Q-Burns Abstract Message - Feng Shui

Astralwerks: 1998

Michael Donaldson's project always felt bigger than it actually turned out. Maybe it's because his early tracks were appearing on several noteworthy labels via compilations and mixes, FFRR the most prominent of the lot. Also showing up on OM Records, Wall Of Sound, and even Mo Wax (kinda') didn't hurt in selling Q-Burns Abstract Message as an artist with an ear to the ground with what was hip and shakin'. However, he was seldom ever tidily pigeon-holed into any particular scene. Was he acid jazz? Trip-hop? Dubby breaks? Big beat? Balearic chill? A bit of everything, really, and coming up in a time when an eclectic style at least got you noticed.

Q-Burns got his proper break with Astralwerks, consolidating his wayward tracks onto a 'debut' comp' called Oeuvre. Oh my, doesn't that come off just a tad pretentious. If so, then titling his proper debut Feng Shui won't help. I get it though, this being the late '90s, and alternate interior design all the hipster hype. Yes, let's use Far East spiritualism as a guiding principle in how to arrange wall shelves. I jest, some practical use in 'feeling' how one's living environment should flow just so. Titling an album upon it though...

Actually, it makes sense, his music rather free-flowing in of itself. In fact, I can't help suspect Mr. Donaldson was reigning himself in. The sort of artist brimming with ideas, fully capable of crafting pieces exploring them, but also realizing not everyone would be down for an ultra expressionist outing for a debut. Gotta' lure in folks with traditional dance tunes, hook them in with the familiar, then throw them for a loop when you go off on a little key-change solo two-thirds deep.

That's the general approach to Feng Shui, but obviously each cut offers something different from the other. Opener He's A Skull does the big, funky breaks thing with a quirky vocal sample. Follow-up Solar Car goes even funkier in a Euro-hop, skippity sort of way. Jennifer gets on that chill-out vibe by way of French pop getting so very popular at the time (thanks, AIR). Some tracks are more catered to showing ear-wormy contorted sounds or samples (New Patterns, the titular cut). Others are just an excuse for him to jam things out (A.S.T., Talking Box). And in case you did come to a Q-Burns album looking for more of the acid jazz vibes, Kinda Picky and There Must Be Something have you covered.

It all sounds like a solid record (and I really dig his bass tones in several tracks), so why isn't Feng Shui brought up in talks of Very Important 'Electronica' albums of the '90s? Honestly, I think things are played almost too safe. It's a good album, but the decade was spoiled for great albums, good ones gaining fans who find them, but few of the plaudits that entrench it within the lingering scene consciousness. Which kinda' sums up the Q-Burns Abstract Message story in a nutshell.

Quantic - An Announcement To Answer

Tru Thoughts: 2006

I've known about Mr. Holland's Quantic project for a very long time now, even if it's only for a single track. It's a humdinger of tune, mind you, Time Is the Enemy capturing those same rugged-yet-blissed trip-hop vibes DJ Shadow made so immaculate on Endtroducing. Not that the bulk of William's music is in similar vein, which may be why I've long put off scoping out any more of his work beyond one song. You know how it goes with expectations, yo'. However, while perusing a Discogs seller's wares, I noticed this particular Qauntic album among their options, and figured now (then) was as good as any time to finally get something from the man, even if I knew nothing about his extended catalogue.

And quite extended it does reach, Mr. Holland releasing music to this day. What I find fascinating about it though, is how he's stuck with the same label through it all, Tru Thoughts. Some folks may know the print as the same one that Bonobo broke out on, indeed he and Quantic among the earliest acts getting the ball rolling for them. However, Simon Green saw, erm, greener pastures in hooking up with Ninja Tune, and while William's sampledelic acid jazz and trip-hop would have also fit snuggly among the Ninja roster, he instead stayed true to Tru.

But maybe Quantic felt some sort of tug and allure for that label, as the opening track in An Announcement To Answer, Absence Heard, Presence Felt, features the mournful strings of a traditional Oriental ditty, while a little soul-jazz rhythm grooves along and a sample name-drops New York City. And you know who else is known for such music? That's right, The RZA, who's chop-socky stylings also harken to Orientalism, which included a fascination for ninjas! Oh come on, even I'm not so stupid to make so strained a link as that, am I?

Anyhow, the second titular cut is an electro swing jam before electro swing ever got coined as something folks would call such loopy, jazzy tunes, but long after acid jazz was still in use. Sabor could too, but has too many Latin jazz influences to ever be considered electro swing, truly the whitest of all the jazz-dance genres.

Oh yeah, the Latin influences definitely dominate this album, even more than the New York City ones. In fact, Lord Discogs lists An Announcement To Answer as among the most collected records of descarga, something of a freeform jam variant of Cuban jazz. I assume this isn't a highly collected genre of music, mostly because much of it was made during the '50s through the '70s, so finding vintage vinyl of the stuff is rather rare. Figures a plunderphonic chap like Quantic would have ample amounts to craft an album out of, though he does bring in proper musicians too.

Still, this is a surprisingly brisk album, clocking in at under forty minutes. Methinks I'll need more than this to satisfy my Quantic interest longterm.

Sykonee's 'Sportsing' Surveys: NORMAN COOK

The man, the myth, the legend: Norman Cook. Everyone knows at least a couple songs out of his catalogue, whether they want to or not. To this day, I'll hear Praise You on a grocery store speaker, or Right Here, Right Now at a sporting event. What about the rest, though? With a career spanning some forty years, surely he's done more to be known for other than tunes like The Rockafeller Skank.

Some, yes, but I realized my own knowledge of these various bands, productions, and projects was severely lacking. Heck, I only have two of his Fatboy Slim albums as it is - well, if you consider a 'kiddie clean version' a proper copy of Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars. Digging through Mr. Cook's extended discography, however, yields plenty of material to sift through, more than enough to satisfy my survey requirements. Sounds about right to finally know the rest of the Norman Cook story, as Paul Harvey might say. (he'd never say that ...don't know if Paul Havery would even know what a Fatboy Slim is)













Well, that was a lot more music than I was expecting, especially so in the acid jazz lane. And yet, I still feel like I only scratched the surface, so much of Norman's career defined by DJing accomplishments as much as anything he did in the production booth. Wish I could say much of it inspired me to nab a few more items proper-like, but it does appear I already got the cream of the crop.

