''Lunatic Harness'' is the fourth studio album by English

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

producer Mike Paradinas under the stage name μ-Ziq. It was released on 30 June 1997 in the United Kingdom on the Planet Mu label, and on 29 July 1997 in the United States on the

Astralwerks Astralwerks (or Astralwerks Records) is an American record label primarily focused on electronic music that is now owned by Universal Music Group. Its material is distributed via Capitol Music Group in the United States. The label was founded in ...

label. It was rereleased with bonus tracks from the ''My Little Beautiful'' and '' Brace Yourself'' singles in 2022 for its 25th anniversary.

Critical reception

A retrospective

Apple Music Apple Music is an audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users can select music to stream to their device on-demand, or listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the sister internet radio stations Apple Musi ...

editorial review describes ''Lunatic Harness'' as "the prettiest album to come out of the mid-'90s ' drill 'n' bass' movement", noting that Paradinas eschewed the abrasiveness of similar works by Squarepusher and

Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), known professionally as Aphex Twin, is a British musician, composer and DJ active in electronic music since 1988. His idiosyncratic work has drawn on many styles, including techno, ambient music, ambi ...

in favor of "atmospheres of ethereal color and shimmering melody", bringing the album "closer to

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

than anything Paradinas had previously attempted". In 2013, '' Spin'' named ''Lunatic Harness'' one of the 20 best Astralwerks albums. In 2017, ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' placed it at number 27 on its list of "The 50 Best IDM Albums of All Time".

Track listing

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1997 albums Mike Paradinas albums Planet Mu albums Astralwerks albums