This is the first album from Ronnie Martin (the brother of Starflyer 59�s
Jason Martin), being Joy Electric, released in 1994. Though this might not be a
great record or something, it�s still quite essential stuff for the people who
are truly interested in the history of Christian Alternative Music. Joy Electric
was one of the very first synth-pop-groups in the scene, and it�s hard to
believe that it�s all done by just one person, Ronnie Martin, who has been in
several synth-pop-groups before he started Joy Electric as a project. With this
record and all the other EP�s and full-lengths he released and certainly the
start-up of the formal T&N-imprint-label Plastiq Musiq, he created a small
but devoted fan-base. I think he deserves respect because he chose to stand
apart from all the hype�s in dance-music and stayed true to his own style,
though that style changed a bit through the years. The whole record is filled
with bleeps, static keyboards and the slow, kinda childish singing of Ronnie
Martin. It�s weird as can be, but don�t under-estimate this music, because
as easy as it might sound, it�s still very difficult because it has been done
only by analog synthesizers and it�s quite a lo-fi-recording. Recommended if
you�re looking for something else to put in your stereo. But with the warning
that�s it�s really weird stuff.
Karel
Smouter