Old skool techno fiend A Sagittariun commits a beautiful debut album meshing myriad vintage techno, ambient and dub styles. 'Dream Ritual' casts back to that fertile early-mid '90s period when electronica/dance music were interchangeable terms and the whole AI movement (read: pre-IDM) was fresh, open-minded and smitten with the romance of possibility. It's easy to call it nostalgic, because it is, but it's perhaps better perceived as a reminder of what was, and what techno has become - in many cases a zombied, emotionless cadaver flogging itself into tomorrow. 'Dream Ritual' is techno in the widest sense, stretching out from the Eevolute-styled ambient beauty of opener 'Sundial' to the sort of deft programming on 'Network Response' that could almost have graced Iridal in its heyday. In between it scans ace, AFXian breakbeat techno on 'Conquering Lions' alongside electro/hip hop styled badness in 'The Age Of Sin' and 'Year Of The Ox', and genuinely lush, proggy electronica visions in 'Crystallization', starring a choice guest spot from veteran guitarist Skip McDonald (Sugarhill Gang, Tackhead, On-U Sound), and 'The Mind Has No Time'. RIYL early Warp, Irdial, Eevolute.
