Juno Reactor is a multi-national musical and performing group, primarily based in Brighton, UK. Known for their cinematic fusion of electronic, global influences, and orchestral symphonic approach, collaborating with composer Don Davis and composing for the musical score of '' The Matrix (Reloaded and Revolutions)''. Central to the project is Ben Watkins and his collaborations with a constantly changing ensemble of musicians from across the world. This ensemble has included

Mabi Thobejane Mauby (in Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Lucia, Jamaica, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Grenada, Guyana, Bermuda, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda and Anguilla), also known as ''maví (or mabí)'' in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, ''mabi'' in ...

Amampondo Amampondo is a South African percussion ensemble that was started by Dizu Plaatjies in Langa, Cape Town in 1979.Craig HarrisArtist Biography AllMusic.com. The name in Mpondo means '' people of Mpondo'' or Pondoland, a kingdom in the Eastern Cape ...

, Steve Stevens, Eduardo Niebla, Greg Ellis, Taz Alexander, Sugizo,

Budgie Budgie may refer to: Arts * Budgie (album), ''Budgie'' (album), the debut album by the Welsh heavy metal band Budgie * Budgie (band), a Welsh heavy metal band from Cardiff * Budgie (musician) (born 1957), English drummer * Budgie (TV series), ''Bu ...

and recently

Hamsika Iyer Hamsika Iyer (born 12 April 1972) is an Indian singer based in Mumbai. She is a regular voice with ad world jingles and Marathi tele-serials, and has sung songs in Kannada, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam and Bengali movies. International collaborati ...

and

Maggie Hikri Maggie is a common short form of the name Magdalena, Magnolia, Margaret. Maggie may refer to: People Women * Maggie Adamson, Scottish musician * Maggie Aderin-Pocock (born 1968), British scientist * Maggie Alderson (born 1959), Aust ...

History

Juno Reactor was formed as an art project in 1990. Ben Watkins wanted to collaborate with other artists, producing exciting projects that were not commercially driven. He wanted to create experimental music and non-musical soundtracks that would work with installations, art pieces, and film projects. Juno Reactor released their first single, "Laughing Gas", in 1993 on the

NovaMute Novamute Records is the electronic dance music subsidiary of Mute Records, which was started in 1992.Larkin, Colin (1999) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music'', Virgin Books, , p. 243 The label's staff included Mick Paterson (promotions ...

label. This was soon followed by their debut album, '' Transmissions''. This release was the first artist album in the genre. Later, the band released '' Luciana'' on

Alex Paterson Alex Paterson (also known as Dr Alex Paterson, born Duncan Alexander Robert Paterson; 15 October 1959 in Battersea, London) is an English musician and co-founder of ambient house group The Orb, in which he has worked since its inception. Life ...

's ( The Orb)

Inter-Modo WAU/Mr. Modo Records was a record label set up by Alex Paterson and Youth. "WAU" stands for "What About Us?" (although in a 2016 interview Glover stated that it stood for "weird and unusual") and "Mr. Modo" is Adam Morris, Paterson's manager. Th ...

label. Juno Reactor left

and

in 1995 and signed with the UK label Blue Room Released to release the single "Guardian Angel". Their album ''

Beyond the Infinite ''Beyond the Infinite'' is the third album released by the multi-genre trance group Juno Reactor. Track listing All tracks made by Ben Watkins with collaborators mentioned on the track list. # "Guardian Angel" – 7:11 (with Mike Maguire) # " ...

'' was released in 1995. The 1997 Blue Room Released ''

Bible of Dreams ''Bible of Dreams'' is the fourth album released by the multi-genre trance group Juno Reactor. The song "God Is God" was covered by Laibach for their album Jesus Christ Superstars (Mute Records). Track listing All tracks made by Ben Watkins wit ...

'' was Juno Reactor's fourth album. It had a very different sound from the group's previous albums, and moved away from the traditional dance beats by implementing tribal influences. Watkins collaborated with

, a traditional South African percussion act, on the single "Conga Fury". Watkins and Amampondo went on a five-week tour of the US, opening for

Moby Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "among the ...

. In 1998, Juno Reactor played a live set with Amampondo at

Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...

. The group collaborated with The Creatures on the track "I'm here...Another Planet" for the '' Lost in Space'' (1998) soundtrack. They teamed up with The Creatures again in 1999 on the track "Exterminating Angel", featured on that group's album '' Anima Animus''. Watkins released the fifth Juno Reactor album, '' Shango'', in 2000. It was the first of his albums on

Metropolis Records Metropolis Records is a record label founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1993 by the late Dave Heckman. The label's all-electronic format closely tracked with European contemporaries, such as Off Beat, and, since 1995, has been instrumenta ...

