Model 500 is the namesake of Juan Atkins. For those of you not in the know, Juan Atkins, alongside Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson (aka the Belleville three), pioneered a new form of music that was more minimal and atonal with a science fiction theme, which came to be known as Techno. Techno was seen to be a more logical and intelligent take on the House Music that it was derived from. House Music was essentially remixed Disco Music itself. All three men originated from Detroit, USA. In any case, this is seen as one of the finest Techno album releases of all time and was Juan Atkins’s first major album release under this namesake. Therefore, it would be foolish and ignorant to ignore this album release. There is little specific information about this album release, although it was released back on 29 May 1995 and it has nine songs, running at nearly 55 minutes in total length. Let’s take a listen to this album, and we shall judge if it is a classic album (or not).

1. Milky Way begins with some oscillating sounds that are super spacey. It is an interesting listening experience from the get-go. This track features some fantastic sonic soundscapes. Soon enough, irregular Roland beats enter. This does sound genuinely fantastic, evoking futuristic sounds. A magical listen, this is so excellently done that few can match the style and grace in Techno based Music on this tune. Massive 4/4 beats enter, and this gets going nicely. This is a unique listen that is very much like a great film soundtrack throughout. The music and sounds are craftily original, and sound really amazing to hear. This easily sounds like something that could have been made today. This packs a distinctive and artistic flair to it all. In the midsection are a multitude of beats, juicy textures and sounds galore that all sound tripped out. A very interesting listening experience throughout. If one needs a glimpse into the music of the future, this album would reveal that. Minimal music, yet interesting and exciting, this sounds really very cool. The second half strips it all back to even more minimalism, before beats and other spacey textures emerge. A really fantastic tune, and in its nearly seven-minute length, it does not disappoint at all. Seriously good to listen to. This has majestic melodies, interesting and intricate beats with interesting textures galore. A very wonderful listen. It wraps up nicely with some stereo panned kick drum beats and a gentle fade out.

2. Orbit begins with Acid House Roland TB-303 sounds and gorgeous textures, continuing the music theme of this album nicely. It is a seven-minute-long piece to listen to. This is a wonderful example of where Techno Music shines. Some loud pseudo-subsonic 4/4 beats enter, followed quickly by a large array of beautifully unique and original textures. This is very, very good to listen to. The Acid House patch here sounds a lot like Pink Floyd’s On The Run and Donna Summer’s I Feel Love, which is very much reminiscent of the past. A clever arrangement of sounds is here. No words or lyrics, just pure Techno bliss on this album. This music has a genuine appeal to those of you who dig no-nonsense EDM with an edge to it all. This is a cool tune. It is perfect for that long, interstate drive in your car. In the second half, some treated hi-hats enter, which sounds nice. This is followed by an ethereal melody that builds into the main tune at hand. Not bad for a seven-minute-long piece of music. This sounds very much like a futuristic and enjoyable music product. Juan Atkins exercises his best musical ability on this album. Towards the end, things get nice and spacey with a glorious array of tasty ear candy textures. This wraps up just after seven minutes. A wonderful listen with glorious textures throughout. It segues into the next track.

3. The Flow features Aisha Jamiel. It features a whole load of random electronics, followed by our guest’s vocals, which are smooth and soulful. This eventually continues on nicely into a tune with spoken word rhymes. Very unusual to listen to. This music is very sweet and original in its own way, and the album certainly has held up production-wise over time. This is a very 1990s-sounding tune for Techno, with its intelligent, simple nature and soothing female vocals throughout. The vocals throughout are pleasant to listen to and just sound descriptively cool, alongside the pleasant Acid Techno on this track. Juan Atkins does brilliantly as Model 500. Another solidly good song to listen to. Very wonderful to listen to. It wraps up with some killer melodies and a quick conclusion after four minutes of music.

4. Warning begins with some glassy sounds and textures, which sound unique and wonderful. This is fairly minimal and simple to listen to. Some additional very IDM sounds enter. This is a really unique listening experience with some interesting sounds within. Techno may seem cold and mechanical at times, but this release does sound pretty, inspired and amazing for what it is. Some other additional melodic textures enter, and this tune comes nicely alive. A good listen, although this sort of music is definitely not Pop Music and will be difficult for a lot of people to get into. A very adventurous EDM tune, although admittedly, many will not dig this sort of music. It is very well done and catchy, however. The second half of the tune continues our musical trip nicely, and it sounds very futuristic but mechanical. A solid listening experience nonetheless. It is over five minutes long, but not a moment is wasted on this tune. The oscillating textures and knowledge of futuristic sounds prove that Juan Atkins was onto something here. Very, very good to listen to. It wraps up with some repeating melodies that imitate drum loops. Sweet.

