The 1995 debut album by
Mental Overdrive (Norwegian producer Per Martinsen) is somewhat of an unsung classic of mid-'90s techno. Initially released by the artist's own Love OD Communications, the album follows his early hardcore rave singles for Belgian label R&S but seems more cerebral and atmospheric, making it more ideal for home listening or a long drive than the club. R&S single "Disto Disco" makes an appearance, and while it's not quite as disco-influenced as his later releases for labels like Smalltown Supersound and Full Pupp, it definitely displays his knack for distorting the drums similar to the way Mike Paradinas did on his early
µ-ziq releases. The track title "Motorcity" acknowledges his obvious debt to Detroit techno, but in terms of overseas artists taking influence from that sound, this album's quality level rivals anything
B12 or
Speedy J released during that era. [In 2016, Full Pupp sub-label Rett I Fletta released an updated LP version of
Plugged containing alternate takes sourced from the original pre-mastered DAT tapes. The re-release extended the lengths of many songs, at the expense of two tracks that appeared on the original.] ~ Paul Simpson