Whether you believe (or care) that Maurice Fulton, a house producer known more for his techno-tinged outré-disco than the whoop-whoop of the genre, actually hooked up with three Finnish dudes to record this album of shape-shifting techno-jazz (as in, not techno-y or jazz-y, but somehow as improvisational and propulsive) pretty much doesn't matter. Electronic music can be inspiringly imaginative, but its subgenres can get pretty clique-y, which is why Carl Craig plays with different tempos and styles under as many monikers, and techno stalwart "Mad" Mike Banks' best track is actually a strip-bar electro jam called "X Squared" recorded under his Electric Soul moniker. But no matter who authored these tracks, it's a compliment to Fulton, the Finns, whomever, that they sound like the work of four people and, more important, that they sound this good. When the soul-clap drums come in on the burpin' ugly synth-bass of "Mom the Video Broke," it feels like a house track that jacks your body. Then there are the jaunty rim-shot drums and piano of "Naoka's F," striding along with its standup bass before the whole thing gets Calgon-take-me-away'd by bubble-bath synths—outta nowhere, but perfectly so. Older singles such as "Where's Jason's K" sound more conventionally four-on-the-floor, if only because the freaked frequency of "The Fly" and its batshit synth squiggles are so purely acid house with a live drummer pounding the beat beneath... More >>>