5. Astralwerks is a more unusual piece with deep basslines, trippy sounds emerging and a very pleasant listening experience at hand. Again, this is fairly formulaic, but all the same, it is a very good listen throughout. This is very much a genre of music that will be little appreciated by many, but on its own, it sounds amazing. The sounds and textures on this track in particular are futuristic, original, interesting and amazing throughout. A seismic tune of epic proportions that sounds absolutely wonderful to hear. This is definitely one of the highlights of this album, which sounds really fresh and amazing throughout. In the midsection are treated xylophones and a sense of musicianship that is sweet and amazing to hear. A warped and futuristic tune that sounds sweet, intelligent and amazing. In the second half, the percussion stops for some time, with some trance-inducing sounds throughout. An extremely enjoyable and clever tune to listen to. This music is of a grand nature, and it sounds electrifying and amazing throughout. A genuinely good five-minute long track to listen to, with style and grace. It fades out gently at the end.

6. Starlight begins with some basic EDM textures that are percussive. Some other interesting sounds emerge that are quite good. This is extremely minimal, which, although good, is a slow starter. This is very much an acquired taste of an album. Yes, it is certainly good music, but it takes a while to appreciate it all. In any case, this music is good for what it is. Some trance-inducing sounds are here, although this is very minimal and repetitive as a piece of music. This is very futuristic and spacey-sounding, however. A good tune for what this is. This gradually builds up as a track as it goes along, but continues the vibe and minimalism that sonically guides this album. Unfortunately, this is a bit difficult to get through with its signature minimal sound. Sadly, this is the case with this music. It is genuinely good, but a bit repetitive and boring for what it is. The second half has a different section of sounds that are even more minimal yet progressively different. This is quite dated in terms of postmodern appeal. This album may be 30 years old, but it has not dated brilliantly. Also, the track is over six minutes in length. Anyway, just be aware that this music will not be worth it for everyone. It ends with some spacey textures.

7. Last Transport (To Alpha Centauri) begins with some static-like textures that are delayed. Soon enough, this enters into a melodic Atari 2600-sounding output tune. This is much more exciting than the track before it. It is simple, catchy and quite good listening, to be fair. This is a quirky and different piece of Techno Music to hear. It still is in a fairly rigid sonic template, but at least it has a more exciting nature about it than some of the other music on this album. A quirky, digital and sonic adventure that is very good for what it is. This music is definitely not mainstream listening, but it is good to hear from time to time. The second half has some choppy beats and continues this overly minimalistic sonic listening experience. This is good, but quite frankly, the repetitive nature of it all wears its appeal thin after some time. The beeps and bleeps are different, however. This could have been cut down lengthwise, however. Regardless, it is a good tune to listen to when one needs a bit of spacey minimalism. It wraps up with a lengthy fade out and beeps and bleeps galore to listen to, with swells of volume at various points.

8. I Wanna Be There – Edit is a more straight-ahead tune with beats, melodic loops and other good sounds. This sounds surreal, trippy and intelligent as a particular track. It is one of the highlights of this overly minimal album, and yes, it is a good one. This also has some subsonic bass to match it. Some other unusual sounds enter the mix as this gradually progresses. It is still formulaic in the sense that this is a fairly typical Techno track. Even so, this gradually reaches an interesting climax towards the midsection with some sampled and looped vocals. This still has its flaws, being very minimal at heart. The breakdown with the looped vocals is good. It is followed by a quick change into a bongo percussion section, followed by dark, trippy sounds to match this piece. A better listening experience than before, but this album is a bit too stripped back and minimalistic for its own good. In any case, this is a good but not great tune to listen to. This album and track have very limited musical appeal to it. The music gradually reaches its conclusion after nearly seven minutes in length. A good piece of music, but nothing mindblowing at all to listen to. It wraps up with some nice melodic textures and repetitive beats to hear.

9. Lightspeed is the final track and runs for nearly seven minutes. It has some 4/4 beats, spacey stereo panned sounds and a bit of vibrancy about it all. It enters into another similar, outer space travel kind of listen that sounds good, but again, is not great. This music is good, but outside of a niche EDM audience, it has very little appeal to listeners. The music may be intelligent in a way, but it is dull and lifeless to hear in some other ways. By this point in the album, a large sense of boredom has sunk in. This is not the classic album that EDM served back in 1995. Instead, it is a good representation of how pure Techno is very uninspired. The bongo beats present are good, however. This music is just a little wearisome to hear after some time, especially for those of you who value album listens that are consistently valuable and interesting from start to finish. Anyway, if you have made it this far, you certainly have patience as a listener to music. These tracks would have been better served at half the length of what they are. All in all, a good finish to an album that, on paper, is promising, yet is unflattering to listen to. This eventually wraps up with the same repetitive textures and sounds that are the mainstay of this track. It winds down minimally and concludes after nearly seven minutes. Dull.

This is an album that does not deliver to the listener. On paper, this really should have been light years ahead of music competitors. Unfortunately, it is so minimal and linear in its Techno Music nature that it quickly falls apart as an album listening experience. It does have its moments, but more often than not, this is a drag to get through. Should you listen to this album? Probably not, try a more popular EDM artist such as The Chemical Brothers for something exciting.

Dull, grey and ordinary.

6/10