With no convenient stylistic tag to slap on the much-anticipated debut LP from UK keyboard supremo Tom Szirtes (it contains elements of jazz, house, hip hop, funk and fusion), explaining Advance is a bit of a challenge. Suffice it to say that, overseen by chill out master Tom Middleton, and with positive feedback from Mixmaster Morris and LTJ Bukem, Szirtes' Shur-i-kan is a heavyweight contender for electronica's chill out crown. The leadoff track, "Niomi's Dream," hitherto released on Tom Middleton's Jedi's Night Out for Mixmag, is a tantalizing morsel of future jazz, and the rest of the album proves equally beguiling, with funky fusion bass lines set against out-of-this-world samples, delicate piano lines and the odd soulful house vocal.


MISSY "MISDEMEANOR" ELLIOT / Miss E...So Addictive
(eastwest japan)

"This album is retro meets techno; house meets futuristic. It's got so many different places to go. When people to listen to the album, I wanted them to not know what category to put it in," New York hip hop homegirl Missy Elliot told Launch.com about her new release. And with tracks recalling everything from '70s funk to '90s house, the album really does stretch the boundaries of what one expects from a rap album. Enlisting help from Redman & Method Man on the soulful "Dog In Heart," Ludacris on the warning to potential lovers "One Minute Man," Eve on the hard-hitting "4 My People," and Busta Rhymes on the loopy "Bus-A-Bus," Missy E makes the best of the various talents of her all star cast. From the sounds of this diverse set of songs, Missy E's third solo release looks set to have plenty of legs on the charts this summer.


PETE ROCK / petestrumentals
(bbe records)

Starting out in NY in the late '80s and moving on to collaborations with rapper CL Smooth in the '90s, DJ and producer with impeccable credentials Rete Rock is a master of a more soulful style of hip hop. Without the fig leaf of lyrics (12 of the 14 songs are vocal-free) the groove is all, and groove it does. Multiple samples are cut up and overlaid on one another to create rare depth and funkiness culled from his vast crates of jazz, reggae, soul and even rock records. He doesn't slack on the rap tracks either, particularly on "Nothin' lesser - Jamie's Mix," where UN provide a fierce lyrical punctuation to Rock's downbeat backing. Simeon Paterson


FRANKIE VALENTINE / Deepburnt: deep house grooves mixed by Frankie Valentine
(R2 records)

No newcomer to Japan - this Brit toured the island DJing and produced stuff with a friend under the Tokyo Offshore Project moniker - Valentine's compilation album would go down well in the heat of the summer. All laid-back "good vibes" and lightweight snare drums, it could have been a great soundtrack for a BBQ but is generally just too pleasant to drag you in (or repulse you). The exception is opening number "Que Pasa" by Nigel Hayes, which is a great buildup track and features the only really "twisted beats" on the album. The tracks by Osunlade and Eddie And The Eggs hint at something darker and harder, too, but the positivity remains, like it or like it not-so-much. Simeon Paterson


MASANORI IKEDA / Spinout 2: non-stop DJ mix by Masanori Ikeda
(V2 records)

Another compilation, this one is mellow, especially in the latin-ey first half, but with 26 tracks there is plenty else, too. The tempo picks up with a sped-up version of Beck's "New Pollution," featuring Yukari Fresh, and it's breaks from there on in, with a short house chill out from Japan's Yukihiro Fukutomi. With so many tracks no one will like it all. My favorite, Scanty Sandwich's "Because of You," which was a bit of an underground club hit here, is pure silliness, but silliness with an awesome vocal sample and a bass line that just demands you tap your foot. Simeon Paterson