This week's techno CD reviewed by RICHARD BROPHY

VARIOUS ARTISTS

The Definitive Japanese Scene Volume 1

Mule Musiq ****

Having recently released material from respected European and US producers, the latest compilation by Japan's Mule Musiq focuses on indigenous talent. Olive Oil and Righteous lead off with lazy, jazz- sampling hip-hop tracks; Yoshihiro Tsukahara's Wild and Surviveapes the New York punk-funk strut of LCD Soundsystem; and Kentaro Iwaki and Haruki Matsuo deliver the kind of deep, dubby techno grooves that could appear on labels distributed by Berlin's Hardwax operation. The rest of the compilation is skewed towards disco of the Italo/Balearic variety, with the shimmering melodies of Karo Inoue's Esc, the niggling acid bass of Kza's Open Upand the chugging groove and breathless 1980s synths of Force of Nature's I-ightstanding out. Given the range of styles and prevailing high production standards, it sounds like Mule was right to concentrate on Japanese producers. www.mule musiq.com

Download tracks: Haruki Matsuo, Spy vs Spy; Olive Oil, But Not Enough; Kza, Open Up; Karo Inoue, Esc