One of the scene's best-known trance DJs, along with fellow Brit DJ Sasha, John Digweed continues his winning streak with this collection of sleek, beat-driven beauty. Working off a diverse set of obscure originals, Digweed burrows his way into one's subconscious, slipping in subdued rhythms and day-dreamy thematic elements with skillful grace. He has a patient ear for incorporating transitions between songs, and an uncommonly light touch. Even when the melodies drift away and the drum machines start to overwhelm, there's always a compelling pulse. Disc 2's "CC16," for example, is mercilessly danceable, yet Digweed cleverly employs a simple, sustained note that offsets the tension, offering friendly reassurance as it hangs delicately over the dance floor. Often working with Sasha on such standout trance collections as Global Underground 003: San Francisco, this record establishes Digweed as the light to Sasha's darker musical colorings. There's an almost obsessive insistence on flow, with mellow, languid phrases morphing into fleshed-out songs, then suddenly pulling back again in a barely noticed evolution. The album starts the process early on the Underworld-like opening track, "Listen," pulling off the trick with a silky progression into Tiny Trendies' "The Sky Is Not Crying. " From there, the entire CD unfolds with a lazy elegance, like a cat stretching after a long nap, giving further nuance to Digweed's reputation as a stellar mixologist. -Matthew Cooke.

Not exactly dance-pop as commonly defined by Erasure or the Pet Shop Boys, Dirty Vegas's self-titled album nonetheless fits into this genre. In fact, "trance-pop" is arguably the best definition, as it is likely the offspring of Madonna's Ray of Light and Electronic's seminal debut CD. Promising, yes, but the songs become rather indistinguishable from one another, mainly because the vocals-compressed and folky-lend a sameness to tracks that are otherwise diverse in tone and pace. About half the album really shines: "I Should Know" marries a thumping techno beat with a euphoric Disney-like wonderment; "7AM" boasts the best melody on the album; the instrumental "The Brazillian" showcases the songs' strength underneath the homogenizing vocals; and finally, "Days Go By", featured in a car commercial, mesmerizes with synthesized bongos and cosmic rhythmic brush strokes. -Beth Massa.

Although titled The Chillout Annual 2002, 2001 was the year of the chill-out compilation, getting off to a fine start with The Chillout Sessions, which spawned a plethora of imitations, some good, some bad. It seems the years of larging it had finally taken their toll on clubbers, who went in search of something a bit more calming and, well, chilled. The Ministry of Sound round off 2001 with The Chillout Annual 2002, a downbeat companion to their traditional clubber's bible, The Annual 2002. All the big names in the genre are present-Groove Armada, Zero 7, Lemon Jelly, Blue States, Kinobe, Nightmares on Wax and Bent, as well as down-tempo numbers from those normally associated with more up-tempo fare, such as Chemical Brothers, Faithless and Underworld. There are even the seemingly essential couple of token indie tracks from Badly Drawn Boy and Radiohead, which to be honest aren't really that welcome, but don't detract from proceedings that much. -Helen Marquis.

Matthew Herbert is one of dance music's few real visionaries-a producer who's done to house music what Steve Reich did for classical minimalism, or what Cabaret Voltaire did for electronic experimentation. Second Hand Sounds is a collection of his finest remix work under a variety of pseudonyms-including Doctor Rockit and Herbert and proves that he is one of the most versatile and forward-thinking electronic musicians of his time and this is as good a showcase for his talents as any of his other albums to date. Here, he lends his unique take on house-techno synths here, a dash of off-beat percussion there, a sprinkling of jazz piano-to works by acts as diverse as Recloose, Terra Deva, Seirge Gainsbourg, Two Banks of Four and Presence, along with a smattering of his own tunes. If you've heard either of his classic LPs Bodily Functions or Around The House you'll know what to expect-left of centre dancefloor fusion that pits flexible house dynamics against lush electronica, occasional jazz percussion and dark techno stylings. Whether giving Moloko a sinister makeover, dZihan & Kamien a jazz-breaks overhaul or going all easy listening on Louise Austin's "Hoping", Herbert is always one step ahead of his peers. Sure, it's an album of remixes, but there's more originality on these Secondhand Sounds than on a thousand dull house debut albums. -Matt Anniss.

Confield, the sixth album from Warp duo Autechre, takes a step sideways from their usual techno with the contents closer to the fusion of shattered synthetic elements with organic melodic constructs that dominated their early work than the robotic clangs and clinks, which defined much of LP5. As such, while the opening "VI Scose Poise" prevents delicate orchestration from straying into orbit by way of sheer percussive filaments, "Pen Expers" is obtuse in its contrast-the soundtrack for a 23rd Century retro b-boy, making shapes on a lino of titanium. And so it goes on, Brown and Booth unrelenting in their desire to twist something beautiful from shattered arrangements-non-noises and static colliding in the ether to form rich melodies or subtle changes in beat dynamics before the CD skips and drag these elements back into crunching electronics. Emotional yet hard to handle, lush while still abrasive-an album of contrasts which is certain to satisfy Ae veterans as well as those new to the sound. -Kingsley Marshall.