That one dusted, think it's about time I tackle a band that, while maybe not be the best for 'sportsing' to, has been on the perifery of my curiosity: Stereolab! I've a feeling it'll be a rather... challenging outing, especially coming off the 'what you hear is what you get' simplism of Norman Cook.

Sons Of The Subway - Ruff Rugged & Real

Infonet: 1997

That was it for Bandulu music. I'd gotten all their CDs, even nabbed a compilation or two with outlier tunes. All that remains is their series on Foundation Sound Works, which I'll never get because vinyl remains the one unattainable format for yours truly. Practical reasons, y'see. Maybe... maybe, if the North London conglomerate can band together long enough to create a Bandcamp page, and make their entire back-catalogue available in a digital format, I'll finally grab items like Black Mass, New Foundation, and EP Judgement. For now though, I must remain content with what I have. Content... content... content...

Wait a sec'! There's another Bandulu album out there, released under a completely different project? How have I never heard of this before? For sure I could have clicked on that additional alias on their Discogs page, but figured Sons Of The Subway was nothing more than another little-used pseudonym like Thunderground and New Adult. A one-off EP here, a compilation contribution there, and that's all they wrote. But nay, when Bandulu were off gallivanting with vinyl on a their own label, a full-length of Sons material was released in the waning days of Infonet. One of that print's last items, if Lord Discogs is to be believed. What a strange coincidence.

Far as I can tell, the side-project was a brief flirtation with techno a little more Detroit or 'street' than Bandulu's dubby, tribal excursions. A lone EP - Escape Ventures: Part One - was released, then sat fallow until this album came out. Again, I don't want to assume anything, but listening to this CD, I can't help but get a sense of a concept album that for whatever reason, skidded to a halt, and was filled out with other material to make good on releasing anything at all.

What concept would that be? Nothing less than going straight-up hip-hop, the titular opener a funky, swingin' slice of street sampling and scratch swagger. Cool, I'm diggin' this, but is anyone gonna' rap over this beat? No? Oh... oh dear! This isn't going to be one of those records, then? Repetitive instrumental hip-hop that desperately needs an MC toasting over top, but no MC here, no one to toast a crowd. Follow-up Fly Trap sure suggests as such, loopy acid jazz that quickly overstays its barely three-minute runtime. Roxy at least hints at some classic b-boy boogie, with some vintage Bandulu dub thrown in.

And if that isn't a foreboding of the group abandoning the Sons Of The Subway concept, Da Tunnelz basically gets right back to the Bandulu business, just in a break-beaty sort of way. Despite a heavy reliance on jazz and funk samples, things grow ever more techno as the album plays out, to such a point we're basically right where we started with the alias: the back alleys of Detroit. Which may be all that it ever was meant to be. Given Bandulu's cred' though, it feels like it could have been so much more.

Bent - Programmed To Love

Sport: 2000

Just how popular was Bent at the start? Though Misters Tolliday and Mills had been active throughout the '90s ('Nail' had roots as far back as Nottingham's DiY 'free tekno' parties of yore), as a duo they seemingly sprung up out of nowhere. A couple EPs, a little hype in an increasingly over-saturated chill-out market, then boom, a perfect score for Programmed To Love within the pages of Muzik Magazine. Surely that's plenty 'nuff to get the majors buzzing. I don't see any chart info in their Wiki though, to say nothing of Bent being a near non-factor on my side of the pond. For sure they must have been doing something right to get all that compilation action at the turn of the century, but had it not been an accidental stumbling-upon of Muzik, it's possible I'd completely miss them for several years (Faithless' Back To Mine appearance notwithstanding).

It may just be that Bent was a tad too British in its sense of humour at the start for American appeal. Now, I likes me some British humour in my laid-back house jams - what would The Orb be without it? And really, if you're not getting some Orb vibes right off the jump in Exercise 1, what with cheeky samples and dubby grooves setting us up for a gently warped little ride of an album, then... um, go listen to some old-school Orb, I guess? For comparison's sake. Welly Top Mary has me feelin' some of that reggae-dub house sound many a Youth-orientated Orb cut kicked out, but that's about the extent of it.

Elsewhere, there's Ninja Tune influence at play. You got the jazz-hop bop of Invisible Pedestrian, the funky shuffle-dub of I Remember Johnny, and the quirky toy-town trip-hop of Private School Investigations (relegated to 'secret song' status on the original UK version). And let's not forget the tunes that simply defy easy categorization beyond “well, that sure is a fun little tune”. Cylons In Love imagines, well, cylons strumming an acoustic-folky to... something. I can't understand those digitized vocals, but hot damn, is that bassline ever a deeper shade of love. Follow-up Invisible Pedestrian sounds like a lounge-lizard performing at a Callisto casino, while Irritating Noises goes country twang. Okay, not full-blown country twang, but I can't help but imagine some cowboy strumming a guitar while riding his horse down an old country road.

But honestly, all these are surprising, tasty supplements to the main reasons folks nabbed up Programmed To Love. The dreamy pastoral chill-pop of Private Road. The fragile, cinematic grace of Swollen. Zoë Johnston's providing vocals on each, basically debuting her voice to a whole slew of future trance producers. And, as always, Always, the utterly dreamy slice of Balearic house (somehow topped by Ashley Beedle's rub on it a year later!). A perfect tune to end the album on... followed upon by a slapstick nod to old-school rave with silly monkey squeals. Oh, these gents with their bent humour.

The Herbaliser - Blow Your Headphones

Ninja Tune: 1997

Is this The Herbaliser's break-out album? Well, it's got A Mother on it, the tune that opened up Kruder & Dorfmeister's contribution to the DJ-Kicks series, which counts for something. So much so, that it just might be Jake and Ollie's most well-known song, which is remarkable considering it wasn't released as a single, nor made the cut on their 2010 retrospective compilation Herbal Tonic. Still, it must have been popular enough for them to include two versions of it on here, the other titled Another Mother. This is also the point when the DJing duo started expanding their sound from strict jazzy trip-hop exercises, incorporating actual musicians and lyricists. Okay, the musicians part was more for the tours at this stage in The Herbaliser's lifespan, but the lyricists, they be here.

More so though, this was about the time Ninja Tune itself started breaking out as an indie label with real potential, a promising growing roster that held more than whatever project Coldcut and crew was up to. True, they were riding on that 'electronica' wave that threw trip-hop favourite Mo'Wax into the pie, but exposure was exposure, even if it was in the backwash of everything else getting the hype. The Herbaliser benefited from this no less, though that aforementioned K&D rub didn't hurt either.

