Emika // Emika

Time was, you could rely on anything Ninja Tune brought out being absolutely second to none; they were talked of in hushed, revered tones, rather like John Peel. An artist had really made it if Ninja Tune had accepted them onto their roster. From Mr Scruff to Roots Manuva, it was all solid stuff. So when I saw Emika was on the infamous NT I sat up and I listened. She creates her electronic music in her bedroom in Berlin (of course) and says her main inspiration is the Dr Who theme tune (can’t argue with that one). Mary-Anne Hobbs and Thom Yorke are both said to be fans; I, however, am not so much. Despite moments of dark, brooding, classically-tinged brilliance, this album is just boring; too many tracks all at the same pace and with the same feel makes Lizz a dull girl. There’s one piano piece in there called Credit Theme, which is beautiful, but for me the rest didn’t really add up to much. There was certainly no stand out obvious song to be used as a single, and mostly it made me feel like quite depressed, but not in a Smiths or Cure way. So, if you like miserable electronic music I would suggest Joy Division would be a better choice. 5/10 Lizz