The French duo Skoyz is a precious stone amidst a desert of rocky releases. These two are brilliant, creating a very atmospheric and aggressive album. "Hologram" is packed with intense thumping beats, synthesizers crawling and arpeggiating everywhere you turn, and spine tingling vocals.

I have spent the last few days listening to this release, and I can’t help but move my body when I hear Skoyz.
French electronic music has a new set of artists to add to its ranks; Nicolas Ussel and Stephane Ayas are two men on a journey to take electronic music to a whole different place.
I cannot stop listening to this… it’s like Daft Punk for fans of darker, harder music styles. Skoyz is a listen that I can easily identify with. If I were to bake a Skoyz cake, it would take musical elements of Lights Of Euphoria and Hocico for the darkly decadent cake itself. I would frost it with the harsh whispery vocals from Frank Spinath of Seabound, you know the ones I speak of, it’s that special touch that Spinath puts on his work… Skoyz bases this as the center of vocal work, and do it quite nicely might I add.
To decorate this cake, I would sprinkle bits of Juno Reactor and Cevin Key to top this aurally edible experience. Bake at a solid bpm rate, for some killer pulsations and very danceable tracks.
From the hauntingly fun intro of “Zoom” to the last little synthy blip of the “Factor 2x Mix” by Polygon, this album is a non-stop pulse pounding adventure.
Musically, there are a lot of icy cold synth pads to convey this chilly futuristic soundscape. "Hologram" is bursting with progressively intense leads, to keep your body moving no matter how tired it is. The beats are pretty aggressive and equally paced. The only downside is that it gets a little redundant after a few songs. BUT, that is not to say this isn’t as hot as you’ve been led to believe, trust me… it is! Skoyz is outstanding to say the least. "Hologram" is a must for any electro/EBM/TBM appreciator! The most notable tracks in my opinion are “Dark Energy” and “Distorted Dreams”. Both are very epic!
And don’t forget about the remixes. The Daniel Myer remix alone is worth whatever price you find the album at! Take the fresh brilliance of Nico and Stef, and filter it through the masterful hands of Daniel Myer… and you get one amazing track. The Interlace remix is pretty fun too. Need I say more, scope this album and enjoy Skoyz.

Tracy Taylor, 02 Aug 2006

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