. The first track from the album, " Pistolero", was a collaboration with Billy Idol's guitarist, Steve Stevens. The track was featured during 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". It was recorded in a Japanese studio overlooking

Mount Fuji , or Fugaku, located on the island of Honshū, is the highest mountain in Japan, with a summit elevation of . It is the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia (after Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra), and seventh-highest p ...

. "Hotaka" featured Stevens on guitar, and included traditional Taiko drummers

Gocoo Gocoo, or GOCOO () are originally seven female and four male Taiko drummers from Tokyo ( Japan). On stage Gocoo performs with up to 16 artists. Gocoo performed at major Music & Arts, Blues & Roots, Rock & Pop and alternative Rock festivals, in l ...

. In 2003, the album ''Odyssey 1992–2002'' was released as a compilation of the best Juno Reactor tracks of the decade. The sixth Juno Reactor album, '' Labyrinth'', was released in October 2004, and featured Watkins' work from the ''Matrix'' films. The album once again featured the tribal influences present in their music through tracks like "Conquistador II". In 2006, Watkins was hired to compose an orchestral score for '' Brave Story'', a Japanese anime feature film.

Sony Japan , often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony Group Corporation and is opera ...

released the soundtrack, which was recorded at the Slovak Radio Concert Hall in Slovakia with the Slovak National Symphony Orchestra. The album was written by "Ben Watkins aka Juno Reactor". In 2008 Ben Watkins collaborated with anime director Koji Morimoto for ''

Genius Party Beyond are two anthology films made up of 12 short animated films from Studio 4°C. It was envisioned to form a single release. Releases The first volume, containing seven shorts and entitled ''Genius Party'', was released on July 7, 2007. The seco ...

'', an anthology of short animated films from Studio 4 °C. Juno Reactor's album '' Gods & Monsters'' was released in March 2008, and featured the introduction of Ghetto Priest and Sugizo into the Juno Reactor fold, along with Eduardo Niebla, Xavier Morel, and Yasmin Levy. In 2009, the band toured with drummer

, of the band

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine in ...

. Juno Reactor's album ''

The Golden Sun of the Great East ''The Golden Sun of the Great East'' is the eighth studio album by the electronic/trance band Juno Reactor. The album was released on April 23, 2013 in the United States on Metropolis Records and on May 20, 2013 in the United Kingdom. The track " ...

'' was released on Metropolis Records in 2013. Agnivo

Juno Reactor & The Mutant Theatre premiered at the

Ozora Festival The Ozora Festival, stylised as O.Z.O.R.A., is an annual transformational festival and arts festival near the Hungarian village of Ozora. History and growth The festival has been held on an estate in Ozora near the small village of Dádpuszta ...

4 August 2016 "TIME" a unique performance featuring the Juno Reactor live band:

Tal Tula Ben-Ari TAL or Tal may refer to: Acronym * Ralph M. Calhoun Memorial Airport (IATA code: TAL), in Tanana, Alaska * TAL – Transportes Aéreos Ltda, the original name of TAC – Transportes Aéreos Catarinense, a Brazilian airline * TAL effector, a famil ...

(Vocals)

Nataly Hay Nataly is a female given name, a variant form of Natalie (given name). People with the given name Nataly *Nataly Andria, Nataly Laingo Haritiana Andrianaivoson, Malagasy singer-songwriter *Nataly Dawn, performing name of Natalie Dawn Knutsen, Ameri ...

(Dancer) Amir Haddad (Oud and Guitars) Ben Watkins (Electronics & Guitar)

Johann Bley Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning " Yahweh is Gracio ...

(Drums). Joined by Agnivo and Stigma Show, visual performance groups from Russia, under the banner of

The Mutant Theatre ''The Mutant Theatre'' is the ninth studio album by the electronic/trance band Juno Reactor. The album was released on Metropolis Records Metropolis Records is a record label founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1993 by the late Dave Heck ...

. ''

'' was released by

on 22 June 2018 and features tracks from the live show '' Juno Reactor & The Mutant Theatre''. The first single from the album, ''Our World'', was released on 30 June 2017. In August 2018, Juno Reactor performed at the Hacker Conference,

DEF CON DEF CON (also written as DEFCON, Defcon or DC) is a hacker convention held annually in Las Vegas, Nevada. The first DEF CON took place in June 1993 and today many attendees at DEF CON include computer security professionals, journalists, lawyer ...

