Let me tell you a story about how a Czech and an Aussie had a robot baby and named it Soul Machine. This is one hell of an epic release in terms of its sound. In general I can only take epic in small doses; Arcade Fire and Muse are two bands who are some of the worst offenders in terms of doing a TON of epic tracks. Shades of Gray I find much more appealing.
Every set could use a dash or two of epic and there are plenty of choices here, evened out by some more mellow and progressive cuts too. I kept waiting to come across a track I didn't like so much and the one that I thought started out as just okay - "Lost In The Past" - ended up being one of my favorites!
If I had to highlight a couple of songs that just grabbed me straight away they would be "Soul Machine", "Crazee", "First Kontakt" and "Just Like That". Oh and did I mention there's a 2nd remix disc full of people you've heard of? The remix standouts for me include Peter Horrevorts, Lurob, Steve Ward and Kaap De Goede.
Soul Machine is a fantastic LP showcasing the beauty and power of deep tech house when put into a capable set of hands.
Review by: Dustin Kinney / January 2012
Available: Beef Records | Vinyl from Juno | Digital from JunoDownload
