Do you have any idea how hard it is to find information on Nuno Canavarro on the web? You really have to be dedicated. Sure, there's some stuff scattered here and there, but how much of it is really accurate? I mean, I've found tons of glowing reviews, and rightfully so, but what about the man himself? Just who is Nuno Canavarro? Suffice to say, I haven't got a damn clue.

What I do know is that Plux Quba was originally issued on a Portuguese label in 1988. It was allegedly discovered by Christoph Heemann of the experimental German group HNAS on a trip to Germany in 1991. Along for the ride were, among others, new age artist C-Schulz, Chicago producer Jim O'Rourke, and Jan St. Werner, the man who would later make electronic sounds of a nature similar to Canavarro's with his band Mouse on Mars. The legend goes that they all listened to the record and agreed they'd never heard anything quite like it.

O'Rourke finally got around to issuing Plux Quba on his new imprint, Moikai, the successor to the now- defunct Dexter's Cigar label. The record is now considered an underground classic, and can be found in the collections of many an electronic composer. Listening to the album eleven years after its original release, it seems obvious that it helped give life to the new German electronic sound as well as O'Rourke's trademark production techniques-- the music sounds like an O'Rourke- produced Oval or Microstoria album.

Plux Quba is also easily the moodiest ambient record in recent memory-- it jumps from subdued to twitchy to atmospheric to passive- aggressive. Its bleeps, bloops, synthesized sound effects, strange samples of people whispering, and other unidentifiable racket sound robotic and programmed on the surface. But when listening intently-- especially with the aid of headphones-- the sounds become strangely human. Of course, the most surprising thing about Plux Quba is that its majority actually seems more beautiful and organic than dark and futuristic.

It's inspiring, though rare, that one artist could give birth to an entire musical genre. But there's no mistaking that Canavarro's work was a definite influence on the new millennium's electronic artists. So next time you're on your way to the local record store to pick up the new To Rococco Rot or Lithops album, you'd do well to throw Plux Quba in your cart and experience the new minimalist electronic movement in its infant phase.

-Ryan Schreiber