If anything, Blow Your Headphones captures the sound folks would come to associate with the label for nearly a decade after. That's either its greatest strength or an unfortunate weakness, depending on how you come into this album. Great, if you love the classic Ninja Tune trip-jazz funk-hop sounds, and enjoy consuming it from an era it was still quite fresh. Or you found it to grow rather stale after a while, and this is just a reminder that the label had a real tough time evolving as the years wore on. Actually, that's hardly accurate at all, the Ninja posse including many unique artists in the coming decade. Could they help it if their biggest stars and most prominent compilation contributors came from this mould? Okay, maybe a little – all about that sweet licensing exposure, amirite?

So the nu-hop acid-scratch vibes dominate, with tracks like both Mothers, Ginger Jumps the Fence, and Shorty's Judgement leading the charge. A couple tracks (Put It On Tape, Shocker Zulu) slow things right down into near illbient waters, plus a whole pile of interstitial tracks litter about. There's a jazz-hop cut in Saturday Night with some of that rappity-rap going on, but the bulk of the lyricism on Blow Your Headphones features What? What? She also goes by Run Run Shaw, Tsidi Ibrahim, and Jean Grae. With the jazz influences getting ultra-thick on her cuts (The Blend, New + Improved, Bring It), I can't help but think I'm listening to some of Guru's Jazzmatazz selections. I suspect The Herbaliser sensed it too, the beats they provide her quite indebted to DJ Premier. Well, except that pure beatnik-gangsta poetry outing in Hardcore. Weird one, that.

Bonobo - Black Sands

Ninja Tune: 2010

Migration may have been Bonobo's deliberate attempt at having crossover success, but Black Sands may remain his most popular album. Never mind this one is owned by over twelve-thousand members of Discogs' community, well outpacing Migration's 'mere' eight-thousand. On a track-by-track basis, Spotify's streaming numbers puts Black Sands' songs properly above Migration's, though the King Bonobo cut goes to The North Borders' Cirrus. All that pre-hype as a lead single in the follow-up to Black Sands no doubt helped its cause. Of course, this all could be explained by the fact Black Sands has a seven year head start on Migration to rack up such numbers, but I prefer going with the theory that Black Sands is a better overall album.

For sure it's an album in transition. The first clutch of Bonobo records mostly stuck to that traditional Ninja Tune-y trip-hop vibe that was so prevalent in the early '00s. They were good enough to gain a dedicated following, but not enough to branch beyond that. By the late '00s, however, it was abundantly clear change was afoot in UK downtempo-land: trip-hop was finally on the way out, jazzy urban soul and future garage was in. Simon Green had already explored some of the former on Days To Come, and 2010 was as good as any year to start dabbling in the latter. Just in time to hit those lucrative festival circuits playing nothing but the latter!

Actually, there isn't that much more of it here, Black Sands offering a wide variety of old and new Bonobo. For sure the album hits you right out the gate in Kiara with the wonky rhythm and chirpy chiptune bleeps while a Far East string melody plays along, but follow-up Kong is pure vintage Ninja Tune hop-step, steady-cool groove. Then Eyesdown gets in on that skippity-shuffle beat while Andreya Triana croons along, while El Toro has fun with acid jazz. Wait, really? Yah, really. Call it 'electro swing' if you must, but we all know what it really is.

The genre hopping/fusions continue throughout Black Sands, each track hitting upon their own unique vibe, the album never losing its way for the ride. Did I mention a lot of this is done with instrumentation performed by Bonobo himself? Yeah, there's a number of featured guests, especially on El Toro and the titular finale. Yet tunes are arranged such that it kinda'-sorta' still sounds like sample-based downtempo music, with subtle electronic gimmickry enhancing the studio sessions. Heck, on the aforementioned titular finale, a big ol' cinematic jazz outing with contributions from Jack Baker (drums), Mike Lesirge (flute and clarinet), Mike Simmonds (violin), Alan Hardiman (trombone) and Ryan Jacob (trumpet), Mr. Green also plays guitar, piano, double bass, xylophone, mandolin, and harmonium. Ahh, the wonders of multi-track recording.

Does this mean that Black Sands has converted me to the Bonobo Brotherhood? Well, it got me checking out more of his earlier output, which is all any artist can hope for from late adopters.

Mr. Scruff - Keep It Unreal (10th Anniversary Analogue Remaster Edition)

Ninja Tune: 1999/2009

This is thought of as a landmark album in the world of jazzy chill-out music, but it certainly wasn't considered that when it first dropped. Trip-hop was still the dominate form of late-night lounge music, with purer jazz explorations (a nu form, if you will) yet to re-emerge as a trend. If you listened to Mr. Scruff's tunes prior to this major debut on Ninja Tune, not to mention many of the tracks that appear on here, you can still hear trip-hop's influence. Something on that swingin' jazz tip seemed almost a novelty by the end of the '90s (thanks, Brian Seltzer), no one quite sure what to make of it.

Still, such sounds had been floating about electronic music for at least a decade, from the seminal acid jazz works out of Acid Jazz, all the way to the commercial dance charts with Doop's Doop. I'm honestly surprised some of the tunes on Keep It Unreal weren't considered such. True, the notion of what even was acid jazz at that point was basically a dead topic, folks generally lumping those sounds with nu-jazz, or jazzdance, or downtempo, or...

Basically, anything other than acid jazz, since it was no longer so trendy to call yourself that. Frankly, if it's dancey with a kinda'-sorta' house beat to it, you're fine calling it acid jazz. Wait, no, don't go calling it 'electro swing'! That's even- Ahh, too late. Get A Move On is on all those future electro swing compilations now, isn't it. What have thee wrought, O' Scruffian One?

So Get A Move On was the big track off here, while Blackpool Roll and Cheeky joins in on that happy go-lucky swingin' house-jazz vibe. Honeydew is more of what you'd expect to hear on acid-chill comps in the near future, with sultry vocals care of Fiona Renshaw. Further along, Roots Manuva adds some be-bop jazz-hop slangin' to Jusjus. And in what would become something of a running theme with Mr. Scruff records, a couple cut-n-paste quirky tunes regarding aquatic things are here in Shanty Town and Fish. Reminds me of Kid Koala at his silliest, but with much less scratching. Still, you can't resist singing along to “the whale was in full view” in Shanty Town. Attenborough clips don't hurt either.

