Guitarist Steve Hillage had been a wilderness figure after his success with hippy idealist prog-rockers Gong. With the coming of rave and its attendant culture of musical freestyle and Utopianism, he found common ground again with a new generation. Here, collaborators include The Orb, Zoë, Derrick May and Paul Oakenfold. His main musical partner is Miquette Giraudy--a film-maker turned self-taught synth programmer--who provides the digital chassis for this album. "Freedom Fighters" is an idealistic clarion call over a rousing sequencer pattern and a defiantly wailing guitar solo from Hillage. "Altitude" and "Fractal Liaison" are collaborations with Godfather of techno Derrick May, whose minimal austerity offsets Hillage's flights of fretboard fancy. "Habibi" and "Strange Quotations" are graced by the impassioned vocals of Olu Rowe and subtly deployed world music inflections. This is a feel-good album that manages to steer clear of inanity or blandness. --David Stubbs