Truly one of the highlights in an excellent catalog of work, Stolen and Contaminated Songs isn't even a proper "album," but a collection of outtakes from the Love's Secret Domain sessions. And what sessions they were to have such a wealth of superb material that was leftover. Showcasing Coil's diversity, the album veers from the orchestrated classicisms of "Original Chaostrophy" and "Corybantic Ennui" to the slow, mutant lounge shuffle of "Omlagus Garfungiloops" and the utter despair of "Who'll Fall?" The last track there is a highlight, a detuned guitar and phone line noises underscore a harrowing answering machine message from someone who's friend has just committed suicide. Haunting in its execution and utterly compelling…

Italian pianist turned DJ Robert Miles scored a massive international hit with his wonderful, dreamy dance cut "Children" (one of the 1990s biggest and best dance hits) from his debut album Dreamland. The album at times sounds as if it were one continuous song (or set of beats with similar chord progressions) stretched over an hour, which may detract some, but, in essence, is what makes his sonic dreamscape so engaging. It's at once both dancefloor and chill out material; one of those discs where one can hit the play button, drift into a different dimension, and forget about worldly worries. Dreamland, which is both melancholy and blissful, succeeds in its simplicity. Highlights include the second single, "Fable," which continues with the same formula he utilized in "Children," this time using ethereal female chant-like vocals (also included is an instrumental version of "Fable").

Beyond the Mind's Eye is Grammy award-winning keyboardist/composer Jan Hammer's first solo album in over five years. The 14 tracks, composed for Miramar's new video album, are different than the Video soundtrack. The audio release is remixed, features extended arrangements, and has a bonus vocal track sung by Chris Thompson of The Manfred Mann Group. Known for his Miami Vice music, Hammer provides a potent fusion which is perfect for this arena where modern music meets the visual arts.

The late Oscar Menzel, who recorded as Airwaves, left a significant legacy that the electronic music community has routinely failed to acknowledge or come to grips with. An admirer and obvious colleague-in-spirit to pioneers Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Robert Schroeder, Pete Namlook, and so many other recognized synthi boffins, Menzel’s small but important catalog bristles with enough ideas to fill dozens of albums, accomplishing within a mere handful of recordings what lesser artists spend a lifetime attempting.

How one goes about surfing in the Arctic remains to be seen; perhaps our changing climate will make such a thing soon possible. Until then, we have to perform such a feat metaphorically, or at least do so vicariously, through the windswept beatscapes provided by the duo of Jarkko Turkulainen and Petter Friberg. The two Surfers manage to do a helluva job navigating their way across an icy tundra of expertly designed rhythm programming, over which skirt jittery synths making the most of sharp angles, steep inclines, and immaculately poised atmospheric tribbles that reflect a multitude of sun-dappled colors.

The initial 1999 version of Astral Disaster on Prescription was an ultra-limited release in a symbolic edition of 99 copies on vinyl only. The CD reissue of what must be one of Coil's more collectable cult items has been slightly remixed, and includes an extra track not on the original as a consolation to the fanatics who missed out on the Holy Grail LP version. Not comparable to the sublime brilliance the group achieved on Musick to Play in the Dark, Astral Disaster mines different territory altogether, and is a strong album that features a notable folk influence. With this approach transfigured through industrial and electronic means, the album bears striking similarities to Current 93 in its exploration of esoteric and mystical themes.

Released in 2002 after a series of high-toned concept recordings, Tres Lunas is a bit of a return to straight-up, new age mood music for Mike Oldfield. The musician/composer once again spins carefully layered guitar and keyboard performances into a seemingly endless stream of space-age lullabies supported by the faintest of beats – most of which rarely exceed the intensity of a weak pulse…

Red velvet curtains draw back to reveal a cosmic wheel of fortune, floating in the deep black star-studded theater of infinite space. A whirl of timbres, personalities, and stories. The Turning Wheel, the third full-length by the Bay Area artist SPELLLING (Chrystia Cabral), revolves around themes of human unity, the future, divine love and the enigmatic ups and downs of being a part of this carnival called life.

As always with Tricky, the right idea for pop isn't necessarily just right for him. Beats, of course; songs, sure; a band, who could say no? And right, individual tracks connect pretty good–hot lesbian porn, you devil you. Yet though his soundscapes be obscure and forbidding, they're what he's great at; his rap affinities and rock dreams are off the point, especially in the studio. So the best thing about these shapely selections is that they remain obscure and forbidding as they stand up and announce themselves. Second-best is their scorn for criminal pretensions, always a boon from a borderline nihilist.

Listening to The Ape of Naples is a bittersweet experience. As the last album recorded during John Balance's lifetime, it serves as a final statement and summation of the band's multi-faceted career. Naples is much more of a "classic"-sounding Coil album (in the vein of Love's Secret Domain and Musick to Play in the Dark, Vol. 1) than more recent outings (such as ANS, Constant Shallowness Leads to Evil, or Astral Disaster). Ape is made up of recording sessions that date back to the mid-'90s, recordings done for Trent Reznor's nothing label, and more recent works that were still getting worked out in a live environment ("Triple Sun," "Tattooed Man"). Balance and Peter Christopherson are joined by the likes of Danny Hyde, Thighpaulsandra, Ossian Brown, Cliff Stapleton, and Mike Yorke, depending on the track…

One of the most ambitious Euro-disco acts of the late 1970s was Space, which shouldn't be confused with the alternative rock band that recorded Spiders in 1996. By the time that Space was formed in the 1990s, the Euro-disco act heard on Deliverance had long since called it quits. Recorded in London and Paris in 1978, this conceptual, mostly instrumental LP employs a lot of futuristic sci-fi imagery and is quite high-tech for its time. Synthesizer-dominated instrumentals like "Air Force" and "Running in the City" give the impression that Jean-Philippe Iliesco, the album's producer, had been paying close attention to German innovators like Kraftwerk and Giorgio Moroder-and yet, Deliverance has a high-tech energy of its own.