Mapstation "a way to find the day" (CD)

Since a bit more than two years Mapstation has been the imprint of Stefan Schneider, who is also playing bass and electronics with the Düsseldorf/Berlin trio TO ROCOCO ROT. "A way to find the day" is the first album of MAPSTATION at full-length and it comes along as a flamboyant soulful piece of music. Mapstation's music is closer to minimalist techno, but brings the euphoria of the genre together with charming slow-downs of pace and bpm. The title track of this new Mapstation release is a soulful reggae meets electronica anthem featuring reggae singer Ras Donovan who already backed luminaries such as Joseph Cotton, Dennis Alcapone and Tipa Irie. This dimension to Mapstation comes from the influence of recent Jamaican dancehall reggae, with Schneider citing its corporation of electronic sounds, and his own practise of mixing reggae acapellas into his djsets. Rather than embellishing the Mapstation aesthetic with phrases that would lead to structured songs, Schneider and Donovan have evolved a different style with the voice seeming to mirror the drift of the music, while at the same time referring to the poetry and ragga tradition in reggae.

"...detailed marginalia that induces introspection and tranquil meandering thoughts, and as such will never capture the imagination of a wider audience. And that isn't a bad thing. We need people to trace the edges. It's important. And what's more, goddammit: It's lovely." (Sleazenation, 08/2000)