Elements Of Life

A techno landmark, the first LP from the original line-up of The Advent, that is Cisco Ferreira and Colin McBean aka Mr.G.

Dark and fast and robotic, Detroit- and speed- influenced techno and cold stellar electro dominate musically this release, although subtle dub and funk influences are traceable throughout the whole thing. It influenced deeply the evolution of hard, funky techno during the '90s with blueprint cuts like 'Mad Dog' or 'Bad Boy', still almost every track has a proposition to suggest, from the self explanatory 'It One Jah' to the futuristic 'City Limits'.

Later they released a second LP which was buried by their then label (Internal) and then they splitted. Mr.G moved towards a more soulful house direction, while Ferreira retained the name and founded Kombination Research through which he releases much of his stuff and others as well (*), working for a long time towards an even darker and heavier version of their paradigm when it comes to techno. The level of his productions is always top and he's rightly considered an icon in european techno, leading many festivals, etc., on the other hand I occasionally feel he is repeating himself a little. Of course his Gigolo experiments were interesting, I prefer though his cold dark electro cuts in the occasional Kombination 12''. Lately I sense he's trying to redefine himself, which is always an interesting thing to watch.

It's sad that in none of their personal sites Ferreira and McBean don't link each other, as if they have a grudge or something.

This is an old rip from the 4x12" vinyl version. There is also a remix project for this one (which I haven't managed to find). If anyone is interested in more from The Advent let me know, I have some of the albums.

The Advent - 1995, Elements Of Life 4x12''
Part 1 - Part 2
Info here.