trax was ravex’s debut album. It was released on April 29, 2009. ravex is a group formed to celebrate AVEX’s 20th anniversary alongside GIRL NEXT DOOR.

Tracks:
1. I RAVE U (Original)
2. ROCK U feat. Namie Amuro
3. Just The Two Of Us feat. Tohoshinki
4. HOUSE NATION feat. LISA
5. Bangalicious feat. Anna Tsuchiya
6. Believe in LOVE feat. BoA
7. NEW ECCENTRIC GIRL feat. CHISA (GIRL NEXT DOOR)
8. Golden LUV feat. Maki Goto
9. V.I.P.P. (Very Important Party People) feat. TRF & VERBAL (m-flo)
10. 1 more night feat. MONKEY MAJIK
11. Warui ko Mitsuketa feat. Yuko Ando
12. I RAVE U feat. DJ OZMA

Review:
I honestly don’t think of ravex as an artist, they’re of of a producer / arranger. But with I RAVE U they really shine as far as producers go. That being said I’m not a big fan of instrumentals and why they’d begin the album with one is beyond me. It’s somewhat of a waste of space. Yea there are some heavy and fun techno beats but honestly that’s all it is. There’s also a lot of synth, and even some percussion I want to say, like a cymbal almost. On the bright side though it did remind me a little of the Mortal Kombat theme song. It’s an interesting opening, at least it kicked things off fast.

Now to the highest profiler on the entire album! Namie Amuro’s ROCK U!!! One of the only reasons why I would ever listen to this album is because of this one song. Perhaps I’m exaggerating but it’s just that AMAZING. Namie’s vocals sound so sexy in between all the high pitched sleek techno beats. That and the fact that she even speaks on English, and that get down down down… sounds infectious. At times the beats did get a little annoying but for the most part it was just amazing.

Perhaps the second highest profiler on the album is Tohoshinki with Just The Two Of Us. After a long intro full of annoying synth and some rather interesting sounds, things do get better. It takes over 1 minute but after that things sound so much more peaceful and melodious. The vocals are distorted a tad and the music is ethereal, calm and filled with lots of synth. The only problem is that it’s hard to understand what they’re saying but it does sound great. However after that verse you hear the chorus, which is just a shorter version of the opening, but thankfully there are a few more vocals. It would’ve been better if there were more verses rather than along annoying choruses.

And by far one of the most house sounding songs on the album is HOUSE NATION featuring the ex m-flo vocalist LISA. As far as music goes it’s actually somewhat laid-back. There are lots and lots of funky synth and techno beats that are actually infectious. But when it comes to lyrics this song is fairly hilarious. I mean lines like “Mama papa gave birth, to baby music” an “Baby music went shopping, and never came back.” That being said it is really catchy when it comes to the chorus. And after hearing LISA’s vocals I have to admit that she’s talented, to some degree.

As much as I love Namie’s ROCK U the ONE song that beats it is Anna Tsuchiya’s Bangalicious. Unlike most of the previous songs it has its own identity as a blaring rock song with a touch of synth and techno. And the best part is that it’s English, every last bit. But besides all the great, and at times dirty English, this song is incredibly infectious. The fast music, catchy melody, and entertaining rhythm all make one hell of a combination. And its own unique sound doesn’t hurt either. Now as far as lyrics go they’re pretty simple. They don’t necessarily make all that much sense but it sounds messy and that’s never a bad thing. It’s really one HOT mess, the MOST infectious song.

But let’s not forgets BoA’s Believe in LOVE. It was the second single released and it features lots and lots of sleek and stylish synth beats. And actually I prefer this song in Japanese, it just seems to fit together. The distorted strings sound reminiscent of Rie fu’s Romantic to some extent but in this song they just sound classical and very romantic and dance oriented. And it’s fairly catchy, so I really can’t complain.

It’s taken some time but I finally like NEW ECCENTRIC GIRL. The featured artist in this song is the lovely and talented CHISA from GND. The beginning isn’t all that good despite all the distorted vocals and crazy techno, but once you get past that it’s gets better. The chorus is a lot more fun and energetic. There’s still some annoying techno beats but all the claps sound great and CHISA sounds great, she actually manages to make it slightly memorable.

We now come to another amazing song, this time it’s by MAKI GOTO. She’s been returning slowly to prominence with her amazing digital songs and she’s even been in a fashion show. I doubt Golden LUV will be featured on her new album but as long as it’s here I’m fine. Like all the other songs there’s some synth and techno but will the piano chords, percussion, brass, etc it does hold its own well. The fact that it has its own unique sound always makes it more enjoyable and since Gocchin is singing it sounds even more amazing.

If there was any time to press the skip button now would be the time. Honestly V.I.P.P. (Very Important Party People) isn’t that great of a song. Even with TRF and m-flo’s VERBAL it still falls short of its potential. Normally I love techno music but it was so choppy and annoying that I really couldn’t enjoy it. And as far as vocals go there were some, but it was mostly VERBAL. There was just too much techno music and it drowned everything out. This should have been left off.

Now if you had a repeat button you might want to press it NOW. MONKEY MAJIK’s 1 more night continues to be one of the best songs on the entire album, even better than ROCK U. This is actually a disco version I believe as it has a few added instrumentals when compared to the original, which was released as a digital single. What makes this song really special id the fact that the vocalist actually speaks English, and fluently (he’s from Canada so that’s no surprise). But besides that the vocals are extremely crisp and clear, you don’t wonder what he’s saying, and the fact that they just sound great. Music wise it’s comprised of lots of synth, some techno, a little percussion, and a tambourine for an added effect. But the chorus is THE best part; it’s simple, easy to remember and it’s downright infectious. It could have been faster but I can’t complain.

Well I have to say that at least Yuko Ando’s Warui ko Mitsuketa is a worthy attempt. I’ve never heard of her before but I have to admit that her vocals sound nice, a little deeper than usual and nasally but it’s refreshing. However that being said during the chorus in the beginning it sounded like she was drowning, she caught herself though. And she did managed to make it somewhat memorable. I’m not too sure though that the slow paced music and techno really went well together, the percussion sounded nice though. It’s a nice try, if only the music was a tad faster.

Closing the album is DJ OZMA’s version of I RAVE U. Essentially there are just more vocals and some lyrics. Other than that it’s the same as the original version. It’s not all that bad after you get past the first few seconds. It’s an interesting closing song.

Overall Review: trax was collaboration supremacy! I’ve heard a few collaboration albums but I have to say that this is the BEST one ever! What’s not to like about it. It’s a bunch of high profile artists that are doing techno/synth rather than their normal genre. Most tracks sounded astounding, but there were a few that were mundane and dull. The majority were impressive though, sure all the songs could have been a little more individual such as Just The Two Of Us or even ROCK U, but they were memorable and energetic. The only problem I have with this is the fact that most of the songs sounded way to similar, sure they’re the same style and music but at least try to give it some variety. Other than that it was an unforgettable album.

Final Grade