To me, this is the best of Octave One's CD albums focussing on Techno. While all of them may be well crafted works of Detroit Techno, this one simply is as good as it gets - with the word 'Detroit' etched into every single pattern on it. Compared to 'The Collective' which does enclose more 'classic' Octave One tracks, 'The Living Key' comes across far more fat and crisp - while many tracks on 'The Collective' sadly sound plain hollow and badly mastered (at least on the CD album). Compared to O1's latest album, 'The Living Key' wins over 'Off The Grid' because it's not as overcompressed as the the later. Let me take you on a quick tour through this gem. 'Black On Black' is a massive opener with squelching chords and rigid 909 beats, a real mover. 'Modernism' sounds more decent and minimal. 'Mid Heaven' is built on a deeep 808 bass drum, stellar strings and funky percussion, while 'Covenant' relies on hypnotic synth tom melodies - both tracks feature a certain touch of Jeff Mills more fragile pieces on Axis. 'The Living Key' is a very complex, beautifully calm tune with sparse jazz chords. 'Diversion' takes things back to the dancefloor by switching back to the 909, as does 'Night Illusion' (which is apparently a slightly different version of O1's track 'Dawn' released on the 'Images From Above' double vinyl). 'Nationtime' adds some nervous synth stabs over relentless grooves. 'Images From Above' is a heartwrenching, symphonic electro tune, while 'Emissary' builds on tribal percussion, returning to straight techno beats. 'Recognize' has a fresh sounding bassline to it, with sparse organ chords and short vocal snippets on top. The album is perfectly rounded off by 'Burujha', an emotional Tech House tune with melancholic synth pads. It is followed by a short hidden track which provides a nice outro and makes you want to do one thing: listen to the whole album again!