Swayzak co-conspirators James Taylor and David "Broon" Brown have the uncanny ability to convert a handful of repetitive sonic elements into exquisite tension-filled grooves and panoramas. Himawari, the London duo's second proper full-length, is loaded with minimalist textural concoctions, set mostly to funky, teched-up house beats — it's good-time music for people with tunnel-vision concentration on the dance floor. Relying on their dub-wise mixing skills to incite a crowd's euphoria instead of hooks, Brown and Taylor layer Himawari's 12 head-nodders for maximum weirdness, build-up and full-body release.

There are momentary excursions into the related halls of noir-ish electro on "Mysterons" (RealAudio excerpt), futurist downbeat on "Illegal" (featuring a dancehall call to rave-centric hedonism by Benjamin Zephaniah) and candy-house synth-pop on "State of Grace" (RealAudio excerpt). But for the most part, atmospheric beats rule Swayzak's castle.

Whether sculpting a deep-space house track on a bed of interweaving beat-strands and ambient echoes ("Doobie" [RealAudio excerpt]) or busting out a full-fledged tech-house diva anthem ("Caught in This Affair," featuring J.B. Rose [RealAudio excerpt]), Swayzak always leave the last word to the mixing board. Dropping and adding sounds with the panache of experienced live sound-system rockers, Taylor and Brown knob around with beats like minimalists looking for the perfect state of rhythmic bliss. On Himawari, they make that state their own.