µ-Ziq & APHEX TWIN (aka/ MIKE & RICH)
Expert Knob Twiddlers - (1996)

The two most popular artists to record for Britain's Rephlex label — label-founder Richard D. James (Aphex Twin) and Michael Paradinas (µ-Ziq) — collaborated in 1996 for Expert Knob Twiddlers. Recalling the great Milton Bradley game boxes of the 1970s and '80s, the cover is a picture of James and Paradinas, in suitable low-res, chop-and-paste photos, playing a variant of Connect Four. Inside, the two techno auteurs' music mesh quite well; Paradinas' liquidy funk distortion smoothes out the calculated, almost sterile, experimentation of Aphex Twin. The style-blending, however, cancels out the particular attractions of both artists, and the listener is left with something they might not have expected to hear from either. Fans of Aphex and µ-Ziq will be excited, but newcomers should go elsewhere before they dig this deep.

http://www.mediafire.com/?zzzy05nm3zn

µ-Ziq
Bilious Paths - (2003)

The first µ-Ziq release on Mike Paradinas' own Planet µ label since he debuted it with a 1997 double EP, Bilious Paths returns him full circle to the master-craftsman mayhem of that year's Lunatic Harness. And since it's also his first full-length not on a major-distributed label since 1995, Paradinas allowed himself a refreshing degree of latitude when it came to genre workouts (hardcore techno, junglistic dread madness, chilled experimental techno). Still, there isn't a track here that's not clearly, recognizably, obviously a µ-Ziq production, from the tympani-led symphonic majesty of "Octelcogopod" to the breezily shape-shifting melodies and pummeling beats of "Meinheld," with plenty of space for the lab-coat drill'n'bass he preferred during the late '90s. As usual, Paradinas is also slightly too humorous for his own good, both with his titles (the two-part "Grape Nut Beats") and with his productions ("On/Off," which repeats a naughty vocal sample far more than it deserves). Highlights abound, but this is definitely one for those used to the blend of heavy innovation and occasional inanity to be found on nearly every µ-Ziq record.

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=300c8e89fa751bc3ab1eab3e9fa335ca190716020ff52605