w1b0

Wibo had jokingly always called his upcoming debut album ‘his legacy’, which now sadly has become a painful truth. With the support of Wibo’s family, U-TRAX is now doing the only thing that doesn’t feel totally wrong: proceed as planned, and release When Humans Ruled The Earth.

W1b0 made quite a name for himself with heavy electro tracks that he released on labels like Bass Agenda, Hilltown Disco and Discos Antónicos. Standing at 202 meters, and combined with a cheerful character, most people remember him as the gentle giant of electro.
For this album, Wibo wanted to steer away from the dark and heavy electro he mostly made until then. The idea of having a platform to create delicate electronic music in different styles, and make it a showcase of his versatility, was very appealing to him. And that is where he and U-TRAX found each other.

The full-length album (over 75 minutes on cd and digital) comes after The Pilex Program EP, released in October, that featured a remix by Detroit’s Ectomorph of Pilex Driver and saw Program Yourself To Feel remixed by a well-known Dutch producer that recently created the new ‘techno alias’ Human Form.
As usual with U-TRAX, the album comes in three different editions, with the 11-track double vinyl version containing the Ectomorph and Human Form remixes. The CD and digital version boast original versions only, plus four additional tracks: Alternate Reality Interface, Mixed Matter Fluctator, Synthetic, and In There. The cassette version more or less has the same track list as the CD/digi version, but has both aforementioned remixes and a bonus track in the incredibly hypnotizing I Wanted You, a track that unfortunately couldn’t be on the CD and vinyl versions.
Buyers of the physical releases get treated on superior quality products, another trademark of U-TRAX. The vinyl edition boasts over one hour of music, on two 180 grams, green vinyl discs, in a black & white & neon green gatefold sleeve. The eye-catching artwork is created by Utrecht artist Leffe Goldstein, known amongst others for his psychedelic beer can designs for Utrecht brewery Maximus. Wibo, being the beer lover he was, had zero doubts about having Leffe Goldstein do the cover for his album. The CD has a total playing time of 75 minutes and comes in a beautiful six-panel digipack, while the 85 minutes long cassette will have full on-body print and comes in a plastic-free Maltese cross fold-up sleeve.

Opener Acid Whip is one of the oldest compositions on this album, in which a dark 303 bassline hums over layers of spacey strings. Wibo made it especially for the Whip It party in Amsterdam’s De Melkweg, that he was invited to play at on behalf of Bass Agenda. Alternate Reality Interface then presents bouncy rhythms toying around with all sorts of analog (bass) synthesizers, before we go really deep with the epic ambient techno track Wandering Souls.
Next, things get a little lighter spirited: Mixed Matter Fluctator is an electro track that builds on sounds created by Matt Buggins. It has very strong Detroit influences, the city Wibo loved so much and that he made a pilgrimage to with a group of friends that called themselves ‘The Techno Tourists’. The tempo goes up a notch in Program Yourself To Feel, that halfway opens up in wide science fiction strings that evoke memories of Star Wars, the movie series that Wibo was a great fan of, and that was the source of many of his tracks’ names. The Human Form remix opens the vinyl edition of this album and is a downright belter of a track.
Next is a somewhat experimental intermezzo named Synthetic. Erratic beats and pounding bassdrums get accompanied by very subtle eerie-sounding strings, before melancholic synthesizers and piano chords take over. This is an excellent prelude to the epic Hologram Computing, a track that is one of our favorites. It slowly and softly builds and builds, before a pounding bassdrum breaks loose and a hypnotic arpeggio takes you to higher planes.
Not ready to letting the listener relax, w1bo then serves Beilstein Reference, which again presents his trademark cocktail of down-to-earth electro rhythms and catchy melodies, covered in all sort of little sounds and noises, giving the song a lot of energy. What follows is Hit me, a track loosely based on a song by Dutch indie rock band Mr. Joe Abe. Wibo met the band’s singer on a camping site while being on holidays and the two decided Wibo should do a remix of one of their songs. Nothing was left of the original except the vocals, and the result is a remarkable cheerful, poppy electro song.

Anticipated Input is one of the more recent tracks Wibo made for this album, combining electro, acid and, yes: epic strings. But not all is peace and quiet on this album, as Pilex Driver shows. This is w1b0 going experimental in a danceable fashion: Industrial sounds make the track sound like we’re passing a construction site that is playing loud electro music. On the vinyl version of this album, Ectomorph totally decomposed the original and made it into a mysterious, almost subdued, and totally brilliant electro track that sees a main role for the retro Roland CR drum machines sounds.
TFHats, Wibo’s fellow member of the Transhumanism collective, added lyrics to Cartesian Coordinates. His vocals add a pleasant New Wave flavor to this song, that has breaks that remarkably reminds one of Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit. What follows is the most personal track on this album. Fornan is a song that Wibo made for his wife Nanette, and was added as the last piece of the puzzle that creating an album is. The warm Detroit techno atmosphere in this electro song couldn’t be a more beautiful tribute to his love, and mother of their two young boys.
The album then takes a surprising detour through a 1980s landscape with In There, that features the Joy Division-esque vocals of another one of Wibo’s friends, indicated only as Vincent. The super slow and gloomy track is a treat for anyone that loved the darker side of New Wave. The album has a worthy closer in the sensitive, yet playful Schlegel Diagram. 

The vinyl edition boasts a 180 grams, green, double disc set in a full-color gatefold sleeve.
The CD has a total playing time of over 75 minutes and comes in a beautiful six panel digipack.
The cassette has full on-body print and comes in a plastic-free Maltese cross fold-up sleeve.

Download this album or buy the vinyl, CD or cassette at:

Available on limited edition green heavyweight double vinyl [27 UTR QDM27], six-panel digipack CD [27 UTR QDM26] and cassette [27 UTR QDM28], and or download and streaming: November 11, 2022.

Artwork & design by Ed van Oosterhout, Leffe Goldstein.
Mastered by Johanz Westerman, Ballyhoo Studio Mastering.