Photek: Solaris : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

In the state of dance music 2000, drum-and-bass has about as much life as Pat Buchanan's presidential bid. Appropriately, revered jungle producer Rupert Parkes, a.k.a. Photek, has shaken things up with his second full-length album, Solaris -- it owes more to techno and house than to drum-and-bass. Kicking off with the rumbling Leftfield-like thump of "Terminus," Solaris jumps from trippy tech-house (the stellar title track) to deep, soulful house numbers like "Can't Come Down" and the exquisite "Mine to Give," which features vocals from Fingers Inc.'s Robert Owens. Only on "Infinity" does Photek revisit traditional jittery drum-and-bass. Despite its variety of styles, thanks to Photek's daring, disciplined production, Solaris never loses its groove. (RS 854)

MATT HENDRICKSON