. Along, on 10 August 2018, the single ''Dakota'' was released, written together with the Israeli DJ duo Undercover. On 22 August 2019, the EP ''

Into Valhalla Into, entering or changing form, may also refer to: * INTO University Partnerships, a British business * ''Into'' (album), an album by the Rasmus * ''Into'' (magazine), a digital magazine owned by Grindr * Into, a male Finnish name * Irish Na ...

'' was released on

(North America) and Blue Tunes Records (worldwide) featuring remixes by

GMS GMS may refer to: Education * Gates Millennium Scholars Program, higher education scholarship program in the United States * Glen Mills Schools, in Thornbury Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States * Governor Morehead School, in Ra ...

and 3 of Life. Ben Watkins remixed the track ''Nukhta'' for Indian band Medieval Punditz which subsequently got released on their compilation on 30 August 2019.

Appearances in media

Movies and television

Juno Reactor produced and wrote Traci Lords' hit "

Control Control may refer to: Basic meanings Economics and business * Control (management), an element of management * Control, an element of management accounting * Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization * Controlling ...

". As an instrumental it featured on the soundtrack to the 1995 ''

Mortal Kombat ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias had of making a v ...

'' movie during the fight between Liu Kang and Reptile. The group also appeared on the soundtrack to the sequel, '' Mortal Kombat: Annihilation'', with the track "Conga Fury". In 1997, while on tour with

, Ben Watkins was requested to create the score for the original Japanese horror movie ''

Ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

'' but had to turn it down due to being mid-tour. Instead, two tracks, Guardian Angel and Feel the Universe were used on the soundtrack compilation stating "inspired by". Later, Ben Watkins, in collaboration with Don Davis, worked with The Wachowskis for the ''

Matrix Matrix most commonly refers to: * ''The Matrix'' (franchise), an American media franchise ** ''The Matrix'', a 1999 science-fiction action film ** "The Matrix", a fictional setting, a virtual reality environment, within ''The Matrix'' (franchis ...

'' series of films and video games. Juno Reactor's music was featured in five sequences from the middle two films in the franchise, including the highway chase ( Mona Lisa Overdrive) and the

Agent Smith Agent Smith (later simply Smith) is a fictional Character (arts), character and the main antagonist of The Matrix (franchise), ''The Matrix'' franchise. He was primarily portrayed by Hugo Weaving in the first trilogy of films and voiced by Christ ...

fight (

Burly Brawl ''The Matrix Reloaded: The Album'' is a 2003 soundtrack album from the 2003 film ''The Matrix Reloaded''. The two-disc album is unusual among soundtrack releases in that it includes separate discs for the film's songs and the score, whereas most f ...

) from '' The Matrix Reloaded'' and the subway train chase (The Trainman Cometh), the shootout on the Merovingian's club (Tetsujin) and the end credits (Navras) from ''

The Matrix Revolutions ''The Matrix Revolutions'' is a 2003 American science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the third installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, released six months following ''The Matrix Reloaded''. The film stars ...

''. '' The Animatrix'' also featured pre-existing tracks "Masters of the Universe" (in ''

Kid's Story is a 2003 adult animated science-fiction anthology film produced by the Wachowskis. The film details through nine animated short films the backstory of ''The Matrix'' film series, including the original war between humanity and machines which l ...

'') and "Conga Fury (Animatrix Remix)" (in ''

Final Flight of the Osiris is a 2003 adult animated science-fiction anthology film produced by the Wachowskis. The film details through nine animated short films the backstory of ''The Matrix'' film series, including the original war between humanity and machines which ...

''). '' Brave Story'' saw Ben Watkins score his first full orchestra feature, released in Japan where it was the number 1 film for 6 weeks. in 2001 "

Masters of the Universe ''Masters of the Universe'' (sometimes referred to as the ''He-Man'' or ''She-Ra'' series) is a sword and planet-themed media franchise created by Mattel. The main premise revolves around the conflict between He-Man (the alter ego of Prince Ada ...

", from the album '' Shango'', was briefly used in the '' Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' movie trailer. Many other tracks have been used in films including those listed below. Their single "Guardian Angel" was featured as the opening theme of the anime series ''

Texhnolyze ''Texhnolyze'' (stylized as ''TEXHNOLYZE'') is a Japanese experimental film, experimental anime television series animated by Madhouse (company), Madhouse and directed by Hiroshi Hamasaki, with screenplay by Chiaki J. Konaka, with original char ...

''. "Guardian Angel" was also featured in the movie ''

Drive Drive or The Drive may refer to: Motoring * Driving, the act of controlling a vehicle * Road trip, a journey on roads Roadways Roadways called "drives" may include: * Driveway, a private road for local access to structures, abbreviated "drive" ...

