S·F·X

"A mix of techno-pop and experimental tracks with lots of Close Encounters samples. The all but the latest CDs of this release add the tracks from The Making of Non Standard Music. (marked by "*") Guests: Kubota and Sandii, Koshi, Nishimura. Still available at a budget price. This album is usually considered Hosono solo, not an F.O.E. album. "
"This is an excellent example of Hosono's innovations in electronic music. Borrowing liberally from old-school hip-hop (especially on the first two tracks), it is only very slightly dated, and still danceable, with "technopop" tunes contrasted markedly against experimental excursions. The fourth track, SFX, is absolutely brilliant and requires attentive listening to percieve its every nuance. "Alternative 3", the sixth cut on the CD, is equally remarkable, but is even more difficult to listen to (it is more impressive than entertaining). The last four tracks are also rather experimental, and occasionally ambient. But don't expect easy listening. Both of the "Medium Compositions" are superficially bright, but mask a somber undercurrent. The last track, "3-6-9", is rather dark and ultimately degenerates into digitally sampled noise. All in all, a tremendous achievement from the god-father of Techno music as we know it today."