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"The Mirror Conspiracy" (11/01/2003) Electronic Thievery Corporation, 18th Street Lounge MusicThievery Corporation: Eric Hilton, Rob Garza. Additional personnel: Bebel Gilberto, See-I, Pam Bricker, Lou Lou, Brother Jack (vocals); Desmond Williams (guiatr, keyboards, bass); Chris Vrenios (guitar); Rob Myers (sitar); Rick Harris, Zack Grady, Mike Thomas (horns); Roberto Berimbau (percussion). Engineers: Desmond Williams, Rob Garza, Eric Hilton. Recorded at ESL Studios, Washington, D.C. This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. Thievery Corporation's second album strengthens the duo's reputation as masters of downtempo, internationally influenced beats. Borrowing from bossa nova, dub reggae, French torch songs, Italian movie soundtracks, and jazz, THE MIRROR CONSPIRACY is a sophisticated, pleasurable listen. The album is sequenced beautifully, with sexy, world-weary tracks such as "Samba Tranquille" floating into the downtempo torch stylings of "Shadows of Ourselves." The album's international flavor comes from places as diverse as Jamaica, ("Focus on Sight" featuring I-See on vocals), Paris' Arab quarter ("Le Monde"), and opium dens and teahouses ("Indra," "Lebanese Blonde"). Rob Hilton and Eric Garza, the men behind Thievery Corporation, also have active remix and DJ careers. They're co-owners of Washington D.C.'s 18th St. Lounge, a club where the Thievery Corporation sound gets tested and exercised at each evening's DJ sets. Their remix album ABDUCTIONS AND RECONSTRUCTIONS is another excellent example of their masterful production work.

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"Portishead" (09/30/1997) Electronic Portishead, London (USA)Portishead: Beth Gibbons (vocals); Adrian Utley (guitar, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, Moog synthesizer, bass); Geoff Barrow (drums). Additional personnel includes: John Baggot (samples); Sean Atkins (background vocals). Like Soul II Soul a few years before them, Portishead spearheaded a revolution in both pop and dance music by introducing a distinctive new groove. Portishead was at the vanguard of the '90s trip-hop onslaught, and after a three-year respite, they return with a self-titled second album to reclaim the trip-hop crown. Beth Gibbons is on her way to becoming the Billie Holiday of electronica, retaining a stoic, laconic tone while recounting tales of despair and emotional upheaval. The lazy, spacious beats that are the band's trademark provide just the right combination of urgency and tranquility to underscore the emotional contradictions at the core of Portishead's music. Adrian Utley's delightfully creepy guitar and keyboard work adorns the proceedings tastefully and effectively. On tunes like "Cowboys" and "All Mine" Portishead makes it plain that when it comes to arresting, unsettling electronic dance-pop, nobody does it better.

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"Discovery" (03/13/2001) Electronic Daft Punk, Virgin Records (USA)Daft Punk: Thomas Bangalter, Guy-Manuel De Homem Christo. Additional personnel includes: Todd Edwards, Romananthony. "Short Circuit" was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. "One More Time" was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording. In 1997, this French electro-dance duo made a huge intercontinental splash with its debut album, HOMEWORK, mixing disco, house, funk, techno, and more. While Daft Punk's second recording still focuses on the maximum accessibility that earned its debut such high marks, there's less of an obvious focus on pop hooks. Irony and house beats are the order of the day, and an eclectic thread runs throughout DISCOVERY. "Digital Love" sounds like the theme to a '70s sitcom as realized by the Buggles. "Nightvision" is a mellow, wordless, Quiet Storm-meets-Eno soundscape, while in an interpolation sure to gain plenty of attention, "Superheroes" marries a Barry Manilow sample to an unrelenting house beat. Ultimately, DISCOVERY is less of a mission statement than its predecessor, but no less danceable or listenable.

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"LSD: Love Sensuality Devotion, The Greatest Hits" (10/23/2001) Electronic Enigma, Virgin Records (USA)Enigma includes: Michael "Curly MC" Cretu (vocals, various instruments, programming). Among the many artists that helped inject a pan-global flavor into American pop music is Enigma (A.K.A. Michael Cretu), a German artist who brought the sound of chanting Gregorian monks to the charts with "Sadeness (Part I)," a breakout smash from Enigma's 1990 debut MCMXC a.d. The collection LOVESENSUALITYDEVOTION rounds out the rest of the '90s for Enigma with plenty of undulating rhythms and world music hybrids. Dance beats are strung throughout this compilation and pop up on everything from the high-flying ambiance of "T.N.T. For The Brain" to the industrial clang of "Push the Limits" and the chugging "Modern Crusaders." One of Enigma's charms is the way the most unlikely elements find their way into the songs. A murmuring children's choir lightly breaks through the Asian-flavored "Cross Of Changes," the chant from a South American Indian gives the swirling "Return To Innocence" its distinctive character,and the whispered French and uttering of the title by Cretu's wife Sandra lends "Mea Culpa" a sensual edge. LOVESENSUALITYDEVOTION turns out to be a great drug for both the mind and the soul

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"La Revancha del Tango" (04/08/2003) Electronic GoTan Project, XL Recordings/Beggars GroupThis is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. Gotan Project: Cristina Vilallonga (vocals); Eduardo Makaroff (acoustic guitar); Nini Flores (bandoneon); Iine Kruse (violin); Gustavo Beytelmann (piano); Christph H. Muller (keyboards, bass, programming); Philippe Cohen Solal (keyboards, bass); Fabrizio Fenoglietto (bass); Edi Tomassi (percussion); Willy Crook. Producers include: Philippe Cohen Solal, Christoph H. Muller, Eduardo Makaroff, Peter Kruder, Tom Middleton. This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.

