REVIEWS

Totakeke
At the Train Station on a Saturday Evening

Frozen Empire Media

Posted: Tuesday, March 21, 2006
By: Ilker Yucel
Editor

It is becoming increasingly difficult for electronic artists to maintain any sense of originality anymore. When it seems like every form of experimentation and musical motif has been attempted and successfully implemented, one begins to wonder where the line is drawn; has electronic music become stagnant? Totakeke is here to answer that question with a resounding "No!" The brainchild of Frank Mokros, the music on At the Train Station on a Saturday Evening may not be particularly original, but it is no less creative. Every song begins slowly and quietly, leading into a gradual buildup of soundscapes and beats. There is a symphonic quality to this music; there is a varied structure for each song, never resorting to repetition unless necessary to the overall theme. It is not unlike the later ambient techno of Download, although it is slightly less schizophrenic. There are washes of ambient pads all over this CD, coupled with clever arrangements of electro-beats and blurbs of malfunctioning synthesizers. The beats are what keep this from being a straight ambient CD, but their placement in the songs are well integrated and never oppressive. Beats can go in and out, creating a balance between tension and calm. The one downside to this CD is that while the music is very good, the tracks do tend to run together. Not that all the songs sound exactly the same, but when listening to the CD from beginning to end, the listener may be hard-pressed to find any individual track to his or her liking. However, it could be argued that this is evocative of a thematic flow throughout the album, once again drawing to the symphonic aspect of the music. Overall, At the Train Station on a Saturday Evening is a good album. The arrangements and production are top-notch, and the music is appealing yet intricate. Totakeke is a sure sign that there is still some creative life left in electronic music.