Tosca's first album, Opera, was something of a hit-and-miss affair. While some tracks were bona fide, genre classics (debut single "Chocolate Elvis" has been hugely influential), others meandered along with no particular purpose. With Suzuki, Richard Dorfmeister and Rupert Huber appear to have found their rhythm. The chilled-out formula developed on Opera is explored in greater detail. Heavy dub sounds and chunky downtempo breaks nestle side by side with gentle bossa beats, sun-kissed guitars and heavenly vocal snippets. Each track is well defined, delicately crafted and excellently produced. The galloping bossa nova of "Boss On The Boat" and warm organ sounds of "Honey" are particular highlights, while the tinkling pianos and sun-drenched guitar solos on "The Key" evoke images of infinite Ibizan sunsets. Tosca's warm and comforting soundscapes are perfect for winding down after work and excellent for banishing everyday stress. Few tracks stand out, though over the 70-minute duration you'd hardly notice. Taken as a whole, Suzuki is an intoxicatingly horizontal, stoned groove of some distinction. [+]

Almost as elusive as the act themselves, Twoism has been exchanging hands for anything up to £800 since its original 100 copy vinyl release back in 1995. Available for the first time on CD, re-cut and re-mastered, this near-mythical collection of minimal ambient treasure is as listless, pastoral and evocative as its follow-up, 1998's Music Has The Right Children and this year's Geogaddi. Even more understated than its successors, Twoism drifts with indolent beats and droning keyboard hooks. Hidden away in their remote Hexagon Sun studio in the highlands of north Scotland, Marcus Eoin and Mike Sandison inhabit a reclusive windswept world that is too damn cold to produce chill-out music. What you have here are delicate, deceptively simple, emotive soundscapes that bore right to the heart of the listener and refuse to be ignored. Broken into eight tracks but seemingly one continuous gentle sonic glide, Twoism opens with the mesmerising melancholia of "Sixtyniner" changing course only for "Basefree" with its restless itchy break beat and urban menace. At turns soothing and haunting it stirs feelings of desolation while somehow creating an intensely intimate feel. Laying the foundations for a career that has seen the duo become renowned exponents of blissful organic electronica; Twoism is an essential (no longer missing) link in the acts evolution. -Christopher Barrett.

Back in 1997, Warp Records released a quirky mini-album of rare material from its newest signings, a little known experimental pop band from Birmingham called Broadcast. Eyebrows were raised. Why had Warp-a hard-edged techno label famed for its avant-garde output from electronic pioneers like Aphex Twin signed this quirky, retro- obsessed West-Midlands five-piece? The reason is simple: Broadcast are a very talented band. This much is proved by their brilliant debut, The Noise Made By People. The album's skewed electronic pop and retro-futurism most resembles the analogue styling of Stereolab and original Krautrock musicians such as Can and Neu! Yet Broadcast's sound is wonderfully unique; an enchanting mixture of analogue synth sounds and west coast psychedelia fused with nineties electronica and indie-pop sensibilities. With the addition of haunting and occasionally chilling vocals from singer Trish Keenan, the effect is at times mesmerising. The Noise Made By People is an eerie, uplifting and enchanting debut album from one of Britain's best-kept secrets. -Matt Anniss.

Loop Guru were Sam Dodson and Dave Muddyman, who rejoiced on record under the nom-de-plumes of Salman Gita and Jamuud. Gita was a refugee from the punk scene, Jamuud a former editor of a guide to World Music who collected tapes of ethnic music from Africa and the Far East. Together, they made dance-trance music for mid-90s ravers. However, they also issued a series of more ambient works under the Catalogue Of Desires series, the first two in cassette only form, the third on CD. Catalogue Of Desires weaves an alluring, free-floating tapestry of tape loops, birdsong, Balinese music, programmed rhythms, tribal drumming and spoken word samples. Loop Guru are tongue-in-cheek in their approach to their music, but never sacrilegious. Rather, they take a certain anarchic glee in defying Western cultural myopia and revelling in the alternative musical treasures the planet has to offer. -David Stubbs.