Steve Roach & Vir Unis

On Body Electric, Steve Roach returns to his chromium roots, or at least strips away some of the dirt that's gathered on them over the years. While it's not quite the sequencer dervish of early albums like Empetus, it does shift the timbral focus from the organic rhythms and textures to the electronic techno sound. He's joined on this album by Chicago-based electronica artist Vir Unis. Together these sonic alchemists create a world full of trance rhythms and atmospheres that swirl like a lava pool. The opening "Born of Fire" establishes their modus operandi of head-snapping electro-voodoo grooves with Omar Faruk Tekbelik's ney (Turkish flute) calling out like a lost soul in the maelstrom. From there, it's into the deep as the Roach-Unis world closes in around you. Walt Whitman sang the body electric. Steve Roach and Vir Unis plug you right in. --John Diliberto

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