µ-ziq: somerset avenue tracks (1992-1995)

To celebrate 20 years of µ-Ziq and Planet Mu’s 300th release, label owner Mike Paradinas prepared this collection charting unreleased productions from the start of his career in the early ’90s. Curated by his wife and partner in the band Heterotic, Lara Rix-Martin, the tracks run the gamut from the placid, evocative ambient Rhodes of “Air” to the syncopated industrial techno of “Toy Gun #2,” with lots more in between. The album opens with 1993’s elegant, woozy “Jewel Tea” which swiftly descends into distorted HR-16 drum machine chaos. “Vinxel” switches to a more stately mood—a woodblock bassline and measured 4/4 pulse keep pace with one of those patent µ-Ziq melodies you’d swear you’ve heard somewhere before. Both “Trail Quest” and “Spooky Tooth” continue in this melodic vein until the aforementioned “Air” slows it all down with a much-needed breather. Somerset enters into darker territory with the detuned mandolin and piano of “Str06” dueling it out with a low-slung hip hop beat. “Diala” sustains the reverb-drenched mood, adding a sweeter edge of a synth line straight off 1993 album Tango N’Vectif. 1995’s “Airto” brings cut-up, Marimba-pierced jungle before the album finally settles down with the Peel Session tracks “Johnson’s Q-Fab” and the classic “Green Lanes.” Disc two features a dozen more bonus tracks