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"DJ In The Mix 3" (05/09/2006) Electronic ATB, Varese Sarabande (USA)DJ: ATB.

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"Just Be" (01/01/2006) Electronic Tiesto, Nettwerk AmericaAdditional personnel: Kirsty Hawkshaw, Aqualung, Joanne Lloyd (vocals); Josh Gabriel. Recording information: 2004. Known for creating hypnotic electronica in which fragments of airy female vocal melodies weave through pulsating layers of rhythms, Dutch DJ Tiesto is one of the most noted producers/remixers in progressive dance music. JUST BE continues Tiesto's forays into beat-based trance music, and his trademark sonic elements--floating vocals, eerie synth textures, and incessant, high-energy beats--are all present and accounted for. "Forever Today," which opens the album, features a building, swelling orchestral fanfare before launching into a flurry of breakneck beats. Surging compositions (particulary "Love Comes Again" and "Nyana"), complete with the requisite electro-hi-hat, conjure visions of late-night ravers contorting wildly, their waving hands illuminated by psychotropic light displays. The real surprise comes with the ghostly, lovely "UR;" the closest Tiesto gets to conventional song structure, this track recalls Japan, Nick Drake, and Radiohead, while still maintaining his lush electronica sound. A clever, twitchy reading of Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings" closes things out, putting a cap on 78 minutes of innovative DJ music.

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"Arular [PA]" (05/17/2005) Electronic M.I.A. (Rap), Interscope Records (USA)M.I.A. (Rap): Maya Arulpragasam. Recording information: 2004. M.I.A.'s ARULAR marks the arrival of an explosive new voice in popular music. The brainchild of Sri Lankan MC Maya Arulpragasam, the music of M.I.A. ("Missing in Action") reflects her harried, transient upbringing. The daughter of a revolutionary member of the controversial Tamil Tigers, Arulpragasam settled in London as a teenager, where she went on to study fine art and film at the Central Saint Martin's School of Art. After being hired by Justin Frischmann to document an Elastica tour, Frischmann inspired Arulpragasam to write songs of her very own. The result is a dizzying assault to the senses, a sound that incorporates so many different styles it seems almost incomprehensible. Fortunately, it sounds incredible. Equal parts grime, electronica, hip-hop, dancehall, and straight-up club music, ARULAR demands listeners find the nearest dance floor and get down to it. But making ferociously danceable music isn't Arulpragasam's only goal. Spouting politically charged lyrics in an aggressive chanting style, M.I.A. reminds her audience that while music might provide a temporary escape, it can't erase the senseless violence that continues to plague the world. Powerful and gleefully audacious, ARULAR is world music at its most electrifying.

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"Cafe del Mar Volume Five" (05/07/2005) Electronic Various Artists, MCA Records (USA)

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"Lunatico" (04/11/2006) Electronic GoTan Project, XL Recordings/Beggars GroupAdditional personnel: Gustavo Beytelmann (piano). Recording information: Studios ION, Buenos Aires, Argentina. The distinctive sound of the Gotan Project, which merges electronica with tango and other traditional South American forms, is further refined and expanded on the group's sophomore release, LUNATICO. The album is more eclectic and ambitious than its predecessor, with intriguing instrumentation that includes bandoneon and strings. Guests include Calexico and vocalist Christina Villalonga (who join forces on the striking opener "Amore Porteno"), rapper Xoxmo, and musical director Gustavo Beytelmann, among others. LUNATICO finds the Gotan Project immersing itself more deeply in the tango, while still trafficking in trip-hop, downtempo, and ambient textures, creating a fine example of fresh, world music fusion.

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"Enigma3: Le Roi est Mort, Vive le Roi!" (11/26/1996) Electronic Enigma, Virgin Records (USA)Personnel: Michael Cretu (vocals, various instruments); Sandra Cretu, Louisa Stanley (vocals); Peter Cornelius (guitar). Recorded at A.R.T. Studios, Ibiza, Spain. LE ROI EST MORT, VIVE LE ROI was nominated for a 1998 Grammy Award for Best New Age Album and for Best Recording Package. On its third album, Enigma reshapes the most interesting aspects of its previous two into a distinctly different atmosphere. ENIGMA3 has tangible Indonesian influences, as did 1994's THE CROSS OF CHANGES; it also smoothly and dramatically incorporates Gregorian chant, which was prominent on Enigma's debut, MCMXC A.D. Unlike those albums, it features significant vocals by Enigma mastermind Michael Cretu. His voice brings tension and emotion to tracks such as "Why!..." and "The Roundabout." There is an altogether moody, sensuously brooding ambience to the entire album, sustained by muted drum beats and soft, ethereal layers of sounds drawn from chant, opera, tribal chant, choir, and various instruments and effects. Like the band's previous albums, ENIGMA3 possesses both the otherworldliness of new-age music and the groove of hip-hop. It is a voyage to somewhere exotic and seductively danceable.