That's only about half the album though, and mostly at the bookends of a play-through. A large chunk of Keep It Unreal is made up of the sort of jazzy Ninja Tune downtempo that instantly springs to mind when you think jazzy Ninja Tune downtempo. The 10th anniversary bonus disc featuring unused tracks are of similar vein, just not quite as good as what made the cut. Nothing out of the norm, is what I'm saying, thus not so surprising that folks initially slept on this. Maybe it needed more of the potato men in the original cover art to draw them in. Nah, just get those tracks licensed out to compilations and ads. That'll get the buzz going!

Various - Back To Mine: The Orb

DMC: 2003

Sure is a nice coincidence that the alphabetical order of my Back To Mine CDs is also in chronological order.

Folks who came around to the series later in its run may have noticed something different about the first couple I've covered. Indeed, when DMC launched Back To Mine, the cover art wasn't too distinctive from many other DJ-featuring compilations out there. Sure, Warren and Seaman were lounging in comfy chairs, while Tenaglia and Armada had cute little lights, but it still felt run-of-the-mill where chill-out CDs were concerned.

Following Faithless' entry, however, DMC commissioned illustrator Tommy Penton to shake things up, giving Back To Mine its distinct, abstract comic look for many years after; I hated that look. Yeah, it was unique, which undoubtedly helped it stand out from overcrowded compilation racks, but gads, the artwork reminds me of bad lucid dreams, not at all feelings of being chill. Whatever happened to the soft, inviting mood lighting?

So I wasn't too keen on picking up more Back To Mines with the art change. Compounding things further was the fact Ultra Records lost the domestic distribution rights after the seventh (Morcheeba's, for the record), leaving DMC to handle it themselves. They... weren't very efficient at it, leading to few copies, if any, found on my local store shelves. And whenever one did happen by at those slightly inflated prices, always was I met with that butt-ugly cover art. You understand why I let the series pass me by, then.

Still, when I heard The Orb had been tapped to head up a Back To Mine, I knew I had to get my hands on that! The O.G. chill-out maestros, who's early sets were well known for unearthing all sorts of weird, blissy records of yesteryear, compiling a CD that's right up their lane? How could this fail? It could not, is how! No, Muzik Magazine and their middling 2/5 score had to be wrong. It... had to be good...!

Back To Mine was primarily billed as showing off one's personal collections, and you'd think chaps like Dr. Alex Paterson and Thomas Fehlmann would have ludicrously deep crates to pull music from. And maybe compared to typical punters of the U.K., that's true, but I was stunned that I already had so many of these tracks in my own collection. Two Aphex Twin cuts, yep. Julee Cruise's go with Falling (aka: the Twin Peaks theme), uh huh. And why on Earth is Juno Reactor's Nitrogen Part 1 on here, and at the third position no less? Okay, Alex helped produce that, but no way does it fit as a 'chill-out' option.

The remaining selections are definitely an eclectic sort of stoner chill and indie-techno, but lacks much of a unifying theme to them. It's as though The Orb rounded up a pile of tracks they happened to like that given month, arranged them in alphabetical order, and called it a day. Who'd want to listen to something like that?

Spacetime Continuum - Double Fine Zone

Astralwerks: 1999

Forget all that ye' may think thy knoweth of Spacetime Continuum, for naught, it doth apply to Jonah Sharp's final album with said nomme de plume (um, yo'). This is a very different album from Sea Biscuit, is what I'm saying. Heck, it's also quite different from Emit Ecaps, though the Detroit techno pulse that dominated that album is still felt in Double Fine Zone. All that ambient techno and spacey chill-out and IDM explorations that marked much of his '90s output though, forget about it. For Mr. Sharp, he's discovered a sound that other techno producers had discovered, and wasn't afraid of having his stab at it as well. I am, of course, talking about all that jazz, man! Because if Carl Craig and Model 500 could go jazz, why not Spacetime Continuum?

Still, even in the annals of techno detours, this one comes quite out of leftfield. I can't say I've taken in all of Jonah Sharps musical output, but I see little indications in prior releases that he'd go this direction. Like, did Carl Craig plant some seeds of curiosity when he did those remixes for Kairo? Mixmaster Morris' foray into the realms of Ninja Tune inspiring his friend to attempt the same? Brian Iddenden just happened to be crashing on Jonah's couch and, having a saxophonist on hand, why not get some studio time out of him too? Whatever the case, going jazz is what Jonah wanted, so going jazz is what Jonah got'ed.

And he ain't pussy-footin' around it either, opening track The Ring featuring a prominent smooth jazz solo from Mr. Iddenden over chill, bloopy electro sounds. You can almost feel the warmth of cigarette smoke caress your cheek as you lounge outside a futuristic cafe. Follow-up Microjam gets back on that Carl Craig techno tip, but there's a fair amount of saxophone solos after. Rhodes keyboards too, if I'm being fair, and those are good fun for yours truly, but man, that saxophone... It's fine, I guess, but I've made clear it's an instrument that does weird, uncomfortable things to my ears, and ol' Brian's performances don't do much to alleviate that. A couple tracks here and there are fine, just not so much album's worth.

It's not just the Rhodes and saxophone contributions throwing this so firmly into nu-jazz territory. Sharp also makes use of sampled drums, giving many of his tracks that live-performance feel you'd expect out of, say, The Cinematic Orchestra. Seriously, did he make this in hopes of Ninja Tune noticing? It's almost a shock when you hear techno beats again in Double Fine Zone, even when coupled with the saxophone and Rhodes licks. Even more shocking to hear is Different Bend, a track that sounds like it could have been on an old school trance compilation. In the year 1999! Damn, what I wouldn't give to hear a ten-minute version of it, but Different Bend is one of the shortest tracks here. Such a tease.

Weekend Players - Pursuit Of Happiness

Multiply Records: 2002

(A Patreon Request from Omskbird)

Andy Cato will forever be known as one-half of the commercial juggernaut that is Groove Armada, but the chap's had a far more fruitful musical career than that pairing with Tom Findlay. He released several house singles under several one-off aliases in the half-decade prior to Vertigo, plus found time for other collaborations with the likes of Mike Monday and Alex Whitecombe. They even flirted with trance on occasion, the group Qattara having some minor success during the genre's commercial heyday (a Paul van Dyk approved hit in Come With Me helped). And while Groove Armada pretty much set him up for life, that collaborative itch didn't end, finding time between that project and DJ gigs to work with other musicians.

