If you know his name at all, it's as one of the founding members of the legendary experimental German rock group Can.

But he's been mighty busy on his own over the last few decades, collaborating with the likes of David Sylvian, Brian Eno, and Jah Wobble; he's been remixed by the Orb and U.N.K.L.E.; and he's probably the first musician ever to have applied Edgard Varese's principles of musique concrete to rock & roll (though he's certainly not the last).

So with such an impressive resume, what does his first solo album in six years sound like? Well, lots of things.

The first four tracks are spoken-word compositions with funky, multi-layered backing; the words that are spoken can sometimes get embarrassing in an English-as-a-second-language sort of way ("The invisible man is all around me!"), but the music is mostly very compelling.

"Dancing in Wild Circles" is especially cool, with its busy percussion, "forged ethno samples" and David Byrne-esque guitar.

"Atlantis" betrays a clear drum'n'bass influence, but is much more sonically and rhythmically complex.

Fully half of the program is contained in "Mirage," a 22-minute long composition that sounds like equal parts Jon Hassell and African Head Charge -- that is, until it bogs down into drones about halfway through and stays bogged down for the remaining ten minutes.

Still, you'll have lots of fun before getting to that soggy place.

Recommended.