This review must actually be written as 4 seperate ones:

For the "hardcore techno" Oakenfold fan:
Don't buy the album. You will be disappointed. He does not follow his standard formula of trancey synthesizer toys in all but a few tracks. That's really all there is to say: if you want what Oakenfold's famous for producing among his longest-time fans, buy Tranceport, not Bunkka.

For the virgin Oakenfolder:
This album demonstrates that O has talent in the studio as well as in the club. He collaborates with a wide variety of vocalists to produce an album where each track is individual and can no longer be categorized as trance, progressive or otherwise. Some tracks, like the radio-beaten Starry Eyed Surprise, offer a lighthearted, sunny feel that's pretty new for O. Others, like Hold Your Hand, will remind you more of something Moby or the Chemical Bros. might produce. Still others, like Get 'Em Up (feat. Ice Cube) appeal to a hip-hop audience. Despite the apparent genre transgressions, however, these tracks maintain the simplistic 4/4 synthetic beats utilized in his earlier work. O does, however, also includes a few tracks with a breakbeat feel (Ready Steady Go, Southern Sun).

For the people who heard "Starry Eyed Surprise" on the radio and want to hear more:
Don't buy this album. You will be disappointed. No other track even remotely resembles it.

For those looking for something fresh and unique, in a flavor remniscent of Moby:
Buy this album immediately, you will not regret it for a second.

Firstly, I must say that I am disappointed with the overall response to the album and I think this is due to a misunderstanding of its status. Many claimed that the collaborations diluted the feel and general quality of the work and that Oakenfold should quickly revert to DJing instead. Perhaps they missed the sticker on the cd which said: "The debut *Artist* cd from Paul Oakenfold." This implies that Oakenfold wanted to release a work which exposed all the versatility, complexity and intrigue that artists carry. As a DJ, I'm sure Oakenfold has made some very good trance cd's but trance as a genre itself is usually bound by an obligation to be upbeat, fast and [sometimes] repetitive. Oakenfold--as a DJ--didn't produce music that you could relish for its artistic flavor but instead music you could relish for its high-pitched energy. If you plan on buying Bunkka because you believe it embodies the aformentioned trance ethic then stay away from this album. But if you plan on listening to something which utilizes complicated soundscapes to express emotive possibilities then, by all means, purchase this cd.

With that small caveat out of the way, we can proceed to the "meat and bones" of the review. Bunkka is, in one word, stunning. Oakenfold shifts from various electronica styles just enough to display his chimeric skills in the studio and, in the process, animates moods and emotions that rival many other artists. Bunkka first starts off with "Ready Steady Go," a high-pitched trance track which trades some of the synthesizers for a rather catchy guitar riff. However, we later on see (or hear) Oakenfold's talent show with "Zoo York," a viscerally-appealing song which successfully uses an audio sample from Darren Aronofsky's movie, "Requiem for a Dream." This song, to me, marks a proper shift in the album's direction since the ones preceding it were more trance-like. "Nixon's Spirit," probably one of my favorite tracks, follows with a nearly Ambient appeal to it as journalist Hunter S. Thompson does spoken word. Emilliana Torrini does vocals on "Hold Your Hand," giving the song a very trip-hop appeal to it. The rest of the tracks mix trip-hop, break beat, and down beat elements with extreme fluidity (check out the Freestylers-like "Starry-Eyed Surprise").

Overall I'd say this is a stellar album. Originally I wasn't too interested in Oakenfold but now I know that I wasn't interested in him as a *Trance DJ.* As an artist his work is diverse and inspiring. A must-have for those who appreciate music of any kind.

Surely Paul Oakenfold would not be expected to produce this sort of music, due in part to the numerous trance/house albums he released in the last couple of years. However as any independent artist to date, (i.e Moby, Robert Miles) Paul Oakenfold wanted to try something new. The general genre is still electronica, but it is definatly not trance as heard in "Tranceport" or "Travelling" altough I was often submerged in a state of trance listening to "Bunkka". Most of the album is somehwere on the lines of the kind of music heard in Oakenfold's remix of "New Born" for the Swordfish soundstrack, deep, dark and ambient layers, with often scary vocals. At times the album is similar to Robert Miles's "Organik" especially with the use of more ethnic strings. Some songs are good purely for listening, other for dancing. The opening track "Ready Steady Go" has an electronic guitar sample as the lead, which deviated from the standard synth or piano leads of trance, the beat is no long 4x4, and the melody is at time analogous to that of Korn guitar riffs and at others to a funky style melody. The aspect that the album lacks is the originality. While "Organik" presented songs that were very different from what has been heard before, songs in "Bunkka" can be mistaken for works of Underworld, Hybrid, etc. Overall, the music is very enjoyable, though sometimes boring. The vocalist have done an especially nice job.

I've read the complaints that this is too pop-oriented or that this album departs too greatly from Paul Oakenfold's traditional trance style music.

Those who've heard the Swordfish Soundtrack might appreciate that this is a progression of that work. It may be more mainstream, but it's still uniquely Oakenfold. Good beats and synth work. Excellent collaborations (with a few very unexpected guests).

Sure, for the pure trance fans, this is going to be a bit of a disappointment. However, I think this'll be remembered as the album that got Oakenfold out of the obscure (at least to American public) and into the mainstream, for better or for worse.

The trance fans will still sit in dark rooms, listening to Tranceport 8 (there's no telling how many will come out), wondering how this guy got to be a pop phenom, if they choose to ignore this album.

Okay, so first things first... this isn't a mix cd, its his 'artist cd.' I knew that going into it, and I still bought it because hey, its oakenfold... should be pretty good right? Welll... not so much. It's barely even okay.

I really love Oakenfold's earlier mix cds. Transport is absolutely amazing, Another World and Essential Selection are great mixes too. But i noticed as he got more and more popular, with the whole Area:One tour (saw him perform there, he was a million times better at the clubs where i saw him) that his cds were starting to decline in quality. 'Travelling' and 'Ibiza' just weren't all that interesting. And then came this cd. Yiiikes. Its just really boring. It's like bad pop music, only techno-fied. Starry-Eyed Surprise might be good if he would drop that lame rapping guy... uggh.. the lyrics are soooo bad, and so poorly constructed. Hypnotized is another alright track. The only high point is 'Southern Sun'... but even then, the remixes (Tiesto and Solar Stone) are far superior. The rest of the album is rather forgettable. I've listened to it maybe 4 times. And trust me, its not one of those cds that you have to 'get into' by discovering it's 'deep layers.' There's nothing deep here. If you want one of those cds, check out Sasha's airdrawndagger... its amazing, faaaar better than Bunkka.