Orbis II - Sphere

This quirky little compilation from Sphere moves in a very unique way – and the sounds you’ll hear on this are quite unlike the stuff you’ll hear elsewhere. After a couple of unremarkable stripped-down efforts (where nothing happens – trust me), Homegrown Lifeform offer a nice sign that things are getting better with Levitation: it’s a tapestry of delay, with solid bass driving things along until, via a highly cheeky sample, it moves into a grinning and danceable peak. Prodigal Sun’s Controller is wicked, it’s got lots going on and is hard with a humorous edge, and really gets you moving. Nice fluid synth lines and bags of attitude make this one a winner. Still on a quality tip with Russian artist Loa’s Microcosmos, a nice and cheeky tune with a stretched feedback melody over a fat bass. And then... well, then it samples an old arcade game (or sounds like anyway) and develops a mind of its own, tripping off in all directions and ending in a frenzy. Dark Soho’s Depth Of Emotion is remixed by In R Voice, using thrashy guitars to make a very dark prog-rock type feel, all been done before but never in such a tight and anthemic way as this. Closing proceedings is Vasya Psykovsky’s Kookaburra, with a nice bouncy, fresh sound and a kind of transylvania vibe. It builds nicely and the tune evolves and shifts along in a way that’s quite scarce these days. Maybe not an essential purchase, but if you fancy something a bit different then this offers some classy and interesting stuff.

Each week now we're going to cast the spotlight on still-available albums from the olde days, when the "goa" prefix was still just about acceptable. Lables and artists are starting to re-release, and in addition to that labels often have piles of back catalogue CD's at their offices, something definitely worth taking advantage of. This week,

is the one we suggest you sniff out. (Actually no sniffing necessary, since

will take you right to everything you need to know.) A neat album that caused ripples of excitement when it was first released, as AP unleashed their tantalising technoid talents on the tribal trance troopers. Too many T's I know - but the album's worth it and it's available again, so check it.