Before Time Was Now

Before Time Was Now is the second instalment from the legendary soundscapes of the electronic music pioneers, covering the period 2001-2018. Four seminal albums set (Labyrinth, Gods and Monsters, The Golden Sun of the Great East, and The Mutant Theatre), newly mastered alongside a newly curated CD compilation of rarities selected by Juno Reactor (Astronauticus), includes music from Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions. Also includes a print signed by frontman, composer and producer Ben Watkins. Ben Watkins is an essential innovator of modern electronic music and a pioneer of Trance. Over the course of nearly 30 years, Watkins has created a unique driving fusion of electronica, orchestral and global music executed on an epic & symphonic scale. Juno Reactor was formed as an art project in 1990. Ben Watkins wanted to collaborate with other artists, producing exciting projects that were not commercially driven. He wanted to create experimental music and non-musical soundtracks that would work with installations, art pieces, and film projects. Labyrinth ranges from orchestral, industrial, and techno as well as containing Juno Reactor’s trademark tribal sound (possibly as best featured in Conquistador II). The album also features two songs from Watkins’ collaboration with The Matrix composer Don Davis on the films The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, “Mona Lisa Overdrive” (from Reloaded) and “Navras” (from Revolutions). Gods and Monsters features two remixes of tracks originally from the video game The Matrix: Path of Neo. “City of the Sinful” was originally used in the video game “Ever Had a Dream”, “and Immaculate Crucifixion” was originally “Multiple Smiths”, the track played during the Burly Brawl. The Golden Sun of the Great East was originally released in 2013 to great reviews with PopMatters giving the album 8/10, writing, “If there’s one word that describes the eighth and latest album from Juno Reactor, it is this: epic.” The Mutant Theatre was originally released in 2018, with Mushroom Magazine giving the album a perfect rating of 10/10, stating, “Juno Reactor’s The Mutant Theatre is truly unlike any other dance album out there, as it’s tied to a unique performance experience like none other. The album is diverse, every song being its own story but tied together, and it flows exactly as one would expect the live experience to, with high energy beats, soaring vocals, innovative music styling, and a modern but still solidly traditional production quality. As a total experience, The Mutant Theatre is a 10/10.”