Laurent Garnier continues to make impressive strides in techno, even if his albums don't garner the attention they once did. _The Cloud Making Machine_, certainly, is quieter than his more banging productions, but the tracks still display a good deal of thought and attention. The deep modulation in "9.01-9.05" fits perfectly with the moody chords overhead. The solitary drift of "Huis Clos" sounds like a lonely, midnight stroll along the Seine. And true to the nature of clouds, sometimes the clouds lose their way: "First Reaction" doesn't have a real direction and the meandering lyrics don't help. And if you thought that "Controlling the House" would signal a switch into a 4/4 kick drum, you'd be right. It's nice to hear Garnier in his forte, even if this particular track feels slightly bland. Luckily, the rock of "(I Wanna Be) Waiting For My Plane" is anything but bland, even if it does come out of nowhere. So while _The Cloud Making Machine_ isn't Garnier's best work, it still shows he's still relevant after all these years.

One big step forward! For the moment, I think this is his best album yet. Have waited for several comebacks lately: Prodigy, Chemical Brothers and Daft Punk. All of them where disappointments.

This album breaks new ground and it's a masterpiece.

I can imagen lots of house people getting upset, because this isn't a house record. Even though, one really good house track called "Controlling The House Pt. 2" is in there. For the rest of the songs, except no. 8 (which is something that would work very well live), you should expect classical or jazz music. Then it starts to get a lot better.