Lazer Muzik

One-third of the Ladomat2000 crew Whirlpool Productions, Hans Nieswandt already has some underground classics beneath his belt. His debut solo album lacks the bumpin' hits like "Don't Stop" and "From Disco to Disco," but in their place Nieswandt offers up sensual space-age house that combines deep funk samples with a futuristic sheen that feels both sexy and ergonomic at once.

Nothing points to this fusion like the sleek Rhodes keyboard line on "Mental Moments," which will make your neck hairs stand up before the chunky bassline lays it on extra-thick. "Lazer Music" and "Freaks, I See Life" both continue in the same groovy house vein that would fit neatly into DJ sets by Mark Farina or Derrick Carter. Nieswandt occasionally lays it on too heavy, such as the boy-band-from-Venus casualty that is "It's Not Over," with its cliché pop beat and acoustic guitar plucking. There is also the superfluous first version of "Hunky Funky Boogie, Pt. 1" that plays the stompin' instrumental jam ludicrously slow before "Hunky Funky Boogie, Pt.2" gets the tempo right. But for every misstep there are two moments of sonic brilliance, making Lazer Musik, like most everything else on the Ladomat2000 imprint, worth adding to your collection.