure in those days, though. They were never afraid to test how far they could push their songs and, even if the results weren't always memorable, they were at least interesting.

Opener Heart Of Africa is a prime example. You get a bizarre assortment of tribal grooves, quirky sound effects, gentle synth pads, and bits of goobled dialogue all mixed into a synthetic soup. Interesting combination, to be sure, but the end result isn’t as coherent as folks seeking their poppier songs might expect. Not to say this track is a random mess of sounds -there's still flow to the way all the elements play out; however, the feeling of playing loose and fast with traditional song structure is quite apparent. Heart Of Africa is as good as a gauge to test the waters on 2001, as the style of this track tends to be the norm.

Odyssey To Anyoona -ah, now this is what I always enjoyed about old trance. Loops and loops being layered and layered on top of one another, building and building to crescendo and crescendo -er, one crescendo. The remarkable thing about Odyssey is just how long Jam & Spoon dwell on the rhythm at the beginning, yet manage to keep things from sounding too repetitive. Give credit to that wonderful bass kick. It creates a cavernous resonance and the louder the sound system, the more full it gets. This ain't a track meant for your tinny iPod earbuds or mini-player (although the melodic bits work just as fine). Invest in that two-grand sub-whoofer and feel how this track was meant to be felt.
One little skit which may be an inside joke later, and we're gently slid into the somber opening pads of Jam & Spoon's first big single, Stella. This track has been remixed a number of times to keep it current sounding, but I still feel the original remains the most effective. Like Odyssey, it's another track that works with layered loops. Unlike Odyssey though, Stella doesn't dwell on lengthy, rhythmic lead-ins, getting into the thick of things rather quickly. In addition, the loops don't all remain static, allowing for pitch bends and subtle effects to keep them interesting. Yes, it's more of a slow burner than your typical remakes, and I'm sure many of the new cats will wonder what the big deal with Stella is, especially with guitar strums as fake sounding as those or no massive build or melody. But that's just how the music sounded back then.

Stella ends with the elements of the track getting stripped away and then gradually slows down to a crawl. In contrast, follow-up Neurotrance Adventure does the exact opposite. Starting with a simple little three-note hook, the track slowly begins speeding up for some thirty seconds until, surprise, it's gone on to form the bassline! Heh, clever for sure, but does the rest of Neurotrance measure up? Hard to say, really. It's a pretty sparse track for a good chunk of the beginning, doing the same layered loops thing as the last couple tracks, but without anything quite as catchy. Really, there is no major hook, as the track relies on layering sweeping synths playing a benign ditty for its melody. There's also a moment midway through where you have one of those synth noises getting a pitch bend, most famously done in the duo's remix of Age Of Love, but heard in many other works Jam el Mar's had his hand in. Yeah, Neurotrance is a nice little song, but not quite as memorable as the obvious tracks here.

And now, you might want to hold onto your hats for some very oddball sounds. Zen Flash Zen Bones spends a huge amount of time having fun with quirky rhythm effects and not much else. The bass definitely growls along, but what's with some of those... hi-hats? The added claps make for a decent little bit of tribal foolery, and you cannot deny the effectiveness of those glowing stuttering synths playing a little Eastern tune towards the end, but couldn't this track have been a bit more coherent in what it was trying to accomplish?

Who Opened The Door To Nowhere is another skit, this time in the form of bubbly acid, sweeping ambient synths, and robotized voices. Very cool sounding stuff, and makes for a nice interlude.

Right In The Night. Boy, what can be said about this track? Probably most recognized for letting Jam el Mar put those classically trained guitar skills to work, it is also quite famous for giving the burgeoning trance scene its first bona-fide club hit; really by drawing upon the styling of euro dance that was so incredibly popular back then. With lyrics sung by Plavka and some extra trancey elements recycled from the B-Side of this single, Follow Me, it crossed the barrier between the underground and the mainstream so effectively that both camps declared it a classic. Good work to all four of them on this track.

