DAVID SYLVIAN & HOLGER CZUKAY: FLUX + MUTABILITY

The second Czukay/Sylvian album is the more immediately engaging of the two, and offers two contrasting pieces. 'Flux' is propelled by a gentle, naggingly insistent guitar motif (presumably played by Michael Karoli) and some very understated percussion by Jaki Liebezeit. A variety of sounds and sample weave their way through, under and over this simple framework, making for a hypnotic and oddly compelling 17 minutes. Of the 4 long pieces on the two albums they made together, this is the one that is most recognisably in Czukay's style. The second piece, Mutability, is more ambient, although Czukay's samples lend a slightly unsettling tone in places. Definitely the better of the two albums, and definitely the one to start with.