Juno Reactor was formed in 1990 by Ben Watkins and Stephen Holweck. The group came together as an experimental ambient project in order to record an accompanying soundtrack to sculpture artist (and Watkins' girlfriend) Norma Fletcher's art installation and performance piece called "The Missile Project". The centerpiece of the project was a 70-foot decommissioned missile, nicknamed "Juno Reactor", which the band rolled around London while playing its music to raise awareness about nuclear war. According to Watkins, "[it] was blue concrete. And it looked like a dinosaur tail. And a smoke came out of it." [1] The project took over a month to complete; however, the exhibition lasted only several hours, as London police arrived, breaking up the display and arresting all members of the project. The music was eventually released as Juno Reactor's second album, Luciana.
In 1993 Juno Reactor released its first single, "Laughing Gas", on NovaMute. The single was soon followed by their debut album, Transmissions. The album, reckoned a huge success, is considered one of the first albums in the Goa Trance genre. Later the band released Luciana on Alex Paterson's (The Orb) Inter-Modo label. Juno Reactor left NovaMute and Inter-Modo in 1995 and signed to UK's Blue Room Released label for the Guardian Angel single. Their album Beyond the Infinite followed in 1996.
The 1997 release on Wax Trax! Records/TVT Records, Bible of Dreams, was Juno Reactor's fourth album. Its sound diverged sharply from those of the previous albums and moved away from traditional dance beats by including tribal music influences. Watkins collaborated with Amampondo, a traditional South African percussion act, on the single "Conga Fury". Ben Watkins and Amampondo followed up with a five week U.S. tour as the opening act for Moby. In 1998 Juno Reactor played a stunning live set with Amampondo at Glastonbury Festival. The group has played as headliners each year at Glade Festival, the Glastonbury spinoff.
Watkins released the fifth Juno Reactor album, Shango, in 2000. It was the band's first album on Metropolis Records. The first track, "Pistolero", was a collaboration with guitarist Steve Stevens (Billy Idol). The track opened up an entirely new direction for Juno Reactor. The same song was featured in the trailer for the movie "Once Upon a Time in Mexico", as well as in the film itself. In the fall of 2002, Juno Reactor released a new single titled "Hotaka", recorded in a Japanese studio overlooking Mt. Fuji. "Hotaka" once again featured Steve Stevens on guitar and included traditional Taiko drummer Gocoo. In 2003, the Odyssey 1992-2002 album was released as a compilation of the best Juno Reactor tracks of the past decade.
The latest Juno Reactor album, Labyrinth, was released in October 2004 and featured Watkins' work from the Matrix films. The new album once again confirmed the tribal music influences present in Juno Reactor's work, with tracks like "Conquistador II".
In 2006 Ben Watkins was hired to produce the OST for Brave Story (a children's anime movie). The Soundtrack was released in July 2006 by Sony, Japan, though printed in very limited numbers.
The group may soon release an EP entitled ‘Superman – the immaculate Crucifixion’, featuring experimental works. One of the EP's tracks, City of the Sinful, is co-written and sung by Ghetto Priest, who also provides the vocals for Asian Dub Foundation.
In Oct 2006 Juno reactor performed a taped concert in Tokyo. Including an extended lineup and some new work, this show will be featured in a forthcoming tour DVD.
2008: A new studio album called "Gods & Monsters" is set to be released in March. Also, a new DVD entitled "Juno Reactor - Audio Visual Experience" will be released this year.
Lineup:
Ben Watkins
Taz Alexander (vocals & dance)
Mabi Thobejane (congas)
Michael LaDonga (African drums)
Simpiwe Marele (African drums)
Mandala Lande (African drums)
Greg Ellis (drum kit)
Paul Jackson (bass)
Steve Stevens (guitar)
Squid (Ghetto Priest) (rap & dance)
Xavier Morell (dj)
Play List:
Conquistador I & II
Biot Messiah
Giant
War Dogs
Komit
City of the Sinful (New)
God is God
Mutant Message
Hotaka
Pistolero
Conga Fury
Nitrogen II
Insects
Rotorblade
Zwara
Hule Lam
Masters of the Universe
Angels & Men
Wavg (?New?)
Guardian Angel
Juno Reactor are also providing part of the soundtrack for Genius Party, a forthcoming Studio 4°C Animation
Their remix of Traci Lords' song "Control" as an instrumental was featured on the soundtrack for the Mortal Kombat movie. They returned for the sequel Mortal Kombat Annihilation with tracks like "Conga Fury". Later, the group, in collaboration with Don Davis, had a number of tracks featured on the soundtracks for the Matrix series of films (most notably the famous freeway chase scene in The Matrix Reloaded, which featured "Mona Lisa Overdrive", as well as the Animatrix, which featured the track, "Masters Of The Universe" on the segment, "Kid's Story" and "Conga Fury (Animatrix Remix)" on the segment, "Final Flight of the Osiris" ). Their single "Guardian Angel" was featured as the opening theme of the anime series Texhnolyze. "Guardian Angel" was also featured in the movie Drive starring Mark Dacascos and Kadeem Hardison. Other Juno Reactor tracks appear on movies such as Eraser, Virtuosity, Lost In Space, the Romeo + Juliet trailer, Beowulf and even Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Juno Reactor soundtracks have also been played during baseball, basketball, and gridiron football games, the Japanese Grand Prix, and appear on the PlayStation 2 games Jet Moto 3 and Frequency, as well as the Xbox game Mad Dash Racing. Juno Reactor also scored the entirety of the Mark of Kri game.
