Japanese DJ and producer Ken Ishii is no everyday groove hound. On Jelly Tones pieces like the well-named "Stretch" and the silkier "Moved By Air," the 27-year-old interrupts the rhythmic flow of his bass drums and gongs all the time – like a great swimmer who keeps changing strokes. "Extra" (with a video directed by Kouji Morimonto, of Akira fame) begins with high-pitched military drumming, then steals away into repeating, barking riffs.

This is music that boasts the incessant compositional activity of, say, Future Sound of London and the crystalline acuity of Underworld. A couple of times, as on the climactic "Endless Season," Ishii rolls out Asian instrumental vibes, nodding somewhere in the direction of Ryuichi Sakamoto's old Yellow Magic Orchestra. But Jelly Tones isn't much like anything – except itself.

Ishii's fine, restless touch also fires X-Mix: Fast Forward and Rewind – part of a series of DJ-mixed compilations on the German K7 label – which features his mix of 18 tracks by other artists (including Coldcut, Squarepusher and United Future Organization), plus two new songs of his own. In the middle of it, working with Frank de Wulf's "Drums in a Grip," Ishii pushes the bass sky-high, then revs up the drums even higher. Everything around them stops. There's static in the naked air, a weird kind of rhythmic back-and-forth that feels like a groove but doesn't act like a groove. Ken Ishii's in the house. (X-Mix is available from K7 Records, 210 Fifth Ave., New York, N.Y. 10010) (RS 771)

JAMES HUNTER