Huh? Four? There's Jam, there's Mark, and there's Plavka, so who's the fourth? Heh, you didn't think the commercial accessibility of Right In The Night was their doing alone, did you? No, the man really responsible for making this song so chart friendly was Nosie Katzmaan and, as the man who's had his hand in scores of euro hits, his touch can definitely be felt on this song. Not to take anything away from Jam & Spoon, mind, but if you've ever wondered why this song sounds so much different than the rest of the material on 2001, that is your answer right there. Anyhow, moving on (right past Muffled Drums, since there's nothing of interest there).

Getting back to Jam & Spoon's more quirky side again is Path Of Harmony. A very strange sounding bassline, bizarre percussion sounds, and rhythmic experimenting make up the beginning of this track, but fear not, my friends, this isn't another Zen Flash. Once we get past all that, we're thrust into a serious groover with catchy synth stabs and throbbing voice pads; call it the housey cousin of Stella. And, lo and behold, we get an actual breakdown in this track, where, *gasp*, the main hook, a happy little synthetic thing, is introduced with gentle pads, letting things build back up to a peak where those groovey rhythms are thrust back in. A certain Dutchman was probably paying attention.

Returning to the layered loop template is Paradise Garage, a tribute track to the club of the same name. A pure trancer in the traditional sense, there's no real hook to be had in this track -just arpeggio synths and effects getting their pitches tweaked out. Love the format or hate it, you can't deny its effectiveness in sucking you into trance, especially as subdued pads get a little extra playing time towards the end. Man, but did they ever like to make things sound distant sometimes.

And, once again, were getting some rhythmic experiments, this time in the form of Earth Spirit. It's a little more coherent than Zen Flash, and there's yet another great, growling bassline to be had here, but a great number of the added sound effects tend to grate just a bit much. If Jam & Spoon's indulging hadn't won you over in the earlier tracks, I doubt this one will sway you either, but the tribal energy to be had in Earth Spirit is quite infectious, and it's a nice experiment to give the bassline over to a bubbly bit of acid later on. Ending on some ominous stuttering voice pads, this might make you feel more in tuned with your animal instincts than any other track on here.

Alternatively, Stella's Cry will most likely get you in touch with your more humane feelings (aw, garsh). A pleasant little number that, despite actually having a brisk rhythm to it, is carried by benign sweeping synths, string stabs, and piano ditties. It definitely catches that morning after feel as the night's festivities come to an end and would have been a perfect capper on 2001...

...Had Find Me not been seemingly tagged on here. Well, that's because this track was thrown on the American release when it became the big hit it did (thanks to, once again, Nosie Katzmaan finding the euro hit capabilities of Odyssey To Anyoona). Not that it's a bad thing, really. The song is fine and dandy for what it is, being the birth of vocal trance (probably) and all but, with in sounding so out of place coming right at the very end of 2001, it doesn't quite leave the same feeling upon finishing this release as Stella's Cry would have. At least Right In The Night was bookended by interludes so it wouldn't interfere with Jam & Spoon's more quirky tracks.

And there you have it, my friends. There is any number of ways to conclude what sort of album Tripomatic Fairytales 2001 is: genre classic; underground burner; failed crossover attempt; hopelessly outdated -it tends to boil down to your level of cynicism, I suppose. Of course, I'd recommend this album for anyone who wishes to have a piece of trance history in their collection but it should be forewarned you will be getting a release with a lot of variety. Yes, I know this is supposed to be a good thing but I've known many folks who were disappointed in 2001 because it wasn't filled with copies of Right In The Night or Stella (for the record, I never even heard those tracks when I first picked this up -it was Follow Me that tuned me into the Jam & Spoon sound). Keep your mind open to what these two were trying out here, however, and you're sure to enjoy their little fairytale several years on.


Score: 7/10

ACE TRCKS:
Stella
Right In The Night
Path Of Harmony


Written by Sykonee. Originally published 2006 for TranceCritic.com. © All rights reserved.