Artist: Sonic Animation
Album Title: Eleven: A Sonic Animation Retrospective
Label: Inertia
Bones:
Summary: Safe from the lynchings
Reviewed By: Chad Bosworth

Sonic Animation need no introduction to the Australian Dance music scene, but for those not dwelling on our rather large island - here's the low-down:

Sonic Animation is comprised of Rupert Keiller, Adrian Cartwright, Steven Bertschick, Mark Saul & Richard Falkner who have now been helping mould the Oz Electronic scene for... er... eleven years. They've done rave tracks, club tracks, radio tracks and remixes, and have managed to avoid the mainstream enough that they haven't remixed Britney Spears.

Eleven compiles some of Sonic Animation's most memorable works from four albums and an EP, and throws 3 new tracks in for good measure. (Don't they all these days?). There's also a bonus mix CD of their tracks juggled and reworked by some other leading Aussie DJ's, including Bexta and Infusion, and a few more "rare" tracks from EP's, promo's and unreleased white labels.

The no-brainers are here (there'd be lynchings if they weren't), "I'm a DJ", "Theophilus Thistler", "Love Lies Bleeding" and "E-ville" (with the delightfully distorted vocals of Shihad frontman Jon Toogood), however the lads have served up a good cross-section of their releases, without dwelling too much on the albums that brought them the most commercial attention. This allows the new fans to get a taste of their earlier pieces that are now impossible to find.

A remixed Sonic Animation tracks is always a head-trip, but these ones work well - and demonstrate that this music is as much for people four-stories out of their heads as it is for those on the ground. The new tracks feel a little uninspired, with the exception of "But Myself" (a catchy little number featuring Erica McLean on vocals), but then that's not really why you buy a retrospective anyway, is it?

Personally I think Orchid for the Afterworld is a great introductory point to the music of Sonic Animation, but Eleven is a decent collective, without being JUST a collective - so it's one for the established fans too.