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Movement in Still Life | 
| Artist: Bt
Label: Nettwerk Records
Category: Music
Buy New: $15.98
Rating:  125 reviews
Sales Rank: 58647
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 30154
UPC: 067003015424
EAN: 0067003015424
ASIN: B00004TIQ6
Release Date: June 6, 2000
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Tracks:
| • | Madskillz-Mic Chekka | | • | Never Gonna Come Back Down | | • | Dreaming | | • | Shame | | • | Movement in Still Life | | • | Satellite | | • | Godspeed - BT, Transeau, Brian | | • | Running Down Way Up | | • | Mercury and Solace | | • | Smartbomb - BT, Transeau, Brian | | • | Love on Haight Street |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
BT's velvety take on trance techno, typified by unusually light, liquidy melodies, smooth edges, and roomy breakbeats, was first noticed in the U.S. via his exceptional remix of Tori Amos's "Blue Skies." That song and other like-minded U.K. singles that preceded it gave rise to yet another variation of trance music dubbed "dream-trance." It's an apt label. BT's dense, yet straightforward compositions and benevolent mixes incorporate themes of escape and rebirth, with songs that imprint themselves on your subconscious. On Movement in Still Life, never before available in the States, BT breaks through the wall that separates techno from out-and-out pop, incorporating verse-chorus-verse song structures. Furthermore, he allows his dreamy mix to wander into Fatboy Slim-esque big beat territory. As a DJ, he's clearly capable of branching into different styles. The smart house and choppy beats of the title track make that apparent. He's still playing with needles and wax on that track, though; "Shame," with its acoustic drum/guitar sound and accessible pop vocal track sounds ready-made for alt-rock radio, with only touches around the edges that betray the presence of a DJ. Other songs, such as "Running Down the Way," blend the two styles more evenly, utilizing a pop song format but keeping it clubby and decidedly nonacoustic. Given BT's U.S. success with the pop/club mix of "Blue Skies," as well as the accessible, anthemic style he tends to favor as a DJ, the record makes perfect stylistic sense. He'd be wise, however, to keep dream-trance close to his turntables, as the perfection of such tracks as "Dreaming" and "Godspeed" make it blissfully obvious that he has utterly mastered the sound. --Matthew Cooke
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| Customer Reviews: Read 120 more reviews...
 ***Genius Trance Album *** Classic!! June 14, 2008
J. Riggin (Brooklyn, NY)
BT has always been one of my favorite trance artists. He has done a number of soundtracks including Go and Gone in 60 Seconds, I believe. He has a way of making an album flow effortlessly. Movement in Still Life ventures into the hip hop as well as his amazing trance fare. Songs like Dreaming and Satellite, the latter of which, I believe, is his own vocals. BT seems to have an instinct for making trance with amazing vocals (Kirsty Hawkshaw is just one of the artists he works with...His music and artistry is impeccable. Songs which are all time classics in the world of trance. Love on Haight Street is a funky breaks song. I think if ever you could buy an album to rock out to and also enjoy some dreamy trance, then this would be it. This album is probably a good decade old and I could play it over and over not getting tired. I am always blown away by the way BT (Biran Transeau) can effortlessly make original music. To me this is the perfect example that techno is not just some dumb music. This guy is a musical genius!!
 BT is excellent. This version of MiSL is not. February 17, 2007
Sephiroth
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Short version: The track selection and mixing on the UK version makes it the best BT album ever, in my humble opinion. The subpar selection of tracks, as well as the random placement of tracks and lack of mixing, make the USA version less than it ought to be.
Long version: I rank MiSL beside Hybrid's Wide Angle in terms of complexity, originality, composition, mood, and just plain groove. It is very obvious that BT lives and breathes music, and that he has been well-educated in the ways of his craft. However, I would not have bought this album had I not heard the UK version. The UK release of MiSL by BT is an EDM classic. This... thing that was given to us in the USA is a crime against the man's reputation. The seamless mixing that would make any DJ jealous is totally absent. Instead, each track just slams in or creeps up shyly. The songs are not bad, but they are not nearly as good as the selections featured on the UK release. On the UK version, there is not a bad song. On such mediocre fare as "Never Gonna Come Back Down", we are treated to a barely bearable voice spitting out very bad freestyle. The track would have been better if BT had not let some fool sing over it. While some of the USA-only titles are not bad (Smartbomb, for example), I would gladly trade all of them for "Giving up the Ghost" alone.
