Label: Flying Rhino Records
Released: 2000

01. 1920
02. 1947
03. Won't Belong
04. Breathless
05. The Religion
06. Down On Earth
07. Closer
08. CircleMakers
09. Bad Seed
10. Lunar Lammas

Paul Baguley and Sonya Bailey are not only life partners, but also a musical duo known as ManMadeMan. And while their group was never recognized among the greatests, which outlined new directions, incite some revolutions, then from time to time was effectively able to disconnect listeners thoughts off the mundane matters and allow them to raise above them, deliver psytrance's beauty, fly away into the clouds of pleasure - and sometimes even into the farest, most difficulty for available clouds, where sounds transform itself into trance...

ManMadeMan is a project known since 1996, when they started to release its vinyls and tracks for compilations of labels so recognized (in one's time, of course) as Matsuri Productions or Brand New Entertainment. Only in 2000 these British artists released their first album "Lovetechnology" in Flying Rhino Records. Till that moment the scene's world have heard just over 20 compositions of the act! Sounds of these productions were very diversity - from pure goa ("Angel Hair") to amelodiousness tracks: with influences of rough styles ("Feeler").

But we have now "Lovetechnology". The example of objectively great composition from this CD, which will enchant probably everyone, is the last track - "Lunar Lammas". The composition is in the beginning as sad goa, with another minutes, by the assist of excellently well-matched samples and bass that effectively brings an energy, comes to us a twisted melody, which in the last stage is going to more twisted and goa style, the arrangement at that moment ideally build itself with a follows of stunning, hallucinogenic shot of happiness, that hit the heart. And you would like to say: I love ManMadeMan. But when we start to listen to the album the second time, the question: why so equally marvelous pieces aren't in the previous period of album, will accompany us and this question can causes that the album will disappear from our memory after a few years. Oblivion is the biggest pain for every artist...

I will describe those nine compositions. "1920" is a great introduction to the album, because with ambient plein-airs of apocalypse we enter into not too fast, but appropriate for the start, rhythms. It's worth to look in the ManMadeMan's music especially at bass and arrangement's ideas - just in this track the duo shows them in pleasant and not imitative way. The track number two is "1947". The whole is one big fun of arrangement: and is interesting fragile, cybernetic, not too fast. In the background always something is going on; this is universal element of ManMadeMan as well. More melodious territories draw in front of us "Won't Belong". The bass is melodious here, the background is haunted with a little dark samples. The main motive of the track is builded on rhythmical voices samples (very interesting it is). The tempo was until now 130 BPM, but from now on it will go faster. "Breathless" is perhaps the less charismatic track of the CD. Its dynamic seems to be too stiff, and contained samples at times are arranged too chaotic. The darkness is "The Religion". The composition is like a blend of psytrance and techno. We have psychedelic moments (especially in the end, there is also more optimistic), while rhythmicity as if was born in a fully automated factory, where everything is conducted by robots.

The track number six is "Down On Earth". Until 25th second we have an expectation, in 25th second the kicks herald a regulated arrangement, with which we progressively will go to the final; progressive is also one of universal ManMadeMan's features. That final is a psychedelic tumour: the sounds are gathering and stand as in circus one above other and creating in just this musical example a twisted, small symphony of ManMadeMan. The worst bad point of the next composition, "Closer", is a bass. Thanks to this bass meaning of the track is more robotized, but it would be good to have smoothness here. In the result we have a track in style of, though generally worst than, "Breathless": many sounds that could be organized in a better way I think. "Circle Makers" is already a vein of psytrance. On this example I can say that only presence of energic bass brings many positives. The arrangement is typical for the CD, i.e. many things happens, though without having some main motives. "Bad Seed" duplicate the worst scheme of ManMadeMan's track: stiff bass, many samples, lack of aim - you completely don't know where are you going to about the middle of track, only in that moment psytrance's spirit takes control over the construction and something crazy is born.

The objective minus of this ManMadeMan's music are some samples of male's voice. When they come into the space of sounds ("1920", "1947"), then it can be felt its worse quality in the context of other sounds. But the biggest minus is a lack of wide scale of absorbing motives. Mainly was bringed here an emotionally neutral "technology" - the music is more than anything else as if alienated from humans, mechanical. In this context composition "Lunar Lammas" sounds so organic, that we can love with it.