'', starring Mark Dacascos and Kadeem Hardison. Other Juno Reactor tracks appear on movies such as '' Eraser'', '' Virtuosity'', '' Lost in Space'', the 1999 film ''

Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. The ...

'', and '' Once Upon a Time in Mexico''. Juno Reactor soundtracks have also been played during baseball, basketball, and

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

games, and the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

. The track Feel the Universe is featured in the Kevin Phillips first movie, Super Dark Times. Ben Watkins also worked on '' Bunraku'' released in the fall of 2011.

Video games

The video game ''

Final Fantasy VII is a 1997 role-playing video game developed by Square for the PlayStation console. It is the seventh main installment in the ''Final Fantasy'' series. Published in Japan by Square, it was released in other regions by Sony Computer Entertai ...

'' may have taken inspiration from the name of the band and used it to name an in-game location: The "Junon Underwater Reactor", a mako reactor. Their work appears in the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

game ''

Jet Moto 3 ''Jet Moto 3'' was released exclusively for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation video game console on September 1, 1999. It was the only ''Jet Moto'' title released by developer Pacific Coast Power & Light and publisher 989 Sports. It has been ...

'',

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

's '' Frequency'', PlayStation 2's ''

Kinetica ''Kinetica'' is a racing video game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. It was released in North America only on October 14, 2001. It is the debut game of Santa Monica Studio. It w ...

,'' PlayStation 2's '' Splashdown: Rides Gone Wild,'' and the Xbox game ''

Mad Dash Racing ''Mad Dash Racing'' is a racing video game for the Xbox developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Eidos Interactive. It was released as a launch title in November 2001. The video game features the voices of Billy West and Charles Martinet. ...

''. Juno Reactor also scored the PlayStation 2 game ''

The Mark of Kri ''The Mark of Kri'' is an action-adventure game developed by San Diego Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment exclusively for PlayStation 2. The game was followed by '' Rise of the Kasai'', which was released in April 2005. Backg ...

''. Juno Reactor also has a song in the game ''

Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 4 The ''Dance Dance Revolution'' series started in 1998 and has grown to a large set of games in the franchise. This list of ''Dance Dance Revolution'' games documents games released, including systems, formats, and regions for which the games were ...

''. The trailer for '' Secuestro Express'' includes an excerpt from the song "War Dogs" from the album '' Labyrinth''. Also from ''Labyrinth'', the song "Mutant Message" is featured in the '' Legion'' trailer. Gran Turismo commissioned Juno Reactor to create exclusive GT mixes of ''Alien'' and ''Return of the Pistolero'' for their global release of Gran Turismo Sport, both tracks appear on the 2018 album.

Discography

Full-length albums

* '' Transmissions'' ( NovaMute Records 1993) * '' Luciana'' (

1994) (61-minute track originally recorded for the traveling art installation ''The Missile Project'') * ''

'' ( Blue Room Released 1 October 1995) * ''

'' ( Blue Room Released 1997) * '' Shango'' (

2000) * '' Labyrinth'' (

, Universal Music 2004) * '' Gods & Monsters'' (

2008) * ''

'' (

, April 2013) * ''

'' (

, 22 June 2018)

Singles and EPs

* Laughing Gas (1993) * High Energy Protons (1994) * Guardian Angel (1995) * Samurai (1995) * Conga Fury (1996) * Jungle High (1997) * God Is God (1997) * GOD IS GOD!! (

Front 242 Front 242 is a Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. Pioneering the style they called electronic body music, they are a profound influence on the electronic and industrial music genres. History Formation Fr ...

Mixes) (1997) * Pistolero ( Blue Room Released 2000) * Nitrogen (2000) – 2 tracks taken from ''Shango'' *

(2001) * Hotaka (2002) * The Zwara EP (2003) * Song to the Siren (2009) * Fear Not (with Laibach, 2009) * Our World ( Juno Reactor & The Mutant Theatre) (2017) * Dakota ( Juno Reactor & The Mutant Theatre) (2018) *Into Valhalla (2019)

Live recordings and compilation albums

* ''Odyssey 1992–2002'' * ''Shango Tour 2001 Tokyo (Live in Tokyo)'' (2002) * ''Juno Reactor Live – Audio Visual Experience'' (2007) * ''Inside the Reactor'' (2012) * ''The Golden Sun – Remixed'' (2015)

References

External links

JunoReactor.com
– Juno Reactor official website * * {{Authority control TVT Records artists English electronic music groups English techno music groups British trance music groups Goa trance musicians Mute Records artists Musical groups from London Musical groups established in 1990 British industrial music groups Cyberpunk music Metropolis Records artists