Track Listing

1. Extra Life
2. Chase Me
3. Telemetron
4. L-Virata
5. Perfect Bird
6. Salvador
7. Living Stereo
8. Distorted Minds
9. That Track
10. Toys Are Us
11. Pulse

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #61445 in Music
• Released on: 2004-10-11
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: CD+DVD, Enhanced

Amazon.co.uk Review
Master View is Hexstatic's latest offering. As the title suggests, this is about sight as well as sound – videos to all the tracks are included on a DVD. What's more, the DVD and the audio CD come in the same package, so you don't have to fork out for both formats. For this alone, Ninja Tune should be applauded. However, there's more to recommend this than mere value for money.

Musically, Master View is 11 tracks of the kind of quality cut-and-paste, largely instrumental hip-hop you'd expect from Hexstatic (and, indeed, most Ninja Tune artists). It's unlikely to win any new converts, but if that's your bag, the music's top notch. But stick the DVD on and you're in for a real treat. A mixture of computer animations and cut-and-paste videos awaits you, some of which can be viewed in 3D with the glasses supplied and all of which are great, highlights including the retro video-game montage of "Extra Life", the singing parrots on "Perfect Bird" and the martial-arts fighters flying out of the screen at you in "Salvador". Different, and a real success. --Marc Bloomfield

Q
"A display of musical imagination which staggers with or without the aid of complimentary glasses."

DJ,
"Inventive beats, breaks and arcade game funk complimented by wild videos. This innovative album pushes things forward sonically and visually."

Customer Reviews

Mesmerising
It has been a long wait since Rewind, technology has moved on a lot since and thankfully we now have a DVD of videos instead of a CR-ROM. Why have I made such a big deal about this? Quite simply because Hexstatic are very much a compelete audio-visual experience. Once you've watched the DVD, you'll almost feel cheated out of half of the experience when you just listen to the CD.

So the DVD is good, not just a bonus but an integral part of the package. The 3D glasses that come with it aren't so hot and gave me a bit of a headache to be honnest, but there are 2D videos of all the tracks so you can watch it in a group without all having to look silly.

On to the music. Well despite the 3D glasses I'm prepared to say that this album isn't as gimmicky as Rewind. I mean that in the sense that although their music is still littered with novelty samples, it's now not so much the main focus of the music. The result is that things seem a little less chaotic and even a little more chilled out at times on such tracks as the remix of Guitar Vader's Perfect Bird and the closing track, Pulse. In all, losing the more raw cut'n'paste usage of sampling, Hexstatic have come up with something that sounds more rounded and complete and once again quite original. While it's not as funky as their Solid Steel set or their first album, I still find myself nodding contently to the beats on each listen.

It still has a geeky stance on computers and electronics, but that's what Hexstatic are all about. Top stuff!

Now THIS is how it's done! Bravo!
An impulse buy that paid off! I've bought Hexstatic releases before, but I was drawn to this CD for it's retro artwork and bonus DVD as much as anything. Sometimes these purchases are later regretted - but definitely not this time.
The album surpasses their previous works, it's not at all patchy and not the sort of disc you end up with only one or two favourites, forever skipping the 'filler' in between. But enough about the album (!) the real knockout punch is the 'free' DVD (& 3D glasses!) which has some wonderful videos to the album tracks.
They all carry the same retro-sensibility of the bands cover art, and at least two ("Extra Life" & "Chase me")will delight fans of old arcade and computer games. The video for "Toys are us" is another gem, it's like an old Argos christmas catalogue has come to life. Everyone I've showed the DVD to loved it, irrespective of their musical tastes. The menus, and the contents are mesmerising and would have been worth the asking price alone. From a videogames fan's point of view, this is the best thing since the "Little Computer People" video of 2001.

A real gem, sonically and visually. Made me smile.

Class Act, Class tracks
Been a fan of Hexstatic since Rewind, and have to say they are my favourite live act. They are an audiovisual band...they give 3D glasses so you can enjoy the album the way it should be enjoyed...not as a gimmick.

If you like laid back beats and cool sounds and haven't seen them yet, then buy the album, load the DVD player, sit back with your 3D glasses, and enjoy a real treat!