The name Juno is the name of an Ancient Roman goddess. In this fashion, Juno Reactor symbolizes a "powerhouse of the ancient religions". One of the band's logos is actually a form of the symbol associated with the asteroid Juno.
The title of the album Beyond the Infinite could be a reference to 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the sequence "Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite". This may be related to the several occurrences of their sampling of this movie on the Transmissions album.
Discography:
Main Albums
Transmissions (NovaMute Records 1993)
Beyond the Infinite (Blue Room Released 1995)
Bible of Dreams (Blue Room Released 1997)
Shango (Metropolis Records 2001)
Labyrinth (Metropolis Records, Universal Music 2004)
Gods & Monsters (2008)
Singles & EPs:
Luciana (Inter-Modo 1994)
Laughing Gas (1993)
High Energy Protons (1994)
Guardian Angel (1995)
Samurai (1996)
Conga Fury (1996)
Jungle High (1997)
God Is God (1997)
GOD IS GOD!! (Front 242 Mixes) (1997)
Pistolero (Blue Room Released 2000)
Masters Of The Universe (2001)
Hotaka (2002)
The Zwara EP (2003)
Live Recordings & Compilation Albums:
Odyssey 1992-2002
Shango Tour 2001 Tokyo (Live In Tokyo) (2002)
Conga Fury
Juno Reactor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When he wakes up", she said
He can't play
When he thinks I'm growing up
That song Juno, they did in the street
So many places to go
Were not one for me, said the she
If they were pretty it'd be okay to say
When she wore dresses she felt born
That song Juno, say the words if you have streets
No one for me
Said the she
That song Juno, they sung in the street
Her husband of nineteen years danced madly at her feet
Now I can be balancing
These lyrics from Juno Reactor's song Conga Fury seem to describe a woman who feels trapped in her life and unable to pursue her passions. She talks about how her husband doesn't let her play, and how he only thinks she's grown up when she can't. The mention of the song Juno being played in the street seems to be a reference to a time when she felt more free and alive, before the constraints of her marriage took over. The line "If they were pretty it'd be okay to say" could suggest that she's been silenced in some way, or that her creativity and desires have been dismissed as unimportant.
The second half of the song seems to have a more positive tone, with the woman's husband dancing madly at her feet. This could be interpreted as a sign that he's finally letting her be more independent and pursue her passions, or it could be a dream sequence that represents her own liberation from her previous restrictions. The final line, "Now I can be balancing", could suggest that she's found some kind of equilibrium in her life, or that she's finally able to juggle her personal needs and her duties as a wife.
Overall, these lyrics are fairly abstract and open to interpretation, but they seem to convey a sense of longing for something more, and a struggle to find balance between personal freedom and societal expectations.
Line by Line Meaning
I can't play
I am incapable of living life to the fullest
When he wakes up", she said
I cannot enjoy myself when my partner is around
He can't play
My partner is unable to have fun with me
When he thinks I'm growing up
My partner has a problem with me maturing as an individual
That song Juno, they did in the street
There is a popular song that was performed in public
So many places to go
There are many opportunities for me to explore
Were not one for me, said the she
None of those opportunities are appealing to me
If they were pretty it'd be okay to say
I would be content with surface-level attractions
But that day only
On that day in particular
When she wore dresses she felt born
She felt liberated when dressing up in a feminine manner
That song Juno, say the words if you have streets
If you are familiar with the song, please sing along
No one for me
I don't have anyone in my life
Said the she
This is what she claimed
That song Juno, they sung in the street
There is a popular song that people were singing outside
Her husband of nineteen years danced madly at her feet
Her long-time partner showed passionate affection towards her
Now I can be balancing
I can now find balance in my life
Writer(s): BEN WATKINS, MABI THOBEJANE
Contributed by Zachary H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@pandemic7314
“Is this just another dream” Liu Kang☯️🔥🔥
@kevinperkins2438
Ahhh don't worry bout it bro bro. Its just another one of nightwolfs crazy tests
@joshuashoff7539
https://youtu.be/fjrfYZsZLJA
"Look Within Yourself; What do You see?"
@joshuashoff7539
@@kevinperkins2438
https://youtu.be/fjrfYZsZLJA
Do You fear what lies Beneath?
@vincecomuna
How can you beat Shao Kahn, when I alone am too much for you....
@fedosteadaze741
Just the flawless victory
@lgamerdelta3158
I remember this playing at the end of The Animatrix. I re-watched the movie today and I forgot how amazing the artwork is along with the stories from different people. Who else remembers who came here to hear this soundtrack from the movie?
@LostInTardis
Me! Great that in 2021 we are still looking for - and LOVING this music and artwork! 💖🎶🎵👌
@vitzcampos746
im going to watch
@carlolapadula3953
I used to listen to song for hours on end after Animatrix. Still keep coming back to it when life as a family guy allows it.
: D