Speedy J — Loudboxer

Jochem Paap or Speedy J has been in the scene for more than 10 years, and his experience in the techno scene has brought fourth interesting releases, part of an impressive discography that goes further than techno only. But with this newest release Loudboxer the regular listener might be surprised.

With his intelligent techno he produced before, you would expect continuous experimentalism. However, this new work is far from experimental. If I wouldn't had told you that this was Speedy J, most listeners would describe this album as "just a techno mix album". And in fact it is. During the 15 tracks and slightly more than an hour Jochem Paap builds on percussive music and hard bass beats, working towards an end that grows harder and harder.

The first couple of tracks are nicely build-up and certainly not fast and that results in not really memorable tunes. The third Cement is the first that stands out with a nice beat that is already reaching towards the dance floor. We have to wait 15 minutes for a real change on the album. Krekc, the highlight and the single, is a 7 ½ minute long 140 bpm banging techno track that suddenly will wake you up from the fairly relaxing first half of the album. It continues that way, bringing up a "live" version of Kriikc including screaming public that is really a standout track too. The second half of the album is quite good indeed, but not special enough to make this disc something I want to play over and over again. There isn't much variation and the only thing I really enjoy are the hard beats.

Loudboxer is Speedy J’s most "commercial" release to date and is clearly aimed at the dance floor. It is also an album that comes closest to a mix CD of his entire discography. People who were waiting for experimentalism as on Public Energy No.1 and A Shocking Hobby might get disappointed. If you're into repetitive techno or happen to be a hardcore Speedy J fan Loudboxer is the disc to pick up, but that's not likely. DJ's will probably love this tough, but it fails to impress me really.