Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle follows 1999's Pretentious album as pop icons Vince Clarke (Erasure) and Martyn Ware (Heaven 17) combine forces once again to deliver this instrumental foray into the relaxing nether world of ambient sculpturing and atmospheric soundscaping: An ambitious project designed to explore the relationship between colour, mood and music. A project which on paper would appear to be both intriguing and promising, but which in principle and practice is lost to a world of cliché ridden predictability and painfully contrived "chillout" formula. Where nothing is left to the imagination and where everything is spelt out for the listener, not only by title but by sound too. Take the running water and tweeting birds of "Green-You Are in a Forest". The sweeping harp and celestial undertones of "White-You are in Heaven". Or the gently bubbling aquatics and seashore sounds of "Blue-You Are in Underwater". All of which weigh in on the overly indulgent side of 10 minutes. Sure, the honest experimental intentions seem to be there within SPV and in essence it does offer a relaxing listen, but it couldn't be much further removed from the genuinely cerebral and uniquely inventive textural soundscaping of Eno, Kirk or Heckmann for example. All of whom offer a much less predictable and ultimately much more rewarding line of experimental thinking. -Found Sounds.

Even in the sensation-crazed world of experimental techno, quirkiness for its own sake is only a good thing the first few times you hear it. That's why the music Mike Paradinas makes as Mu-Ziq is such a joy: you're hearing a fertile, young mind bask in its own creativity, and there are also these weird little melodies going on, as well. Mu-Ziq records are rarely focused, which is at times a liability and at others a minor miracle. Royal Astronomy is the most user-friendly Mu-Ziq record to date, with lovely diva vocals and more textures and hooks than ever to accompany both the frenetic, sped-up drill-and-bass tracks and the mellow, loopy ones. Mu-Ziq's rhythmic experiments are coated in whimsy and tempered with lyricism. -Mike McGonigal.

Originally released as Undark in 1996, and then named among the Albums Of The Year by both The Wire and DJ Magazine, Russell Mills' debut now comes remastered and beautifully repackaged by Mills himself in impressionistic 4AD style (unsurprising, given Bella Union is the label of ex-Cocteau Twins Robin Guthrie and Simon Raymonde). Due to his heavy-duty reputation in the world of multi-media art and sonic exploration, Mills here draws together an absurdly prestigious array of guests, including Guthrie, Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine, U2's The Edge, Japan's David Sylvian and both Brian and Roger Eno. Each contributes tellingly to mesmerising techno-soundscapes intended to reflect the sweet harmony, churning menace and uncontrollable unruliness of nature (and our unsteady place within it), as well as the way everyday objects and patterns can, when seen from a different perspective, be revealed as unsettlingly odd. Rhythmically complex and (Sylvian excepted) deliberately burying its occasional vocals and guitars in the mix, Strange Familiar is exactly what it claims to be. Moreover, as it draws you in gradually, it's eventually totally overpowering. -Dominic Wills.

Team 1provides a comprehensive snapshot of one of Britain's foremost electronic[a] labels, capturing the consistency and range of Swim's catalogue, both past and present. "Burn" and "Verses" by label owners, Colin Newman of Wire and Spigel Symptoms speaks of mutated guitar led distortion and reflect the underlying electronic, post-rock concern of the label. However the droning feedback complexities of Silo's "Templates" represent a darker, more intense side to their output. Every act pays close attention throughout, to the manipulation of texture, atmosphere and mood swing. This is most evident on Lobe's rich "Red Spaces" and Newman's heavily layered "Blank Canvas", both of which highlight the ever changing surface shape of Team 1. The electronic hip-hop dub of Logm's "Constellation", the sweeping spoken words of Newman and Izzo's "The Narrativ" and the thumping electro-house of Bumpy's "Pizza" introduce yet more variety, proving beyond all doubt that this is as much an long player for long haired rockers, as it for chin stroking tech-heads. -Found Sounds.

As is the vogue to release alternative versions of artist albums, Tosca continue the trend, commissioning a like-minded array of beat technicians to re-jig and modify aspects of the original Suzuki. With the emphasis on "aspects", Messrs Dorfmeister and Huber open the masters to only a handful of tracks from Suzuki with "Annanas" and "Busenfreund" claiming three and four remixes respectively. Suffice to say, those involved, including Burnt Friedman dZhian+Kamien, and Uko, actively instigate their own plans on the blueprints provided ensuring that the album flows with distinctive ease. Although titled with the In Dub postscript, the result is an album that carries the attitude of dub, rather than the traditionalist notion put to effect by other albums, such as the Mad Professor's collaboration with Massive Attack on No Protection. Therefore expect to hear elements of panning, reverb and bass intensity, but all within a framework that each of the producers involved are known for. Philippe Lussan, for example, transposes "Busenfreund" onto his own deep 4/4 template, Baby Mammoth take it in a lighter mid-tempo break-led direction, Walkner. Mostl a little tougher, but all with the original piano line and fx included. G-Corporation come closest to the literal brief with their take on "Annanas", a spacious bass-led relaxant, with sparse rimshot drums and melodica. An adequate late-night accompaniment. -Found Sounds.