Beatboys 2000 Citylife 2 Play: Lo-Fi   Mid-Fi   Hi-Fi   Download: Lo-Fi   Mid-Fi   Hi-Fi (Excerpt from track 'Subspace (Mix)')

CDR / 10 tracks / 61.18 mins

This is in a similar style to Citylife 1 but some of the tracks have a somewhat harder edge. This is evident right from the opener 'Kohl in Halle'. A rather heavy rhythm and lead line combination blast forwards only stopping occasionally for a repeated vocal sample. I suppose it's closer to dance territory than traditional EM and as subtle as a brick.

Other examples of the heavy treatment can be found on 'Magnum' and its remix 'Magnum (fast)' incorporating rapid machine gun beats. 'Somewhere' had some rather nice lead lines but the backing beat was rather unimaginative and plodding. There are some more 'tuneful' moments such as 'Shuny' which initially combines a rumbling bass beat with rather cosmic pads progressing to a steady rhythm and melodic loop. It was nice but maybe went on a bit. Similar comments could be made about 'Hal's Dance'.

Overall 'Deprie' had a rather dark and ominous feel. Quite unsettling actually- certainly not easy listening and I really didn't like the manic sample. More vocal samples set the scene at the start of 'Flying Saucers'. This is a much more successful offering however with some nice combinations of sounds and rhythms with a touch of Cerulean about it. The two 'Subspace' mixes were also quite successful, little melodic motifs combining with some Kraftwerk type vocoded vocals and body moving rhythms to excellent effect. The running time might look decent but without the two re-mixes it would be reduced to just under 50 minutes. Even though there are some good moments here particularly near the beginning and the end. The 'filling' as it were didn't really impress. Not the best Beatboys 2000, they tried to stretch the 'Citylife' concept a bit too far I think. (DL)

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