My expectations of this CD were huge. Alexander Ridha AKA Boys Noize, if not my favourite producer in the business at the moment, surely has to be one of the most unique and innovative figures in the electro scene. Before I get into specifics, let me just tell you that this is a double CD, and in total it lasts for around 2.5 hours. It’s not a remixed album, it is just one track after another selected from artists from the Boys Noize Records label. It’s been tipped as the German equivalent to Ed Banger, and for good reason.

From the moment you put disc one into the CD player, you are aware it’s going to be epic. By track four I was already in love with it. It starts with tracks from German producer Siriusmo and UK’s Shadow Dancer and they’re the perfect way to start the album, full of change ups, climaxes and pulsating electronic beats. The compilation features a few Boys Noize original tracks and remixes, and the rerub of The Faint’s The Geeks Were Right is a new age space odyssey into a retro-fied image of the future. One of my favourite tracks is the Boys Noize original Volta 82, and it’s at this point I concluded that Ridha can do no wrong. The ever changing variations on the beat, from the vibrating metallic sounds of the synthesised melody to the heavy bassline, reveal the distinct Boys Noize genius of building a killer tune from scratch.

The album also features tracks from Puzique (an alias for Boys Noize and label mate D.I.M.), including the vocal house banger Dont Go that shows the diversity and ability of Ridha and D.I.M. to shatter the ‘electro’ tagline. Despite the majority of tracks being dance floor fillers, there is a good selection of party tracks including Djedjotronics Dirty & Hard that’s an electro hip hop jam and Housemeisters’ humorous track We Need Cash, which you will either love or hate. The beat is trippy and the nonchalant vocals poke fun at the desperate attempts that party animals will go to in order to make a bit of dough. Many have tipped Housemeister to be the next big producer to blow up on the scene, and with the unique ability to infuse electro with tech and catchy vocals it looks likely we’ll be hearing a lot more from him.

Disc two begins is a far more instrumental offering, with only a few vocal tracks, such as the Baltimore style Ready Or Not by CLP. Virtually every track contains tech house and even progressive elements, and it’s for those who like their electro a little more toned down with most of the tracks stray away from the signature Boys Noize style. Featured is a relaxed remix of the classic Frau by I Robots, which is very different to the intensity of the original remix. Frenchman Feadz features on his remix of Boys Noize track Lava Lava, showing that maybe even French electro is diverging away from its stereotypical sound.

If the CD is listened to with an open mind, then there’s no doubt it will become a favourite. I imagine that it’s some indication of the tracks Boys Noize will be dropping on New Years Day at Sydney’s Field Day, and if that’s the case then ladies and gentlemen, we’re in for a treat. Move over Ed Banger, Boys Noize Records has arrived.

Check out the tracklisting…
Disc 1:

01. Siriusmo – Mein Neues Fahrrad (Boys Noize Edit)
02. Shadow Dancer – Poke
03. The Faint – The Geeks Were Right (Boys Noize vs D.I.M. Remix)
04. Puzique – Don’t Go
05. Boys Noize – Volta82
06. Djedjotronic feat Spoek – Dirty & Hard
07. John Starlight – Shadowbreaker (Boys Noize Mix No.1)
08. Les Petit Pilous – Dodo Electro
09. Strip Steve – Ready Steady
10. D.I.M. – Is You
11. Housemeister – We Need Cash
12. Shadow Dancer – Cowbois (Das Glow Remix)
13. Boys Noize – Kill the Kid
14. Darmstadt – Out of the Blue (D.I.M. Remix)
15. Einzeller – Schwarzfahrer

Disc 2:
01. Housemeister – Hello Again
02. Siriusmo – Simple
03. Puzique – Thomas
04. Shadow Dancer – What Is Natural
05. Les Petits Pilous – Wake Up
06. CLP – Ready or Not
07. I Robots – Frau (Pandullo vs. Und Mix)
08. Boys Noize – Lava Lava (Feadz Aval Aval Remix)
09. D.I.M. – Is You (Brodinski Remix)
10. Eastwest – Psychedelic Disco
11. Puzique – Chemie
12. Les Petit Pilous – Jolie Fille
13. Strip Steve – You & I
14. Housemeister – Sonne, Mond & Sterne
15. Siriusmo – Last Dear