Inside The Reactor

Originally formed out of the Goa vibe of the early 90's, Juno Reactor continues to improve music with impressive beats and trancey sonicvibes. At the time the band consisted of Ben Watkins, and StefanHolwick (Total Eclipse) who collaborated to produce an intense experimental ambient soundtrack to go along with performance and sculpture artist Norma Fletcher's "The Missile Project". The band was named after a 70 foot long concrete structure that Watkins' girlfriend made called Juno Reactor. The word Juno comes form a Latin word meaning god or goddess. Together the name came to stand as a powerhouse of the ancient religions.In 1993, Juno Reactor released its first single on Nova Mute titled "Laughing Gas". Subsequently following the single came their debut album, Transmissions. This release exposed the world to the dance-techno stylings of Juno Reactor, and it was greeted by a huge success. Shortly there after, the band released their second album on Alex Patterson's (Orb) Inter-Modo label. The album, titled Luciana, was essentially the tracks created for "The Missile Project".After leaving Nova Mute and Inter-Modo, Juno Reactor signed to UK?s Blue Room label to release 1995's ?Guardian Angel? single and their third album Beyond the Infinite in 1996. While the driving force behind the music was still a heavy barrage of trance influences,Watkins added in more diverse elements, such as break beats. The 1997 release on Wax Trax/TVT Records, Bible of Dreams, marked Juno Reactor?s fourth album. Relatively different from the previous threealbums, it marked a dynamic transformation away from the typical dance-techno formula that continues to dominate the genre. With the single ?Congo Fury?, Watkins introduced Amampondo, Nelson Mandela?s favorite traditional South African percussion act, to the world of Juno Reactor. Later that year, Watkins took Amampondo on a five week tour of the U.S. with him opening for Moby. The performances proved a crowd pleaser, and Juno Reactor kept Amampondo as a full time tour collaborator.Other than the Juno Reactor releases, Watkins has also had tracksappear on Mortal Kombat, Eraser, Virtuosity, Lost In Space, the Romeo & Juliet trailer, Beowulf and recently Once Upon a Time in Mexico, The Matrix movies: Reloaded and Revolutions. In addition to the various movies, Juno Reactor soundtracks have been played during baseball, basketball, grid iron football, the Japanese Grand Prix, and three tracks on Play Station