A double-disc compilation of over two and a half hours of remixes, Auntie Aubrey's Excursions Beyond the Call of Duty, Pt. 1 includes Orb reworkings of well-known bands (Primal Scream, Erasure, Depeche Mode, Killing Joke) and more obscure acts (Keiichi Suzuki, Love Kittens). Several mixes sound a bit dated, and the scattershot quality of the set can distract listeners, but the inclusion of several epiphanous moments (Material's "Praying Mantra," Primal Scream's "Higher Than the Sun," and Sun Electric's "O'Locco") makes the album worthwhile for fans.

The Orb virtually invented the electronic genre known as ambient house, resurrecting slower, more soulful rhythms and providing a soundtrack for early-morning ravers once the clubs closed their doors. Frontman Dr. Alex Paterson's formula was quite simple: he slowed down the rhythms of classic Chicago house and added synth work and effects inspired by '70s ambient pioneers Brian Eno and Tangerine Dream. To make the whole a bit more listenable - as opposed to danceable - obscure vocal samples were looped, usually providing a theme for tracks that lacked singing. The group popularized the genre by appearing on the British chart show Top of the Pops and hitting number one in the U.K. with the 1992 album U.F.Orb…

A full decade of acid jazz never produced a more stunning fusion of electronic music with live instrumentation than Making Bones. Poised halfway between Sly & Robbie and Roni Size, Red Snapper's first album for a worldwide audience surfs a wave of breakbeat funk that includes nods to dub, punk, soul, drum'n'bass and hip-hop. The rock-steady rhythm section of Richard Thair (drums) and Ali Friend (bass) holds the groove better than any sampler, tying together radically different material like classic British soul on "Image of You," metallic drum'n'bass on "The Sleepless" (with excellent rapping by MC Det) and the fusion update "Bogeyman" (with trumpeter Byron Wallen). It's obvious the Snapper have mastered all aspects of '90s electronic dance, and Making Bones is proof positive.

The Dubnology compilation is a two-disc, 21-track collection of spacy late-'90s electronic dub, heavy on the bass, demonstrating that the music has become more techno-influenced and reliant on electronics and technology. Highlights include tracks by System7, Loop Guru, Zion Train, Meat Beat Manifesto, and Banco de Gaia; the booklet includes biographies and photos of all the artists.

Anne Garner, Sheffield singer/songwriter, has released a remix album of her songs 'Re-Making The Pearl' on Irish label Psychonavigation Records. Remade/remodelled by DJ's, musicians and remixers such as Mixmaster Morris, Richard H Kirk, The Pylon King, Dean Honer, etc. Some are completely unrecognisable from their original incarnations, while others are reinterpreted in a more subtle way. Anne has been playing the piano since the age of 7 and is also classically trained on the flute. She got involved in the electronic music scene in her teens and joined the Sheffield band 'The Screaming Trees' (aka Count Zero, Success) in the late 80s, with releases such as 'Fracture in Time' (produced by former ABC's Stephen Singleton) and 'Count Zero' releases produced by Richard H Kirk.

Thom Yorke's Atoms for Peace involves longtime Radiohead engineer/producer Nigel Godrich (Ultraísta) and bassist Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), as well as two session veterans in drummer Joey Waronker (R.E.M., Ultraísta) and percussionist Mauro Refosco (Forro in the Dark). For their first public performance, back in 2009, they performed Yorke's Godrich-assisted 2006 album The Eraser in its entirety, as well as some fresh material. Over three years later, they've come up with this, a product of jam sessions formed – by Yorke and Godrich – into a uniform nine-track album. It sounds more like a fleshier successor to Yorke's first solo album than it does a first step, and it's presented that way, from Stanley Donwood's woodcut illustrations to the band's name – the same as a track title on The Eraser.

One of the first of the blissed-out rave acts to storm the charts, and also one of the longest lasting, the Future Sound of London deserved a good singles compilation, and fortunately they get one with the Virgin retrospective Teachings from the Electronic Brain. Their highest moments were virtually always their singles, and short-form tracks offer a much easier path to understanding the music of Brian Dougans and Garry Cobain than their occasionally bloated LPs. Teachings from the Electronic Brain neglects nothing of real value, beginning with their first chart hit ("Papua New Guinea") and grabbing the best tracks from their albums Accelerator ("Expander"), Lifeforms (the title track), the live-in-the-studio ISDN ("Far-Out Son of Lung and the Ramblings of a Madman," "Smokin' Japanese Babe"), and Dead Cities ("We Have Explosive"). Best of all, licensing requirements prevented the addition of material from 2002's half-baked The Isness.

Orbital became one of the biggest names in techno during the mid-'90s by solving the irreconcilable differences previously inherent in the genre: to stay true to the dance underground and, at the same time, force entry into the rock arena, where an album functions as an artistic statement - not a collection of singles - and a band's prowess is demonstrated by the actual performance of live music. Though Phil and Paul Hartnoll first charted with a single, the 1990 British Top 20 hit "Chime," the duo later became known for critically praised albums. The LPs sold well with rock fans as well as electronic listeners, thanks to Orbital's busy tour schedule, which included headlining positions at such varied spots as the Glastonbury Festival, the Royal Albert Hall, and Tribal Gathering…

The FSOLdigital Calendar is a purely digital music only package for 2021. A new digital track is delivered monthly from FSOLdigital, creating, at years end, an exclusive 12 track new album.

While Omicron's first album "Acrocosm" was an ambient techno album, similar to other releases of the time (B12'a Electro-Soma, Global Communications 76:14), "The Generation And Motion Of A Pulse" is strictly ambient, with a few beats scattered here and there, (Think SETI, only more restrained). This is an album best enjoyed in full, with the lights low.

Gas 0095 is an album by Mat Jarvis (aka Gas). The album was first released in 1995 and soon became one of the more sought after albums in all of electronica. Many would describe Gas 0095 as ambient, which is probably due to there being a decent ambient component of the album, its otherworldly sound, and even Mat Jarvis sharing an alias with the better known Gas of Wolfgaing Voigt (who is a prolific ambient producer). But Gas 0095 is really not ambient, but more in the IDM, downtempo mold. There are lively, interesting, colorful sounds everywhere, and a few pretty upbeat tracks; definitely not something you could or would want to shove into background listening. While Gas 0095 has several claims to underground electronic music fame, its best is that it is quite simply a fantastic CD. Gas 0095 is just one of those albums that you find yourself enjoying time after time, one of those albums you can always listen to.