Latest releases reviewed

WILLIAM ORBIT Hello Soundwaves Sanctuary ***

There's more bliss on Hello Waveforms than you might know what to do with. It's some six years since Orbit's Pieces in a Modern Style showed what he could do with classical works by Gorecki, Barber, Satie and others. While the producer has continued earning pay- cheques from the likes of U2, Madonna and Blur, he's also taken a horizontal trip when not engrossed in polishing the mediocre work of others. Much of Hello Waveforms harkens back to Orbit's Strange Cargo days, a quiet riot of glorious ambient peaks, chilled grandstanding and slow-motion electronic soul. Tracks such as Sea Green and Humming Chorus are sparse, slight and still, where the mood is set and maintained by one or two very calm, prominent elements spinning their spell. This thoroughly beautiful music is the kind of deep-sea diving you can do without getting your feet wet. www.williamorbit.com

Jim Carroll