Steve Bug, one of the world’s most renowned artists in the electronic music circuit, presents his fifth and most mature longplayer. “Noir” doesn’t deny its roots, but expands the usual spectrum and invites the listener to an exciting listening pleasure. The title is ‘Noir’. The cover is dominated by the filmic aesthetics of light and shadow. The title evokes a world of shady transactions and secret crimes. Most of the tracks emit a suitably dark and moody atmosphere, with at least three directly referencing the film noir genre – From the well-known classic ‘The Spiral Staircase’, to more obscure ‘Somewhere in the Night’, and ‘The Seventh Victim’. Is ‘Noir’ a concept album? Originally it was planned that way, but in the end Steve found the concept too rigid. “I play all over the world on a constant basis, and always come back with different impressions", says Steve Bug. “Accordingly, this changes the music that I produce. I’ve had the idea to make a concept album for some time, but on the other hand, that’s not the way I work. My music expresses my moods, and of course, they are always changing. ” The material for the new album was created over a period of three years, which makes its consistency and coherence all the more amazing. The mood is dark, spooked. Over the relentless beats and basslines ghostly sounds swirl and conspire. Although all the pieces are driven by head-rushing beats, ‘Noir’ is more than ever, a listening album. “If I had worked longer on the album, I probably would have replaced even more of the dance tracks with listening tracks", says Steve. “I think a lot of albums in dance music are not convining as albums - more a collection of tracks, than a coherent whole.” ‘Noir’ is definitely different. Although the film noir concept isn’t carried through completely, it infuses the spirit of the record in a way reminicent of the sci-fi obsession of Jeff Mills or Carl Craig. In fact, ‘Noir’ could soundtrack a 21st Century ‘Blade Runner’ - tracks such