BY NOEL GARDNER

OK, let's talk about the underground. We'll get down to its specifics later, but for a paragraph you are a Pavlov's dog of record blagging and I want you to demonstrate your reaction when you see those words - the underground - on a page. Do you swell with pride at the great maverick work being done away from the vagaries of the mainstream, challenging its dull perceptions of what's 'correct' in music? Do its extremities scare you, do they sicken you, do you tire of its grey didactic regulations and long for an injection of fun? Do you, for that matter, laugh at the idea that the term is meant musically, and think of - I don't know - camcorder pornography, revolutionary Situationists of decades past and worms?

If you answered yes to that last one, it might be worth pointing out that this is a press release for a CD, but the main point is that Fumezombie - a fella named Stephen Banbury from Cardiff - is locked down to the underground. Amongst Unequals is his debut album; released on CDR by Cardiff experimental imprint Machine.Records (who've previously issued discs by Stereo Minus One, The Instrument Panel and Anatomist to name some). The label has been recognised as a triumph of Britain's DIY electronica movement, and Fumezombie is perhaps its crowning glory to date.

For seven years he's been chopping up loops and breaks, generating gloomy ambience and crafting ambitious atmospherics: he was responsible for the soundtrack to a Chelsea fringe theatre production of 'Trainspotting', for example. But, while his approach has always been underground as hell, Fumezombie is set apart by a musical sensibility that is totally poptastic, perfectly jazz-smart and utterly raveable.

He's got a musical palette the size of an Olympic swimming pool to draw on for influences. Stephen started out in the South Wales jazz scene in the early 90s, managing a now defunct venue called the Four Bars. The raucous big band/Dixieland samples on the album ('Supernal' and 'Cockaign') tip their hat to that part of his life, although he's more interested in the aesthetics than a direct reading of jazz history. Add to this a tenure as a studio engineer; a Performance Technology music degree; a few years writing theatre, film and contemporary dance soundtracks (see above); immersing himself in Native American, Indian and Eastern European music thanks to a zealous love of travelling.

If you listen hard enough to Amongst Unequals you might hear echoes of, well, pretty much any moment in the history of recorded sound. The listener's perception is crucial and subjective, so dense with reference and layering are these 11 tracks. 'The Miner's Angel' is cut-up, syrup-slow dub electronics like Sabres Of Paradise used to do so beautifully. Conversely, 'Grizzler' is raging glitch-heavy techno which will slay anyone into Speedy J or Mouse On Mars. Aphex Twin, Jimi Tenor, Herbert and Akufen are all kindred spirits of recent times, too.

But, while this may be exalted company, it's doing Fumezombie a disservice to merely call up a procession of electronica/techno footsoldiers and leave them to convince you. There are decades ingrained in the sonic psyche of the 'Zombie; shouting back to before sequencing, before electronics and before there was a musical underground to get precious about. Stephen Banbury is everywhere, but it's a pleasure to have him here.

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