One such pairing was with Rachel Foster, a vocalist with very few Discoggian credits to her name prior to meeting with Andy. For whatever reason, a Balearic house bug had bitten Andy, and Ms. Foster provided the suitable pipes needed for his single, 21st Century. Sensing a vibe distinct enough from his work with Tom Findlay, Andy and Rachel dubbed themselves Weekend Players, roped in Groove Armada bassist Jonathan White for the ride, and set about making an album of chill-out compilation fodder.

I'll admit I'd never heard of this project before, but then my Groove Armada interest was only the passing fancy most North Americans had in the wake of singles like I See You Baby and Superstylin'. Certainly not enough to browse into Andy Cato's various projects, though digging through his discography has definitely been enlightening. Pursuit Of Happiness did reasonably well though, tunes like Into The Sun and I'll Be There hitting high marks in that bastion of taste, the US Dance Charts - getting featured in various CSI shows probably helped.

That's all the particulars out of the way, so how's the music then? There's a lot of familiar Groove Armada markers, like 'that trumpet', or 'that light jazz vibe'. With more focus on Ms. Foster's vocals though, Pursuit Of Happiness comes off less cheeky than a lot of G.A.'s stuff – classier, music intended for the coffee shop that uses home-brewed beans rather a corporate farm. Trip-hop that's in its post-Millennium gentrified state (Best Days Of Our Lives, Jericho, Subway, the titular cut), or acid jazz that's kinda' lost as to exactly what it is anymore (Subway). Music for when you want to cruise along charming coastal towns thinking of sandy dunes and salty air, but want something other than that specific Groove Armada song (Higher Ground). Peppy house music giving you true-blue Balearic feels without spending ridiculous sums at tourist traps (Into The Sun, Play On, Through The Trees).

Overall, Pursuit Of Happiness is a charming record, and charted reasonably well for an Andy Cato side-project. In the end though, there's not much that different here than on any number of downtempo albums of the era, and perhaps Weekend Players realized it as well, disbanding a couple years after this record's release.

Jamiroquai - Travelling Without Moving

Columbia: 1996

The only Jamiroquai album you probably have, if you're American. Or Canadian. Or Australian. Or New Zealandian. Yes, Travelling Without Moving was the band's major global breakout, finally cluing the planet Earth into what the Brits had known for a few good years – that acid jazz thing is rather quite cool an' funky, y'know. What's funny is despite being their best selling album by several leagues, Travelling Without Moving never hit the number one on the charts, not even in their native UK. Granted, competition was fierce for such a coveted spot that year, including The Fugee's The Score, Spice Girls' Spice, Kula Shaker's K (um, who?), George Michael's Older (he was still popular there), and... wow, Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill? She was obviously huge in Canada, but I had no idea the Brits also loved her that much.

So everyone knows Virtual Insanity, because everyone has seen the video for Virtual Insanity. Quite a few folks also know the retro-disco single Cosmic Girl, because cars. Some people might know the retro-funk of Alright and High Times, though I feel these singles would be better received in recent times, after hipsters and Bruno Mars made listening to such music culturally popular. Most of us on the Western side of the Atlantic weren't ready to accept non-ironic funk-n-soul back into our lives though (t'was all about that G-funk).

That's the singles, but if you're drawing a blank beyond the tracks that “had that cool video” and “was in that episode of Daria”, you can imagine how the rest of the album fared with general audiences. And that's a crying shame, because listening to Travelling Without Moving, you can hear there's some insanely talented musicians at work, fearless in their genre fusion even as the big, bold Billboards beckoned them.

Like, Didjerama, a pure tribal-dub outing with a didgeridoo lead! Then they follow it with more simmering didjeridoo action in the chill funk-soul session of Didjital Vibratations. Who does that on a 'pop' album, especially on the cusp of Spice-mania? Oh yeah, acid jazz guys, because they're all about finding the funk in whatever ways they can (it's not really a jazz genre).

Then there's funky Latin vibes in Use The Force, boppin' reggae vibes in Drifting Along, more disco vibes with the titular cut, more funk vibes with You Are My Love (wee, Moog action!), plus a couple soul outings too (Everyday, Spend A Lifetime). Because you need that love-makin' downtime when there's this much freakin' funk funkin' around. And just in case you forgot what year this came out in, Do You Know Where You're Coming From? gets in on that trendy jazzstep action. Can't be an acid jazz album without d'n'b, I guess.

Given it's sales numbers, it feels weird to say that Travelling Without Moving is an overlooked gem of funk and soul music. Considering the only thing most folks remember from it is an associated video though, that's sadly the case. No more excuses!

Various - Winter Chill 2

Hed Kandi: 2000

Something funny happened in the year between the first Winter Chill and its inevitable sequel: chill-out music as a commercial juggernaut became a thing. For sure it's always had a marketable undercurrent within club culture, dating as far back as when The KLF specifically made an album to chill out to called Chill Out. Whether it be ambient dub, Balearic jazz, trippy hip-hop, or whatever trendy, laid-back vibe was currently circulating, mentally exhausted punters could always rely on a few selections in the music shops to ease their frazzled brains. Then someone in the high towers of record labels realized there were more folks out there who could use a little downtime music in their lives than the Ecstasy Generation, and chill-out compilations suddenly exploded upon the scene with several CDs featuring the same songs you already had in a different order. Sure as shit Hed Kandi wasn't immune to this trend.

Think I'm exaggerating? Second track on Winter Chill 2: Moby's Porcelain. Third track: Chicane's No Ordinary Morning. Fourth track: Delerium's Silence. Tenth track: Thievery Corporation's Lebanese Blonde. CD1 also features songs from Bent, Goldfrapp, Dusted, A Guy Called Gerald, and The Beloved. You getting a sense of familiarity yet? Hell, CD2 opens with Paul van Dyk's Vega! Yeah, it's a nice enough chill tune, Mr. Van Dyk having a stab at jazzstep, but these are all darn obvious names to have on a chill-out collection, even for the year 2000 when the concept still had a fresh fragrance. The series did course correct in later volumes, though Winter Chill itself only lasted six volumes before Hed Kandi was bought out by Ministry Of Sound, save a one-off return in 2012. You bet your bottom dollar its got nothing to do with 'chill-out' music!

Back to Winter Chill 2, even Hed Kandi head-man Mark Doyle knew including the likes of Moby, Delerium, and Paul van Dyk was little more than a shameless commercial tactic to lure in the impulse buy, and thus ignores such artists in his inlay notes. Instead, he once again big-ups his label's own talent like the jazzier Afterlife and Urban Dwellers, which is fair play if you're having them rub shoulders with chill-out's newest stars.

