Various - Macro Dub Infection Volume 1

This collection of offbeat, abstract music loosely connected to dub (think 'experimental' within the context of the genre each track is from) is most definitely ambitious. Some of the tracks work better than others, but I still regard this as a superior compilation that drives the listener toward so many different directions in music.

The one-off 4hero track on here really makes it worth checking out these discs. It looks like it was made during the Parallel Universe period, but it takes the idea of that LP a bit farther. In eight minutes, it spans bare, abstract hip hop (although the beats themselves manage to just fade in and out), edgy, time-stretched ragga jungle and eventually roots itself firmly in the area of moody, drum-machine driven Detroit-sounding techno. But it's much more than just the sum of its parts, so do give it a listen.