All in all, I would not recommend buying this item. The UK version, believe it or not, really is worth the $40 when compared to the USA version. They both make me cry, but for totally different reasons.
Genre defining May 13, 2006
J. Westerman (Washington, D.C.)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
I'm not going to write a tediously long review. I'm a professional musician. This is a record you need to hear. You will meet people that will dislike it. Regardless, this is one of those records that permanently changed the scene. You might not like it but if you care at all about the history/evolution of popular electronic music you need to know this record. The influence of this album from the very subtle to the drastic is apparent in nearly every meaningful breaks album since. I could go on and on about minor technical flaws and even more minor artistic flaws but it would all be academic. Educate your brain... and maybe at the same time you'll be fantastically entertained.
BT has some MADSKILLZ December 28, 2004
Geminiguy (Bloomington, IN)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
"Madskillz" being the opening song on this collection of dance infused anthems, I thought that this was going to be another one of those DJ albums where substance was sacrificed for sound. Fortunatley, "Never Gonna Come Back Down" was next and while it really made no sense at all, it still held my attention with its no nonsense approach. I love the song "Dreaming" because it starts off with the hint of being a lullaby like ballad but evolves smoothly into a trance like forray of beats and melodies. "Shame" has the sound of Depeche Mode written all over it and that influence makes the song so much more likable. The title cut is decent but kind of like "Madskillz" and BT just blows me away with "Satellite" a soft, accoustic driven song that has some rather depresing undertones. What I find interesting about this collection is many of the songs read like poetry and are emotionally expresive. Both "Godspeed" and "Smartbomb" have been featured in movie soundtracks and after listening to them, it is no shock as to why. This album is one of the best DJ albums out there and it delivers the goods without very many disapointments!
A trip you will never come back down from. November 27, 2004
Brad Hofbauer (Des Plaines, IL United States)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
Let me put it this way: If I were to be stranded on an island, with a CD player, and batteries grew on the trees there, and was only allowed to bring five CDs with me, two of them would be "Movement In Still Life".
Yep, I said two.
Some goof decided to release this album twice with slightly different versions of the same songs, and put a couple of SLAMMING tracks exclusively on each one. "Namistai" and "Giving Up The Ghost", 2 of my favorite tracks on the yellow cover version, have been conveniently left off the BT cover version. Vice versa with the best track out of both versions in my opinion, the almighty "Smartbomb". Not to mention the yellow cover version is a continuous mix of tracks, while the other version has each track separated by a couple of seconds of agonizing silence. When I love every single track(and I mean that) on an album, I want the experience to be a never-ending trip. What good is getting laid if you're stopping every 5 minutes?
I didn't care much for Ima, ESCM was fantastic, and Emotional Technology, his next full album after MISL, was nice, but none of them compares to MISL. EITHER version. So I say, if you have the dough and can find both versions, get them. It's worth it.
BT is a classically trained musician, and it shows most of all on this album. This is far from the "bum-sss-bum-sss-bum-sss-bum-sss" drivel. This is driving, soothing, peaceful and violent all at the same time, with beats that will nod your head straight off your shoulders, and melodies that twist, turn, and groove. Songs you can cruise to ("Love on Haight Street"), pop-lock to (title track - watch for that funky-ass break!), or put the moves on that first date to ("Satellite") - and while that may sound like your average pop album (keep in mind BT DID do a track for N'Sync's "Celebrity" album, called "Pop"), once you listen, you realize - BT cannot come wack with his music. It's damn near impossible. Vocals - meh, those could use some work, but the music is that good, I don't care about the vocals. Most of these songs could work on a movie soundtrack or commercial, as well.
To put it quite simply BT/Dance=Dr. Dre/Rap. Both know their craft, and can crank out a hit on a whim. It's a shame this album wasn't promoted more, but that makes it all the more a gem. If you like dance music that's not just for dancing, don't sleep. If you want an introduction to BT, don't sleep. And if you like this album, and want to hear more, try "Emotional Technology", an album that's not quite as good, but is closer in style than say, ESCM, an album from which BT seemed to begin his evolution from Enigma to who he is today.
An amazing album.
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