If all this 'suburban downtempo' music isn't cutting it for you, there's always CD2. Vega aside, this is where most of the trip-hop and acid jazz vibes are hiding out, many tracks care of the rising Studio K7! that Mr. Doyle was quite eager in hyping. Thus you find Tosca, Terranova, Smith & Mighty, Handsome Boy Modeling School (Dan The Automator!), and... LTJ Bukem? Well, he did have a debut album out that same year. And yeah, CD2 is definitely more of the downtempo vibe I prefer in compilations of this sort, with plenty of smooth, smokey rhythms, soulful strings, dubby atmosphere, and sultry vocals throughout. As a means of introducing music on a proper deep tip to soccer moms who bought this for Silence, I'd say Winter Chill 2 does right.

Various - Winter Chill

Hed Kandi: 1999

The nice thing about a lot of old Hed Kandi CDs is how cheap you can find them now – ironic, considering how pricey they were when fresh on store shelves. It was that ridiculously expensive entry point (especially as an import) that always made them an easy pass when pursuing the shops for new music, but I can't deny seeing that super-slick cover art would give me pause regardless. Now one can find these things for a quarter the original price, and sure, may as well take in a couple if I see an intriguing one in the used market. They did have a reputation for having good music as well, at least before being absorbed by Ministry Of Sound.

The label also built its rep' on deep house on a slightly commercial bent, but they were all about that downtempo vibe too, releasing at least two such compilations per year. Serve Chilled first came out in summer, and when that proved successful, Hed Kandi head-man Mark Doyle decided a winter companion just made good artistic sense (not to mention mighty profitable as a Xmas gift option). The basic idea behind Winter Chill, then, was music that was best played while cozying up indoors with a hot beverage as brisk winds and dour weather beat against your patio windows. And what better music to supply such a setting than good ol' trip-hop (mostly CD1) and acid jazz (mostly CD2), the most dependable (and commercially viable) of the downtempo genres.

Anyone worth their salt in this scene should know a tonne of artists in this tracklist. Nightmares On Wax. Mr. Scruff. The Herbaliser. Peshay. Rae & Christian. A Man Called Adam. Morcheeba. Innerzone Orchestra. Hell, this is looking like a Ninja Tune collection. Even d'n'b man Omni Trio can't help but stay jazzy-chill with Native Place. Smartly, Mr. Doyle mixes in a number of fresh faces and obscure acts too, letting names like Santessa, Eyedentity, 45 Dip, and Guardians Of Dalliance get a little associative rub from the main draws on a CD like this.

The most 'mainstream' names that crop up are Hybrid and The Wiseguys, but even then we're not dealing with well-known tunes from them. We get the trip-hop bounce of We Be The Crew provided by The Wiseguys, and the French-rapping cut Sinequanon from Hybrid. Wow, never would have thought I'd hear the same French-rap tune in such a short amount of time, especially when my exposure to French-rap is basically nil.

As for all the other recognizable names, I can't confirm or deny whether tracks like Survival, Pacific, So Long, The Sensual Woman, or Moog Island are obscure offerings from their respective creators, in that I don't actually have albums from them. Yeah, funny that, me having so much downtempo music, but almost all of it in compilation form. All I can confirm is I don't have many of these songs anywhere else, making Winter Chill an ace collection for rounding out my collection.

Groove Armada - Vertigo

Jive Electro: 1999/2000

I already mentioned Vertigo is the only Groove Armada album you’ll likely have, even if you’re not a Groove Armada fan, back when I reviewed The Remixes. That’s only true of American interests though, the duo enjoying plenty of sales numbers for follow-up LPs Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub) and Lovebox. And despite a half-decade gap, Soundboy Rock did reasonably well in the UK, but it was clear their fame abroad was diminishing. A new wave rebranding for 2010’s Black Light generated a little sustained buzz, and perhaps they could have kept that going if trends weren’t so darn fickle in the world of club music. Instead, they’ve recently opted for that safest of fallbacks all producers succumb to, deeeeeeep house. Ah well, at least there’s precedent in their discography for it.

Vertigo always strikes me as the sort of album that shouldn’t have had much of a hope at gaining Platinum sales status, yet was destined for it regardless. The big singles off here were so ubiquitous in turn-of-the-century advertising, Groove Armada couldn’t help but generate bank from it, though I only heard Fatboy Slim’s rub of I See You Baby on this side of the pond. Still, the summery feel-good vibes of If Everybody Looked The Same and chilled bliss of At The River (mmm, sandy dunes and salty air) make for swell soundtracks accompanying visuals of beautiful people driving beautiful cars in beautiful locales. Instead, we got Moby.

The rest of Vertigo though, how does that hold up? Like, this is mostly an acid jazz record, right? It’s got those funky, groovy rhythms that isn’t quite house music (Chicago, Pre 63, Serve Chilled), ample amounts of jazzy instruments played as laid-back loops or in studio (orchestral swells in Whatever, Whenever, trumpet in Dusk You And Me, turntable scratches and Balearic guitar action in A Private Interlude), and hard-stomp soul (Your Song). There’s also some straight-up house action with In My Bones, plus the original I See You Baby cut, even if it is kind of a plodder. And for a closer, Groove Armada dabble in an eight-minute long trip-hop excursion titled Inside My Mind (Blue Skies) …at least, if you got the UK version of Vertigo. Fatboy Slim’s rub of I See You Baby was so popular though, it got tagged onto the end of American copies, which suits me fine. Ends the album on quite the peppy note, it does.

But these are all loose demarcations. At this point in their career, Groove Armada’s appeal lay in their blending of familiar genres into tasty morsels that played nicely on the radio. Whatever edgy, underground influences Misters Cato and Findlay held, they’re smoothed right the fuck out here - small wonder their recent, straight-forward attempts at new wave and d-e-e-e-ep house haven’t caught on in the same way. Still, if all you’re after is some light dabbling in chilled-out funk and soul while lounging on your patio, then you probably already have Vertigo in your folders anyway.

Kozo - Planned Penetration

Waveform Records: 2000

This has been an album that’s long intrigued me based on cover alone. Something about the saturated blues inexplicably tugs at a strange reservoir of nostalgic endorphins I did not know existed. Packed in a family Sedan at some point in the ‘70s, casually cruising a California suburb (or Okanagan road) in search of a place to rest in that brief period in dawn’s early blue-shifted light. I have no actual memory of such an event, not even an implied dream, yet the artwork on Kozo’s debut sparks such imagery within my brainpan just the same.

