Welcome to the first in a series of reviews of the latest and best in the techno/electronica music universe. This is relatively virgin territory for me, since I have only begun to dive into the void, so to speak.  

I've been an Eno fan ever since I found "Taking Tiger Mountain" in a cut-out bin in college in early 1980. I quickly gobbled up everything I could that was available by him and then cohorts, Talking Heads. When I found the ambient stuff, I felt as though I'd found not just a new world, but one that I was already familiar with--unsettling and comforting at the same time. My eventual faves ended up being his two collaborations with Harold Budd: "The Plateaux of Mirror" and "The Pearl". Each piece (you can't really call them songs) evoked in my mind an instant alien landscape, caught in a sweeping panorama view. Of course, it could have been the acid, but I really do think it was the music.  

Intrigued by the "aural landscape" idea, I wanted to find out more about the whole ambient thing. What I mostly heard was a lot of "new age" stuff in the 80's that was decidedly dreck. I got into a period of working with grofian Breathwork groups and thus collected a large amount of music that was specifically aimed at inducing altered states hen played in the right manner. This took my appreciation of the construction of an ambient piece to a new height. I finally saw how the layers of texture that may be totally unrelated musically can weave into a seamless tapestry. I was mystified by it, until I tried it myself. A lot of the time, seeming accidents in the recording studio ended up being rather eerily exactly what was needed.  

When SMiles asked me about the possibility of doing reviews of new electronica, I obviously said yes. I have found most "dance" music way too annoying to listen to. Yet again, SMiles has pried my eyes open, and yes, I have to admit, there's definitely some killer stuff out there.  

OK--there--ya happy? Being a Luddite musician for the most part (never liked sequencers at all) I've had to change my thoughts. I just want to find a way to use the samplers and sequencers to produce more killer aural landscapes.  

So, without further ado here's my thoughts on the Virgin Records sampler called FUTURE, which treats us first off to a close-up of Our Favorite FBI Babe, Gillian Anderson. (Love those lips, god, I love those lips). Anyway, it's a love-hate relationship with the cover and booklet, folks. Rotten thing about the package is that there's really not much useful info in it, and yes, I love those lips, but, hey--am I wanting too much information here? What albums are these cuts available on? Bios and photos of the artists? How 'bout a blurb on how "The Scully Rap"  
("Extremis" by Hal) was born? Sigh... I miss LP's. I didn't need a magnifying glass to read the liner notes. And there really use to be liner notes worth reading. Honest.  

OK--I'll stop griping and write. Thank god the music on this sampler is mostly superb. Sure, there's a couple of clunkers that could've been left out, but all in all a very nice cross-section of the ambient/techno stylings out there, A total of twenty-two tracks, nearly two hours of music, makes this set pretty much a bargain. I like samplers because you can fit (theoretically, at least) many different "dialects" of a musical genre into one package, and Virgin has done that.  

Disc one is the harder edged of the two in this set. The main draw being the previously mentioned "Scully Rap" as I've come to call it--I love it. The textures are lush, beats are phat, The Gillian Anderson vocals will give teenaged X-Files fans fantasy material for years--love those sighs, Gillian! "Atom Bomb" by Fluke, kicks major booty. Gotta admit I hated it until could let my body move to it, and shit! Love it. Next is a drum'n'bass outing by Photex, called "KJZ". Much more interesting than the majority of the drum'n'bass stuff I've heard. The cymbals rock, giving it a jazzy feel, Up next is the first of two Future Sound Of London tracks, this one called "Smokin' Japanese Babe." A sensuous synth intro leads to what's gotta be a Miles Davis sample that is so right on for the piece, it's scary. The whole thing has a funky beat reminiscent of some of the reggae dub 12 inches back in the early 80's. Very nice. FSOL was really my first turn-on to the newer electronica stuff (Thanks, SMiles.) I like the organic feel of their stuff. I still don't like stuff that has no carbon-based-lifeform feel, ya know? The silicon based life forms don't really know how to groove. Hey--we may be "ugly bags of mostly water", but we do know how to groove as a general rule! Next up is "Karmacoma (Bumper Ball Mix)" by Massive Attack, which IS a reggae 12 inch from the 80's in bass'n'drums disguise. Praise Jah and the electron!  

Next we get a truly atmospheric piece called "Winter Ceremony (Howie B Left Foot Mix)" by Sacred Spirits. Finally, someone who melds the sacred chant with the funk in a really listenable way. I usually find this kind of thing tedious, but this piece rocks, especially when the female chants come in at about four minutes into it. Yeah! The Chemical Brothers follow with "Loops of Fury" which will basically nail yer nuts to the wall if your subwoofer's workin'. FSOL give us "Snake Hips" next, and yeah, I love it, too. The layers and textures weave and bob to give the basic aural equivalent of good sex. Love those elephant noises! OK--Disc one ends with the first clunker: we could've done without the "Qattara Remix" of "Extremis"--"Extremis"ly unnecessary and annoying. The computerized piano interlude is like Keith Emerson on bad biker speed. And hey--Where's my sighs?  

Disc two starts with the very sexy "Absurd (Landslide mix)" by Fluke. Whoever or whatever Fluke is, he, she, it, they totally ROCK. This is silicon, but this silicon is seething with vital hormonal secretions! "Salsa With Mesquite" by "micro-ZIQ" is the number one Grade-A Turkey of the whole set. Maybe I was just in a bad mood, but I hit the fast forward button quick. The second cut by Hal, "Ostian (CP Emporium Mix) took a while to grab me, but it did. William Orbit's "Water From A Vine Leaf" is one of those blends of the funky beat with synth squiggles and a nice easy keyboard line and sing-song vocal that floats along nice. "Smokebelch II" from The Sabres of Paradise is sort of a Ray-Lynch-ish sorta thing, very sweet. "Crystal clear (Clear, Like An Unmuddied Lake) by The Grid is another of the tracks I fast-forwarded through. Next we have the first of three Eno and Eno-collaboration tracks. This one is "Space Diary", with Jah Wobble. Never heard this one before. Definite shades of the Budd/Eno-type ambient stuff. Nice landscape. "Sleep2" by Paul Schutze is eight luscious minutes of interweaving texture with just the right accents. Even nicer landscape. "Spiritual Invocation" by Air follows. More ambient texture weaving that works well. Next is Eno's "Lizard Point", which was first released on "Ambient 4: On Land" back in 1982. Still sounds good. The next track, "Mr. Lullaby Should Have Rocked You" by David Toop, would've been better suited to Disc 1; placed as it is amidst all the softer ambient stuff, it's a little too jarring, especially since Budd and Eno's delicious "Their Memories" from "The Pearl" comes next. Disc two ends with David Sylvian's "Home"--a lovely, quirky atmospheric piece that makes a great ending to an all-in-all kick-ass two disc set. But then, I'm an opinionated bastard, so listen for yourself!  

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