G.E.N.E. (Grooving Electronic Natural Environments) is a Canadian New Age instrumental band. The idea of this world-famous project was born in June 1987, during a conversation under the stars around a campfire and tents on the shore of the lake in the Canadian woods. That night, Cleo de Mallio took the first steps in a musical odyssey that is still not completed. The conversation was carried on the nature and technology, the world and machines, the new digital sound and lofty emotions. Father of the project and the producer is Michael Weisser - founding member of the German band Software, one of the disciples of the legendary Klaus Schulze, the founder of the company's IC/Digit music, on which he produced G.E.N.E. and Software. Michelle Weisser - it is not trivial producer who invested and believed in the idea…
R.E.M. abandoned the enigmatic post-punk experiments of Murmur for their second album, Reckoning, returning to their garage pop origins instead. Opening with the ringing "Harborcoat," Reckoning runs through a set of ten jangle pop songs that are different not only in sound but in style from the debut. Where Murmur was enigmatic in its sound, Reckoning is clear, which doesn't necessarily mean that the songs themselves are straightforward. Michael Stipe continues to sing powerful melodies without enunciating, but the band has a propulsive kick that makes the music vital and alive. And, if anything, the songwriting is more direct and memorable than before – the interweaving melodies of "Pretty Persuasion" and the country rocker "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville" are as affecting as the melancholic dirges of "Camera" and "Time After Time," while the ringing minor-key arpeggios of "So. Central Rain," the pulsating riffs of "7 Chinese Bros.," and the hard-rocking rhythms of "Little America" make the songs into classics. On the surface, Reckoning may not be as distinctive as Murmur, but the record's influence on underground American rock in the '80s was just as strong.