At the bottom of my bag, which goes everywhere with me, is a Chris Fortier CD. It’s the Balance compilation that Chris released a few years back, which I bought in England in 2005. The reason I take this CD everywhere with me is not because I have fallen head over heels in love with the mix; rather it’s because, for the past 12 months, I’ve been meaning to play it and still haven’t gotten around to it. So there the CD sits, much like David Hicks in Guantanamo Bay, not accused of any crime but just awaiting the day when I will actually get around to doing something about it. Then, when the opportunity arose to review this new Chris Fortier album I thought “perfect”! Just what I need to quash my apathy towards his Balance mix and listen to some first-class new music at the same time.

For those of you who aren’t aware, this is not a mix compilation but instead an artist album, showcasing Chris’s most recent production work. The last unmixed CD I reviewed, by Tilt, has become one of my all-time favourite CDs and I was relishing the opportunity to get my teeth (and ears) into another one.

It’s almost mandatory for electronic CDs, especially those of the ‘progressive’ variety, to commence with a minimal tune, one that eases the listener into proceedings. Chris’s version of Sunday is a Travel Day is a brilliant example of this. There isn’t a beat in the whole track, more a wind chime-esque melody wrapped around the softest of bass lines. It’s a beautiful track and I’m absolutely smitten with it – an excellent start!

A quick qualification: I use the term ‘progressive’ in the previous paragraph very loosely, as this collection of music contains techno, tech house and acid music, as well as some more progressive-sounding tracks. The early section of the CD has somewhat of a Jeckyll-and-Hyde persona, and there is no better example of this than the next sequence of tracks. Portion Control is one of those tracks that inspire caprice in the listener – immediate dislike, followed by growing acceptance, then tooing-and-froing between hating and liking on each listen. No doubt I’m the one with the personality disorder, not the music!

We all have ideas that are best left alone. In ITM the forums, it’s referred to as “think before you post”. And it’s advice that someone should have given to Chris when he created Under Your Nose. If I were to try and describe this track, I’d say it was the sound you’d get if you put a stethoscope on a dog that was suffering from gastro. You can hear the heart beating rhythmically, some gurgling sounds and that’s about it. I can only give heartfelt thanks to the lovely people at Toyota who created a stereo that only plays sounds and not smells, or I wouldn’t be able to get back into my car for a month!

Fantastic Diversion is not how I would describe this album, but it is the name of the fourth track on the CD. While this song actually has a tune that you could hum, it is almost forgotten after the first 30 seconds and not used again until the track has almost wound out. It’s a shame because it’s a great little melody and really could have been put to better use. And if Fantastic Diversion felt like it could have used a little more work, then the following track Fattback is in my opinion, complete in every way. It works purely because it’s so wonderfully simplistic. It contains a melody that’s deeply hidden, which rises to the surface and bubbles away, entrancing you in much the same way as if you spotted a picturesque stream of water in a bush clearing. Pure harmonious bliss.

This must be the ‘melody’ portion of the album, as Stay Tuned is nothing but a repetitive melody. And when I say repetitive, it seriously just goes on and on ad infinitum until you are pulling your hair out. It might work brilliantly in a club, but listening to it in my car it drives me to distraction! This is definitely a partial idea stretched well beyond its rather limited potential.

The half way point of the album is marked by the only track that actually has some lyrical content and while I quite like it, I feel that once again it’s more of an opportunity missed than a triumph created. The voice on Believe is dismembered and used as another electronic instrument, rather than giving the track some badly needed ‘human’ feeling. The voice aside, the music behind it is quite sublime. Chris has created a wonderful layered effect that allows you to discover different parts of the music each time you listen to the track and therefore the voyage of discovery needs to be a patient one, as with all songs that etch themselves in your memory for a long time.

To say that I’ve been under-whelmed so far with the efforts on this album would be an understatement, but I’m not exactly concerned, mainly because most electronic music recordings turn popular music convention on its head and pack all the best tunes towards the end of the album. But something had better happen soon.

There’s a complaint in London that goes something like this: “Sods law states that after standing around waiting for a bus for thirty minutes, three will turn up at once”. Well, for the first time on this album, I actually like two tracks in a row! Waste Not, Want Not is the tech house equivalent of a horror movie atmospheric sound track. Amongst the soaring high pitched howl that permeates the second half of this track, I can almost hear the screams of characters as they realise they’re about to be dismembered in the most horrific manner. Underlying the howl is a pulsating sinister bass line and a menacing darkness that is as delicious as anything on this album so far.

Unfortunately, unlike London buses, the run of arrivals ends at two and once again I’m consigned to endure the musical equivalent of standing in the rain without an umbrella waiting for that bus to arrive. Deep Throbmostess is the name of this particular track and whilst the name is undoubtedly clever, I get the distinct impression that Chris thought of the track name and then tried to come up with the music to match. Another idea best left on the cutting room floor if you ask me.

More up my alley is the brilliantly crafted, powerhouse of a track Belt Seat Fasten, which is so brilliant you might dance so hard you end up with a ‘deviated septum’! Of course if you’d been listening to this album then you’d know that it’s the name of the next track. Deviated Septum is fun in its own way, but it has an acid flavour that I find old and quite draining to listen to. And I suppose in many ways, “fun at times, but rather draining” pretty much sums up this entire album. It includes some absolutely brilliant pieces of work, but there are also partial ideas that have been stretched well beyond their limited potential, and other ideas that really should have been left well alone. It’s not that the collection is without its charms; more that the bad ideas outweigh the good.

If I were a DJ playing out on a regular basis, I’d definitely grab a copy because I could pick and choose the tracks I wanted to play. For those among you who love unusual or experimental music, then this is also worth a listen. You will undoubtedly appreciate the variety of sounds and the fact that this is an album that requires patience and respect before you unearth its beauty. But in all honesty, As Long As The Moment Exists is not an album that creates an overwhelming sense of joy, nor is it a big enough inspiration to get me to rummage to the bottom of my bag to drag out that old Balance CD. Well, not this week, anyway.