Music Review: 'Royal Astronomy' (1999)

Mike ''[Mu]-Ziq'' Paradinas is to fellow sound collagist Norman ''Fatboy Slim'' Cook what Robert Rauschenberg is to Roy Lichtenstein: Where Cook turns pop riffs into oversize cartoons, Paradinas crafts knotty compositions out of everything in reach. Meshing orchestral pomp with hip-hop roughnecking or snarling techno with gnomic choirs, [Mu]-Ziq's most epic session pits slapstick against pathos, pastoralism against urban paranoia. In the end, it's usually a draw. But the thrill is always fun. B+