Ken Ishii ‎– Sleeping Madness

Ken Ishii returns to his techno roots with Sleeping Madness, all shiny and polished. “Misprogrammed Day” wiggles with futuristic machine oil, while “Where is the Dusk” merges frantic drum action into a tech-jazz atmosphere. “Enso Online” thrums with a thick double bass and twisty funk that pushes wild on “24bit Optimist.” The martial rhythms on “Bugged-in Fusion” is like a full-on robot parade, with triumphant horns and all. The title track is almost house-like in its joyousness, while on the bonus disc, “Hedgehopping” once again lays out the funky breaks. Madness? Not quite.

Ishii's first album for R&S in four years shows what he's been up to in the last half of the '90s: tracking further developments in experimental dub (thanks to the Germans) and techno-jazz (thanks to the Brits and Americans). And though the references to varying forms of listening techno crop up quite a bit, most of these productions aren't chained to the chill-out couch by any means. They're just as sleek and fast-moving as Ishii's classic productions, and reliant on the same bubbling groove. So it's the best of both worlds: a new sound, but one with Ishii's feel for traditional techno.