Review from Audion #46 (2002)...... a new 2CD sampler of all original material (or, at least it all seems to be) from some of the best acts around at the moment. Again, the bias is on American acts (nine of them), with three Finnish (strange!), two Russian (both unknowns), one British (the out-of-place Volcano The Bear, despite there being ample UK acts doing such space music), one Canadian, and one German (Faust), adding-up to another weirdly balanced mix of musics.Disc 1 opens with the first of the three Finnish acts, Circle, who have been much lauded recently, though I don't think they deserve it. Their Veitsi is certainly not the best way to open the CD set, this almost literally jumps-out and throttles the listener, kerrangggg!!! - freaky and fuzzed-out dementia if you ask me, not so tasteful as some stuff I've heard by them. It should have been put at the end of disc 2, out-of-the-way! F/I - in sharp contrast, trip-out exuberantly, kinda instrumental dubby Public Image Ltd with an Ozrics twist and a nod to Can. Excellent! Pseudo Buddha - the Crevice cohorts, are purveyors of one of the best US trippy albums in recent years, and here they do a slinky groovy number that breaks-down into a sonic soup almost imperceptibly. Zelany Rashoho (Russian), and not really amounting to much, act as a nice interlude. Oránj Climax - interrelated with Escapade, play nice synth/sequencer stuff, a bit Tangerine Dream (more Nightcrawlers) with a hint of Heldon thrown-in. Okay. Djam Karet's New Light On The Dark Age highlights why I'm not so keen on their current music, in that it's too kitsch, too pretty (la-la, twiddly-dee, kind of rock embellished stuff that people like Ian Boddy or Mark Shreeve used to on synths alone) and just doesn't have that old daring magic that made the original Djam Karet so special. If it were anyone else, I'd say this shows a band with promise, but for Djam Karet it's rather so-so. Quarkspace seem to endless numbers of albums, all that have brilliant moments, and their Brainhaze (D.O.B.H. #3) is one such moment of great space-riffing. It's not long enough to become tedious (as some of their music does) and is most enjoyable. Melodic Energy Commission were a big surprise here, as I thought they'd disappeared and disbanded yonks ago. This Canadian combo (with a one-time Hawkwind connection) were one of the most original bands of the early-80's and they're still on a unique plane based on Ramalite From Vega a weirdly ethnic spiced instrumental. Ektroverde's Suru ends disc 1 with one of its finest pieces, a heavy freak-out that feels a little like a hybrid of Amon Düül II and Escapade, both dark and powerful. Disc 2 opens with Faust, and an alternative version of a RAVVIVANDO track, and is way out-on-a-limb after disc 1, but then even more so are Volcano The Bear with the totally eccentric Strausshand showcasing them brilliantly in 5 minutes. Back to the space-rock, Escapade trundle in their patent style with Warningless, sounding like early Guru Guru playing classic Ash Ra Tempel, but with a modern new sound. Tombstone Valentine, again take us to weirder territory, a little bit like Faust meets This Heat? Mushroom then take us elsewhere, with a 60's style slow funky jazz groove, a little reminiscent of Freddy Hubbard or Quincy Jones! Tree Sine seem to be a hybrid of Circle and Ektroverde, and sound close to some early-80's German underground/new-wave acts like Der Plan or D-A-F. Russians 2012 - these are more industrial electronic, close to more abstract early Asmus Tietchens. Finally, SubArachnoid Space groove along as only they know how, with the 14 minute So Near, And Yeti So Far - no prizes for guessing the obvious dedications!