Phenomenal collection of music from the early 90's. This compilation proves very concretely that this was a superb era of creative and deeply emotional music making. The more celebrated names contributing speak for themselves, and their offerings are as excellent as you would expect. The less well known names also contribute some immenses tracks, with David Morley's "Calibration" being a particular favourite of mine. This is a record to be cherished if you like your music to expand your mind in a very good trippy way. Huge.

It's very good to see so many positive comments on this wonderful album. Fila's first album away from the excellent Pork Recordings is a mesmerising creation. The fusion of styles (funk, jazz, ambient etc) is wonderfully realised and Fila have produced an album with a sound of its' own.

As pointed out by nearly all the contributors below (ignore scoundrel's assertion that this album is uneven - UNEVEN?!). this album is a very coherent whole. As oblaky points out, this album is an single listening experience, with each track forming an integral part of the overall fabric.

There are of course moments that each listener will cherish especially keenly. For me the closing track Spores is simply stunning. A chillout masterpiece up there with the finest I can recall. Whenever the track comes on, I will totally defocus any distractions and just sit still spellbound by the melodic perfection of it.

Fila have always had a very strong ability to assemble a diverse range of influences into a new whole, but for me this album demonstrates that knack with more confidence and sureness of touch than their other excellent albums before or since.

As others have said, this is a great starting point for those interested in FB, and for those already acquainted this represents a crowning glory of their excellent music.

I've got to agree fully with jamesocm's summing up of this. The original mix is the one where the real heart is at, especially if you were swept up in the positive vibes that were a huge part of the early 90's "house nation". The track is full of uplifting elements - a glorious bassline, sweeping keyboards, nice breaks and those samples jamesocm mention are scattered through the track.

It's quite hard to encapsulate what makes this track work so well, but to me it really stems from the mood of the time, one of hope and openness, which has permeated through to it entirely. A warm place to be :)

Just a small snippet of trivia. The track "I Don't Know You People" samples the 1973 movie "The Legend of Hell House" extensively, especially at the beginning of the track. The vocal and the eerie droning sound are taken from a scene where a psychic medium is possessed by a spirit. The drones were produced by electronic music pioneers Delia Derbyshire and Brian Hodgson, who were heavily involved with the Doctor Who theme that Orbital also covered !

A wonderful blend of styles are in evidence on this mesmerizing album. There are pieces of house, IDM and ambience all fused to create an ever so subtle soundtrack. The minimal house beats are offset beautifully by gentle sweeping synths, and laid back bass lines help keep the groove going. The mix is never cluttered - each element is given plenty of room to stand out.

This blueprint is in evidence throughout the album, but each track has a distinct mood of its own. The unifying production values help to create a hypnotic flow to the whole, which encourages start to finish listening (and I think this is the way to get the most from this album).

At ten years old, this release is still offering up new delights for me with every listen (and there have been lots and lots of those). This album is certainly a grower and is one of the best produced works I have ever heard.

Norken's Soul Static Bureau is a masterpiece of subtle deepness quite unlike any other piece of music I know.

Outrageously deep EP. Every single track on it is good enough to be the main track on separate pieces of vinyl. Paper Moon is a superbly produced hybrid of techno and house. Persisent hypnotic rhythms and spacious strings rise and fall all through this blissed out track. Tracktion is a killer piece of deep techno - superb beats for the intro drop out to make room for the track's melodic hook. And what a hook it is - once heard never forgotten. The EP finishes off with Squeeze, a piece of smooth sophisticated house music of the highest quality. No reliance on house cliches here - just a few deep smooth Rhodes keys, beats, funky bass and a perfectly chosen repeated vocal sample of "Je reside en Paris. Voulez vous venir?" are put together in masterful style.

Simply an all-time classic EP

This fantastic album shows off the Solid Doctor's know-how for smokey downtempo beats. Among my personal highlights are A Moving Family of Suns, U-Turn and the sublime Dusk. Some uptempo tracks are on offer too - Armed to the Teeth is flavoured with Mr Fingers style early chicago house. But for me the real heart of the album lies in the slower, after-hours chilling tracks.

And for those interested in such things, the title of the album is lifted from a line in Hunter S Thompson's "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas".

I would echo TheFormula's comments on this excellent EP. From IDM flavoured reworkings of chicago house through to the breath-taking epic ambience of the closing title track, this record delivers in fine style.

And the cockney english guys mentioned by TheFormula are Derek & Clive, the infamous foul mouthed comic creations of Peter Cook & Dudley Moore. The samples centre around, appropriately enough, having the horn !

Hugely important label in the Downtempo arena. With over 100 non-commercial releases to their name, Pork have been a constant purveyor of the highest quality material for over 10 years. With no hype-driven publicity machine behind them, Pork have built their reputation through the strength of their music and relied on word-of-mouth to spread the message. A label that has its ethos and output totally sorted.

One of the few artists who have such a unique sound of their own. Arovane creates such heart-melting soundscapes full of yearning. Buy into this beautiful and haunting sound and you won't be disappointed. Organic machine music for romantics.