Challenge Me Foolish is the third compendium of “lost” -Ziq material to surface on Planet Mu in the last three yearsthe fourth if we’re including Expert Knob Twiddlers, the reissue of Paradinas’ collaborative album with Aphex Twin. It compiles music written between 1998 and ’99, and serves as a retrospective primer for the orchestral pop leanings of Royal Astronomy, Paradinas’ fifth -Ziq album.

Both Royal Astronomy and Challenge Me Foolish feature tracks with the Japanese vocalist Kazumi. “Goodbye, Goodbye” was the former album’s sentimental closer, while the twee pop of “The Fear” gave Royal Astronomy its gooey centre. On Challenge Me Foolish we are, perhaps, treated to the ones that didn’t make the cut. The tracks range from the saccharine drum & bass of “Sad Inlay” to the naff kookiness of “Durian,” neither of which have aged particularly well. The album’s breezy title track is the best of these, though it would’ve been even better without the carnivalesque melody lines in the second half. Without these whimsical flourishes, though, it wouldn’t be -Ziq. Unlike his more somber IDM peers, Paradinas was never afraid to sound cheerful. (via Resident Advisor)

Label: Planet Mu
Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: Europe
Released: 2018
Genre: Electronic, Experimental
Style: IDM

File under: Leftfield