BEN SOWTON & VINCENT KWOK "BARGROOVES – FROSTED" (KINKYSWEET)

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It's either an aesthetic chic or a packrat mentality that goes with having a complete set of anything. The very classily designed Bargrooves series of deep house CDs will not only look good on a hipster’s shelf, but musically you'll never question why you keep them around. Bargrooves – Frosted is no exception. Much of the credit must go to Ben Sowton. Always taking first disc DJ duty, Sowton knows his stuff — the Bargrooves series isn't on a label called "Seamless"for nothing. His late-night ride coasts through numbers by Soul Providers, Greens Keepers, Halo, Alan Barratt, Miguel Migs and more. Another superb Sowton selection also shows up on disc two with San Fran's Vincent Kwok taking over on the mix. Disc two's selections by DJ Gregory, Joey Negro, Full Intention, Easydelics and Kwok's own "Love is the Answer" with D'Layna are equally deep and satisfying. The Bargrooves series is approaching ten solid releases and it's about the best sounding set of bookends you’re likely to own. -- review by Yuri Wuensch

KITARO "SACRED JOURNEY OF KU-KAI VOLUME 1" (DOMO RECORDS)

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Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai Vol. 1 shows beyond all argument why Kitaro is one of the leading purveyors of new age musical craft in the scene. Fusing the prinicples of ambient, world and nature music, Kitaro's new CD starts out with the soothing textures of the earth around us - water lapping the shore as I recall. Slowly seeping in are the soft calling woodwind tones that stand as a staple of the music herein. Drifting along lullingly, the tracks here stand as songs in ambient form. There is much drifty and slow flow as you'd expect from strict ambient, but one can also detect note progression, as with more traditional song structure. The textures of the background noises and notes bring one into the realm of world music, on lazy afternoon time. There is nothing rushed or pressured here, all is natural flow. The ambience created by Kitaro's talented compositions is gently stunning and perfect for, uh, one of those lazy afternoons (or any other time you choose to be chilled by one of the masters of the broad new age genre). -- review by Kristofer Upjohn

DJ ICEY "FOR THE LOVE OF THE BEAT" (SYSTEM)

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Few DJs have released retrospectives of their work with the depth of For The Love Of The Beat. DJ Icey has been one of the most visible forces in breaks and this album gives a look at why he is son in demand. For the album Icey
said that he wanted the mix to incorporate tracks that he produced, remixed, or re-edited. The 72-minute mix is a collection of just what the doctor ordered with a look at what keeps him packing clubs across the country. Tracks like "Interflows Story" reel have been reworked and bring it harder than ever before while "One Foot Skank by Marlon featuring Rex Do"g shows the old-skool Icey flavor. DJ Icey also included several tracks that have become dancefloor classics, including "Raw Silks Do It To The Music" and the unforgettable "Comin Back" by The Crystal Method, which can easily be called a signature Icey track. Another mix that has been incorporated into the album is Playgroup "Front 2 Back" and Soul Hooligans "Algebra", which Icey said started as a six minute mash-up and has been a constant crowd favorite. If anyone ever questions why you love this music, tell them the answer is simple: For The Love Of The Beat. -- review by Shawn Wallace

ALPHA "STARGAZING (SPECIAL EDITION)" (NETTWERK)   

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I looked this one up online while I listened to it and found it listed under several categories at the site I checked, including ambient pop and trip-hop. Whatever it's called, this one is a slightly tough one for me to review. The CD is never unengaging, yet I never found myself entirely immersed in it. It's always lush, smooth, beautiful, ethereal - with nary an uneven bone in its body - yet it was only momentary surges that grabbed me (oddly, whenever it had a flow of resemblance to smooth jazz). I recognize this as a top flight piece of chilled electronica, full of ambient flow, deft jazz intonations from time to time, all the trippiness trip-hop can muster, undeniably pretty melody... all that. But for some reason it never quite took hold of my imagination completely. It's one of those cases you're left scratching your head. Given all the evidence (and I even got a second opinion, I confess, by checking another writer's review), I'm left with only this conclusion: This is a masterful and flawlessly executed piece of ethereal dream pop for the shoegazer. There's not a damn thing wrong with this CD. There might be something wrong with me, but it's not the CD. If that makes any sense to you... -- review by Kristofer Upjohn

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AND ONE "AGGRESSOR" (METROPOLIS)

A lot of adjective language could, and probably should, be employed to describe (the job of adjectives!) And One's "Aggressor" CD. Oddly, aggressive probably wouldn't be one of them. Words and phrases to be used might include: smooth like liquid, gentle, pretty, dancey, crisp with razor (non-bludgeoning) textures ... And One has crafted a nice piece of dance music. All these descriptions point to success on multiple levels for the artist. It is smooth, like a fine liquor, perhaps, yet there is a sharpness present in the textures. As for the textures, they make the music full, but not ... thick or cumbersome. But it's not hollow, either. And, most surprising, the fact that the band has chosen to go all German with the lyrics this time doesn't detract too much from the experience. Often, with electro-industrial, synth pop, EBM, etc., the music behind the vocals seems to be stripped of a melody line, using the vocals for that purpose. This doesn't always work so well, unless the lyrics are engaging or at least interesting. Here, unless you speak German, you're out of luck. Except that the sheer sound of the lyrics, bolstered by the fact that the music, while not thick, is well-crafted and interesting to listen to. -- review by Kristofer Upjohn

RYAN FARISH "BEAUTIFUL" (NEURODISC)

In the same vein as Amethystium or Enigma, Ryan Farish's Neurodisc release of "Beautiful" proves that he's one of the bad boys, too. He's not afraid to chill or be chilled. He drops such laid back grooves - bass and drums like soft, slow rain drops, heady but not heavy - and summons such cool breeze melodies, it's hard to resist. A cool sunset of music as the light seeps into gentle night and the wind rustles through the tree leaves, the stars peek down ... I know, what does this have to do with music? Well, it's all about ambience, and Farish has gobs of it. Maybe a porch swing, maybe a satin bed, maybe a convertible at night ... maybe that's where this music makes itself your soundtrack. Maybe just you in your favorite recliner, lights off ... the only sight the lights on your stereo and the neon street signs pushing through your window blinds, the only sound this incredible bath of delicate waves. I keep telling you people this is one of the greatest electronic labels around! -- review by Kristofer Upjohn

YELWORC "TRINITY" (METROPOLIS)

"Trinity" seems to be more than just a CD of electro music. It is more of an epic blasphemy. It's a concept album, chock full of dark and disturbing imagery (both lyrically and pictorially, just check out the insert art). Contributing to the epicness of the CD is the spacey feel of most of the tracks. Where typical electro-industrial is often a tight-knit weaving of textures, beats and melodies, here you have a sensation of the music's beats, tones, distorted vocals, blips, etc., calling across a void or landscape of dark ambient. So, yes, there are beats; there are melodies, there are vocals, but they come as from the wide darkness. YelworC is certainly among the darkest of electro-industrial artists, and that's saying something. It is truly a work of electric goth, venturing into realms thematically that cause holy objects to burst into flame upon touching their fringes. In many ways, this CD almost comes across as more of a score than a set of industrial songs. That may, in fact, be YelworC's intent, to present an electro-orchestration for the themes of hell at hand. As such, it functions quite well. Those looking for more typical song-like compositions may be disappointed. Original, to say the least. -- review by Kristofer Upjohn

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