Royal Astronomy

“The Fear”—the lead single from Mu-Ziq’s 1999 album Royal Astronomy—was something of a bait-and-switch for the notoriously ornery British techno artist. It was by far the most pop-oriented song Mu-Ziq (a.k.a. Mike Paradinas) had written. Pretty and melodramatic, it revolves around a straightforward vocal part by Japanese singer Kazumi, and nothing else on the album resembles it. The dominant influence here is soundtrack music, as Paradinas uses his arsenal of keyboards and other electronic equipment to simulate the undulations of a symphony orchestra. “Scaling,” “Slice,” and “Gruber’s Mandolin” are majestic, with an underlying sense of dread. The atmosphere’s cooler than it was on the gorgeous Lunatic Harness. Royal Astronomy is an album of steely grays and astronomical blues. Paradinas still lets loose a few down-and-dirty drum and bass workouts in the form of “The Motorbike Track” and “Burst Your Arm,” but “The Hwicci Song” and “56” show that hip-hop was exerting an influence equal to techno. Kazumi returns for the grand finale: a darkly cascading but ultimately reassuring piece titled “Goodbye, Goodbye.”