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Unlike its precursor, this latest instalment of the ubiquitous Kirk Degiorgio’s As One project is a groovy, completely instrumental number, harking back to several vaguely referenced golden ages and yet retaining a fresh and original feel. Smooth soulful instrumentation blends effortlessly with metallic drum machines and computer-game synth effects in an easy-going and consistent album of essentially pleasant background music.

This eclectic mix of tracks ranges from shamelessly synthetic Casio keyboard sounds reminiscent of Alex Reece’s ‘So Far’, to clattering DJ Shadow-esque drum breaks or cheesy chillout in the same Last-Of-The-Summer-Wine vein as Air’s ‘Ce Matin La’. And yet, the album shares a chilled-out old school vibe, like the last house party of a long hot summer.

Although there is in fact nothing very ‘planetary’ about this release, which never veers too far away from hip hop, breakbeat and house (with the inevitable handful of Degiorgio’s hallmark ambient sinkholes), it has a free-form feel which seems to transcend those categories.

Maybe a touch too heavy on the fromage for some, it is still impressive that what seems at first like something any kid could throw together on Fruityloops, turns out to be mixed with such subtle skill that it turns stilton into mild cheddar.

As One - Planetary Folklore 2 (Goya Music)