"hey mark, what are some cool albums i should check out that nobody seems to know about? i'm getting kinda sick of the stuff on the radio."
"what? you mean you actually don't like the crap (read the word: cRAP) that's force fed to you on kiss fm, mtv, and in pretty much every media outlet? i dunno about you but i don't mind people telling me what music i'm supposed to like!"
"what?"
"kidding. here's some stuff you should check out..."

first off, you need to check out one of my new favorite electronica bands. they've had two albums so far (only one of which is available in the u.s.), but they're quite well-known in the world of remixes. way out west - intensify they're quite similar to early crystal method, but a little more trancey and varied.

wanna chill out and escape from the world? i know just the thing for that. conjure one's self-titled album is a project by delerium and rhys fulber (of front line assembly). it's mostly dreamy female vocals awash with trance backdrops... and some of the tracks are nice and upbeat. this one's a keeper.

you wanna chill out even more, but to darker music? then you need some massive attack my friend. their best (and most popular) album is mezzanine. you may recognize a few of the tracks from television commercials or movie ads, but this is far from prime time radio material. the only place you're gonna hear this is perhaps a late-night lounge deep in the city, just as the night is either getting going or cooling off.

another band i recently discovered that looks very promising is cirrus. they manage to keep some of their tracks quite poppy, but without losing their acid trance/breakbeat roots, which is awesome. check out their album counterfeit.

acidy trance mixed with hard rock. curve - come clean. nuff said.

last but not least... nikka costa. she had a semi-hit with the song "like a feather" but then seemingly disappeared from the media's eyes. check out her album everybody got their something... the whole thing is that good, and nobody seemed to notice that. what a shame.

i would mention soulvation here... but their album "one" doesn't seem to be available anywhere yet. if you can find it, wow is it awesome.

that's all for now, i hope everyone checks some of these albums out. radio free strube!!