Being a critic of music is something I have enjoyed for nearly 20 years. One of the advantages of doing so is that I am given the opportunity to hear a lot of the world's best electronic music before it comes out. This is all well and good when the releases being sent to me are above average and worthy of my attention. Unfortunately, of late, this has been happening less and less. It is difficult to catch my ear nowadays, for the album must be so creative and challenging that sometimes artists lose focus on keeping things musical. Daring to be different is not always a good thing in the music industry.

In this case, daring to be different proved victorious. Sturm und Drang by Robosonic is an amazing journey into the subconscious of listening and dancing, passion and love, deliverance and abandonment. It is a concept album that encompasses all aspects of electronica. Heck, there is even a little hip hop for the headstrong. It is a selection of beautifully crafted tracks and interludes, samples and synths, percussion and sweeps. Quite simply, it is an artist album that takes the focus and directs it towards the intelligent listener and engulfs he or she into a fantasy of places we have wished music to take us for some time.

Robosonic are the duo of Belgian born Sacha Robotti and Argentinean Cord Henning. Together they run one of the freshest new labels in Germany called Diskomafia and Undercoverart. So far, they have worked with such artists as Alexander Robotnick, Coconut Wireless, Ursula 1000, and Oliver Koletzki. With artists like this lining up to work with these lovers of all things yellow, how could one expect anything less.

"Move over Samim with your accordion, the rodeo is coming to town."

Their production skills, mastering and engineering ability on this album are all top notch. The artwork on the album is just as brilliant. It's all yellow. They love yellow. Did I mention that? As I am listening to the album, I pause. Was that a horse galloping sample I just heard? By George, I think it was. A horse galloping over a four on the floor beat? Move over Samim with your accordion, the rodeo is coming to town.

This is just one of the many examples I can give you of the brilliant creativity that took my breath away. I have never ever heard anything like this before. It is so passionate and beautiful that it brings a tear to my eye. No joke my dear readers. I do not know what to tell you. How does one describe something like this. It is what our beloved scene has been searching for since the turn of the millennium, and it surfaces of all places from 2 young chaps who love music. That's another thing. I actually made it a point to search out and contact them and ask them a steady stream questions. One of the most impressive things I found out was that Robotti was a Cello player when he was younger. How cool is that?

Oh my God! Was that a sample From Pulp Fiction? This album is a Royale without the cheese. It will go down in the annals of dance music as one of the finest masterpieces ever produced. It is one of those albums that will always be in my music collection. You know the albums I am talking about: Ziggy Stardust, The Wall, Sgt. Peppers, Sturm und Drang. Now, we can go track by track and discuss the many key elements making up this work. But that would be contradictory to what the album is trying to portray. It must be enjoyed as a complete all inclusive whole, rather than be picked apart and compartmentalized.

Rush out and buy this record. You will not be disappointed. I hope you have the same experience as I did. Brilliance! Pure brilliance.

Track-list:

1. Die Kinder Vom Kotti
2. Die Blechtrommel
3. Yasmin
4. Der Ritt
5. Kaputt In Hollywood
6. Sprachfehler
7. Die Kleine Prinzessin
8. 1984
9. Die Unertraegliche Leichtigkeit Des Seins
10. Kabale Und Liebe
11. Traumnovelle
12. Die Verwandlung