And that’s not all! Studying the cover a shade longer, a different form of brain matter sparkling starts flooding, that of musical expectation. Forget the lonely suburb street with the humdrum motel – take a gander at those power lines! Coupled with the color pallette, and I’m thinking all sorts of weird, experimental, glitch techno, or fuzzy Boards Of Canada weirdness. Now obviously, this being a release on Waveform Records, such could never be the case, but it intrigued me nonetheless. Who exactly is Kozo? What music might actually be contained behind that curious cover art? Do I really want to take a gamble on a CD from Waveform’s more ‘adventurous’ period, when there’s so much tried, tested, and true grooves found elsewhere within their catalog?

That, above all else, was the reason I held out on Planned Penetration for so long, unsure of what sort of leftfield vibes I might get with this album. But I’m slowly catching up with getting Waveform’s entire discography, so it was inevitable that Kozo would find its way into my collection (Liquid Zen next, finally?). And lo’, it was true there was something quite unexpected within his debut album, though I was not prepared for what awaited me within. For you see, Kozo Ikeno is a trumpeter extraordinaire, and boy does he let his skill shine on through.

Straight up, I am utterly clueless regarding the full scale of trumpet musicianship. I know of the jazz greats (Armstrong, Gillespie, Davis, Baker), but by no means have taken in much of their work. Thus, whether Kozo’s skill on the trumpet is comparatively ace or bunk, I simply don’t know. What I can tell you, is he alternates between open and muted playing (sometimes playing off each other), mostly with a distant, hall effect in place, and in a woozy way that at times sounds weirdly flat and dissonant. He also provides his own electro and acid jazz beats in support, very minimalist stuff with a few glitch stutters thrown in for good measure. At times it sounds pretty cool and otherworldly, like I’m lost in a drugged-up dream haze of a road trip gone awry.

Mostly though, I feel I’m missing something only true students of classic jazz would understand (and have I ever been skipping that class). Once I got used to what I was hearing, Planned Penetration did grow on me, but talk about your dashed expectations.

Bill Laswell - Axiom Ambient: Lost In Translation

Axiom: 1994

A curious double-LP, this one, though not for any of the music within. As this is a Bill Laswell ambient dub album from his peak ambient dub music making years, you can bet your bottom dollar it’s filled with swirly sounds, jazzy grooves, ethnic samplings, and that bass tone. Nay, what’s rather confounding about Axiom Ambient: Lost In Translation is exactly what sort of release this is. There’s so many collaborations on here, such that I wonder whether ‘Axiom Ambient’ could be construed as a project name rather than an album title – it wouldn’t be the first time Mr. Laswell took on an unique moniker for yet another venture with his huge evergrowing population of associates that rules from the center of the bassworld.

Oh yeah, The Orb is on this album. It doesn’t clarify which member of The Orb is here though, and as this is a ’94 release, it could very well be a member that most definitely is no longer a member, and will never again be a member, so help him Gaia. On the other hand, it could have been Dr. Paterson dropping by Laswell’s house for a toke-n-smoke, fiddling with some effects overtop Aum while enjoying the buzz, then giving his blessing to use The Orb brand for marketing purposes. Who’s in charge of that stuff at head Orb office anyway?

Plenty more folks Laswell knows through the rock, jazz, funk, and world-fusion scenes drop by too. Many you probably know: George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Pharoah Sanders, Buckethead, and Tetsu Inoue. Lesser number you may know: Jah Wobble, Terre Thaemlitz, Eddie Hazel, and Sonny Sharrock. And if you’re familiar with Ginger Baker, Nicky Skopelitis, and Liu Sola, well damn, Mr. John Peel, how are things in the Afterlife? Some material is remixed from other Axiom releases (including Material), but mostly we’re dealing with all original music here.

There’s a lot about Axiom Ambient that can come off terribly pretentious at first glance. Each CD features four extra-long tracks, separated into movements themselves. That Orb collaboration, Aum, has four segments alone, titled Soul Searcher, Praying Mantra (Second Attention), Tarab Scan, and Ritual In Transfigured Time. If you think that’s a bit much, the liner notes have two pages going on about the mystical healing nature of world fusion ambient within a heightened global consciousness. Hey, fine if you vibe on psychik chakras and that, but most of it comes off as ostentatious waffle to my eyes, and rather dated to ‘90s alt-life optimism.

Fortunately, it’s what’s going into my ears that matters, and Axiom Ambient is a surprisingly immersive experience once it gets going. Laswell displays plenty skill and finesse, melding the various contributions from tons of talented musicians into a trippy, relaxing journey. Orchestral swells, mystic chants, guitar jams, techno thumps, calming drones, Far East winds, and best of all, none of it feels like superfluous meandering. Go figure that the longest Laswell album I’ve covered is his most engaging from front to back.

Beastie Boys - Check Your Head

Capitol Records: 1992

Either the most important Beastie Boys album, or the most forgotten Beastie Boys album, depending on who you ask. Most folks fall into the latter category, and for good reason: Check Your Head generally lacks a variety of things that made their other LPs so memorable. There’s none of the instantly recognizable hits like Fight For Your Right from Licensed To Ill, Sabotage from Ill Communication, or Intergalactic from Hello Nasty. So What’cha Want was the only single that charted, and barely so at that. Hell, for the longest time, I didn’t even realize the track was from this album. For some reason I mistook it for a Paul’s Boutique or Ill Communication cut despite hard evidence to the contrary. Maybe the title’s just been so oft repeated and sampled, I never clued in it was an actual song itself.

Even the scant ’00 albums get more talking points than Check Your Head. Though folks were divided on the merits of To The 5 Boroughs’ throw-back hip-hop, the Beasties were at least praised for sticking to the concept in face of so many changes within their scene. And Hot Sauce Committee… well, that was gonna’ get talked about no matter what. For all intents, the history most know of the Beastie Boys goes like: “GROUNDBREAKING ‘80s! Something with live instruments. The SABOTAGE video! Moar awesome videos from Hello Nasty, with robots and ninjas! Content old geezers doing raps whenever between Buddhism. Aww, man, MCA died? That sucks.” Poor Check Your Head, barely a name check.