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"Cosmic Game [Digipak]" (02/22/2005) Electronic Thievery Corporation, ESLThievery Corporation: Eric Hilton, Rob Garza (various instruments, electronics). Additional personnel include: Frank Orall (vocals, tabla, percussion); David Byrne, Gigi Rezende, Sista Pat (vocals); Roberto Santos (percussion); Perry Farrell, The Flaming Lips. Washington, DC-based sophisticates Thievery Corporation (producers Rob Garza and Eric Hilton) made several albums of superb down-tempo electronica prior to THE COSMIC GAME, and each release refined the duo's sensuous blend of deep, head-nodding beats, exotic world-music melodies, and lounge-ready atmospherics. This 2005 record builds on the strengths of the Corporation's previous albums, offering more stylish, club-targeted soundscapes to excellent effect. The series of all-star guests that parades through the album raises the Corporation's profile even higher. The Flaming Lips contribute additional instruments and vocals to the dreamy opener "Marching the Hate Machines (Into the Sun)," while the trip-hop-flavored "Revolution Solution" features Perry Farrell on vocals. Indian themes surface with vocalist Gunjan and sitar player Arjuna Pashwami on "Satyam Shivam Sundaram," and Verny Varela's singing gives the crowning touch to the bossa nova track "Ambicion Eterna." Even David Byrne makes an appearance, on the spacey mariachi boogaloo "The Heart's a Lonely Hunter." This fine mix of elements results in Thievery Corporation's most pop-oriented and accessible release, without sacrificing any of the group's ear-pleasing artistry.

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"Expedite Music" (05/04/2005) Electronic Les Eclairs de Musique, Future Records

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"Em3 *" (05/04/2005) Electronic Les Eclairs de Musique, Future Records

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"Em2" (05/04/2005) Electronic Les Eclairs de Musique, Future Records

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"Their Law: The Singles 1990-2005" (02/07/2006) Electronic Prodigy (The), XL Recordings/Matador RecordsThe Prodigy was the highest profile electronic dance act of the 1990s, balancing the heavy breakbeat sound of hardcore rave music with a flashy image and memorable hooks. Although they crafted excellent studio albums, the Prodigy were primarily a singles act, racking up a long string of charting hits, a feat unparalleled by any electronica act. THEIR LAW: THE SINGLES 1990-2005 collects those sides and acts as a definitive overview of the outfit's merits. The 2-disc set kicks off with the smash hit "Firestarter" (which will conjure images of frontman Keith Flint's spike-haired, leering head for anyone who has seen the video), and continues with several cuts from 1997's THE FAT OF THE LAND. Selections from the group's excellent 1992 full-length debut, EXPERIENCE, and 1996's MUSIC FOR THE JILTED GENERATION, arguably the group's masterpiece, will please long-time fans. Thanks to group mastermind and producer Liam Howlett, the Prodigy's mix of drum 'n' bass assault, frantic sampling, and infectious chants was among the most distinctive and vital on the scene, and this set--beautifully packaged with a full-color booklet--represents their best.

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"Multiply" (02/04/2008) Electronic Lidell, Jamie, WarpPersonnel include: Jamie Lidell (vocals, electric piano, Clavinet, drums); Andre Vida (saxophone); Jordan McLean (trumpet); Mocky (Fender Rhodes piano, synthesizer, bass guitar, percussion); Tony Buck, Daniel Raymond Gahn (drums). There are few more unlikely choices for a soul hero than Jamie Lidell; he's British, Caucasian, and a former electronica experimentalist. Nevertheless, his solo debut, MULTIPLY, finds the young R&B maven alternately channeling Otis Redding, Prince, and Stevie Wonder, while adding a distinctly modern, admittedly MIDNITE VULTURES-era Beck-tinged flair. Whatever its provenance, MULTIPLY is one of the best R&B albums of the mid-2000s.

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"Listen to Your Heart" (07/19/2005) Electronic D.H.T., Robbins EntertainmentD.H.T.: Edmee Daenen (vocals); Flor Theeuwes (background vocals). Recording information: Studio Omega, Brussels, Belgium. In 2005, the Belgian dance/pop group D.H.T. had a surprise US club hit with their house-like update of Roxette's "Listen to Your Heart." With the momentum generated by the single, D.H.T.'s album of the same name cracked the Billboard charts, a rarity for European dance acts. One listen to the title song, and the appeal is clear--this is dramatic, driving techno-pop that crowds scream for in clubs across the world. Although the surging keyboards and locomotive beats are key to D.H.T.'s sound, the singing of Edmee is the secret weapon here. Though her voice expertly carries the upbeat numbers, Edmee really gets a chance to shine on LISTEN TO YOUR HEART's piano ballads, particularly the restless "I Go Crazy" and the yearning "My Dream."