Tekton Motor Corporation

"Champions" (Album, 1996)

You've got to give this guy (Magirus Branko Mirt) credit for originality. His aim is to produce trance dance music - certainly not original on its own - but what sets the wonderfully-named Tekton Motor Corporation apart is its obsession with motor vehicles (in particular Formula 1 racing cars) and its insistance on creating groovy tunes that feature samples of Formula 1 racing cars screaming up and down! But, amazingly, it works. TMC has also released Human Race Ignition on the same label and appeared on a handful of compilations including Head Your Mind (Dreamtime, 1993) and Mind The Gap Vol. 1 (Gonzo Circus, 1994). The only comparable approach that I'm aware of is that used by Holy Gang on their album Free Tyson Free! - in that case the obsession is with Mike Tyson and the album features boxing samples.

Most of the eleven tracks feature soul diva-ish vocals but on occasion a distinctly "Cor blimey, guv" Cockney-accented female chips in too - making the whole enterprise rather unique. Bar the introductory track (Interlude) and a couple of others, the majority revolve around a similar tune and vocal refrain of "Do You Love?" and the titles reflect this: Love Me, Give Me Your Love, How Do You Love, Where Do You Love etc. etc. TMC are at their best on the more low-key track like Interlude and We Turn The Wheel with its simple, repetative groove. Unlike much trance, most of the songs on Champions are short - most clocking in about three minutes. The longer exceptions (including We Turn The Wheel) are actually the better tracks in my mind. The final seven-and-a-half minute cut, Champion, begins with a sample from a commercial for Champion spark plugs! It develops using an array of synths, guitars and the (by now) ubiquitous racing car samples, carried along by a rhythm not unlike that found on the Exterminate single by Snap. The sleeve notes tell us that Branko Mirt went to the trouble of arranging with the McLaren Racing Team to record Formula 1 drivers Mark Blundell and Michael Andretti for those engine roars. That kind of dedication has got to derserve respect in anyone's book! 7/10

Rob Dyer