Still, this was the first album the Beasties produced themselves, which is note worthy for sure, but doesn’t illicit the same reverent discussion that Rick Rubin on Licensed To Ill or The Dust Brothers on Paul’s Boutique do. Nonetheless, Ad-Rock, MCA, and Mike D returned to playing their own instruments rather than pilfer coffers of records for samples. A good thing too when they did, legalities involving cribbing other people’s music turning incredibly costly in the courts. Time to start making your own beats and riffs, drawing influence of the multitude of funk, punk, jazz-unk, and turntable trickery they grew up around. They must have had these tunes building in their head for some time too, the music tight and fluid throughout. Shame they neglected including the rappity-raps half the time.

That’s the angle most approach Check Your Head from when claiming this their most important album. It marks an evolution of the Beasties from a three-piece white boy posse with witty, hilarious immature lyrics into Serious Musicians. They aren’t so concerned with wordplay as they are with musical interplay, and had yet to really branch out into experimentation as they would in Ill Communication. They still find time for a few back-n-forth cuts (Jimmy James, Pass The Mic, Finger Lickin’ Good, So What’cha Want, Professor Booty), but they’re outliers to all the funk jams throughout Check Your Head. It’s like the boys were all growed up now. Peace out in dub with Namaste.

Tom Middleton - The Sound Of The Cosmos (Part 2: Music Review)

Hooj Choons: 2002

Rhythm, melody, and harmony: our most basic understanding of music. The beats stimulate the body, the notes stimulate the brain, and the chords stimulate the heart. Entire cultures have centered their arts around any one of these tenants, some even finding fascinating ways of combining them into works of creativity for the ages. Studies, essays, lectures and philosophies have spent countless words detailing and describing just what it is about these things that drive so much of humanity’s inexplicable appreciation of aesthetics. I, for one, shall not bore you with such ramblings, as I know we’re all listening to The Sound Of The Cosmos for a little bit of boogie action, and a nice afternoon chill sesh’ on the weekend. Plus quips. I know you love the quips.

As pretentious as a triple-disc set exploring aspects of rhythm, melody, and harmony may sound, Tom Middleton's approach is rather middle-of-the-road for such a concept. The tunes dug up don't stretch far beyond his comfort zone, much of it coming off like a mixtape rather than an industry changing ultra-set. I guess the fact this is a 3CD DJ mix was unique, made more so in that there's very little bandwagon jumping of trendy genres here. In fact, with all the deep house and downtempo jazzy vibes throughout, The Sound Of The Cosmos is incredibly noncommercial for its time, which likely helped sweeten the “Best Mix Of 2002” accolades every journalist was throwing Middleton's way. A high profile release lacking a pile of recognizable hits, where music comes first? Have all the ribbons, mate!

Still, a few high-profile tunes do make their way over the course of these three hours, none more so than Middleton's mash-up of Tiga & Zyntherius' Sunglasses At Night and New Order's Blue Monday. Quirky mash-ups of old and new hits were already buzzing in the underground, but this one crossed far enough into the public's awareness, it kicked off a brief period of everyone trying their hand at mash-ups; even Madonna! It's the sort of tune that works brilliantly as a climax, so it's hilariously cheeky on ol' Tom's part that he dumps it so early in CD1 (Rhythm), as though getting his one obvious anthem done and dusted so he can carry on with fresher tunes in his crate.

CD1 carries on with more rhythm-centric tunes, though if I’m honest, all this acid jazz and 2-step garage doesn’t do much for me. Maybe I’m just spoiled for the funkier electro earlier Middleton music offered, but any set that includes MJ Cole always gets a big ol’ “meh” from me. CD2, Melody, is all deep house all the time. Familiar names include John Beltran, Herbert, Ananda Project, Schmoov!, and Télépopmusik’s one big hit (also played out early in the set). It’s a good mix, but nothing I haven’t heard before.

Then there’s CD3, Harmony. It is one of the best morning-after downtempo and trip-hop mixes I’ve ever heard. ‘Nuff said.

Tom Middleton - The Sound Of The Cosmos (Part 1: Historical Musings)

Hooj Choons: 2002

The Sound Of The Cosmos was a big deal when it dropped in ye' olde year of 2002, though I'm hard pressed in giving adequate reasons from a modern perspective. It's a class mix all around, no doubt, but were we really so enamoured by 3CD DJ mixes at the turn of the century? Not at all, the format actually rather rare as the 2CD route was the traditional method of letting a jock stretch their skills behind the decks (turntable or studio). Besides, with a market thoroughly saturated in DJ mix CDs and a consumer base not exactly flush with funds at the time, it was simply commercially viable sticking with a proven formula, folks more than willing to spring on double-disc sets. Anything more and you’re looking at box set compilations on the cheap(ish).

Let’s put it this way: even though a triple-disc set from Sasha, Digweed, Tenaglia or Cox would be a sure-fire money maker at the turn of the millennium, none of them did the deed, the buying public content with the 2CD format. Even after Mr. Middleton’s The Sound Of The Cosmos earned all the plaudits, praises and Best DJ Mix accolades, the market still stuck things out with single and double-disc rinse outs. A few triple-disc releases cropped up in Balance and Renaissance 3D, but it wasn’t until recent years that we’ve seen far more examples of the 3CD DJ mix, even if only as something intended for hardcore collectors. And yes, you may point out the irony what with the ol’ aluminum’s dwindling prospects as the public’s preferred playback method.

This leads us to our next quandary: why Tom Middleton? For sure he’s a respected name in the world of electronic music, his discography already filled with classics by the time this came out (Jedi Knights, Global Communication, Cosmos, Secret Ingredients), but not exactly well versed in the commercial DJ mix business. A couple outings for Mixmag aside, The Sound Of The Cosmos was his first proper release in the market, and Hooj Choons saw nothing less fitting than giving the Muzik Magazine Q&A columnist a three disc concept release as a debut. I guess they had no choice if he was to see his vision to fruition - centering mixes around the three main tenants of music wouldn’t do if relegated to portions of two CDs. Maybe Mr. Middleton was owed a few favours from Mr. Red Jerry.

More likely though, ol’ Tom had garnered so much positive karma within the industry that it was only appropriate that he get such a project green-lit by Hooj Choons. It also garnered him plenty of kudos from everyone who came within earshot of The Sound Of The Cosmos, an epic DJ mix that wilfully defied standards of the time, even setting off a few trends of its own. For details on that, however, check out Part 2 of this review. Hey, if In Trance We Trust 020 gets a two-parter, so does this.