Tokyo electronic duo Michiyuki Kawashima and Masayuki Nakano have been kickin' it hardcore since 1990-- nine long years now. Do you realize how long ago that was? Nine Inch Nails were not yet a household name. Nirvana had just been signed to Sub Pop. For Christ's sake, Paula Abdul's Spellbound was still in the Top 40. After that much time and practice, you're bound to finally get good, which is exactly what the Boom Boom Satellites have done on Out Loud, their 1999 Epic Records debut.

Jacking their band name from an old Sigue Sigue Sputnik new wave track, the two fellow university students set out to combine their skillz in a crazed dance frenzy that became known as one of the defining sounds of big beat. Now that big beat is having its day in America's cultural limelight, the Boom Boom Satellites finally have a chance at getting their far superior rhythm machine inside the heads of millions.

Out Loud is one of most eclectic records this year has offered so far. It casually skips from one genre to the next, laying out Aphex Twin- style skittering weirdness before slowing to a drony hum and crashing down with explosive industrial beats and futuristic vocoder effects. The Satellites play this unpredictability like a royal flush, knocking down the repetitive, inane stuff streaming endlessly from the home studios of William Orbit, Fluke, and the Prodigy.

In this age of 300 bpm bassdrum- and- hi-hat techno, it's refreshing to hear something influenced by so many seperate sources. And that's really the key to keeping electronic music fresh-- originality. Who'd have thought?

-Ryan Schreiber