Lunatic Harness, µ-Ziq’s rare and sought-after fourth album, was originally released in July 1997 on Virgin’s Hut Recordings label. It is generally considered to be Mike Paradinas’s best work of the nineties. An Apple Music review describes Lunatic Harness as “the prettiest album to come out of the mid-’90s “drill’n’bass movement”, noting that Paradinas eschewed the abrasiveness of similar works by Squarepusher and Aphex Twin in favour of “atmospheres of ethereal color and shimmering melody”, bringing the album “closer to pop music than anything Paradinas had previously attempted”.
Planet Mu has compiled a special 256th anniversary edition 4xLP boxset bringing together the My Little Beautiful EP, the Lunatic Harness album and May 1998’s Brace Yourself EP (released by USA’s Astralwerks label) with the addition of four rare tracks. Discs one and two of the vinyl are the original Lunatic Harness album, disc three compiles the My Little Beautiful b-sides with three unreleased cuts from the period and a remix of Mr.Angry from 1997’s Mealtime compilation, while disc four is the 8-track Brace Yourself EP which hasn’t been re-issued since 1998. This all comes in individual printed sleeves housed in a rigid box with an insert collage of some of the press Mike received at the time. There is also a 2xCD edition with the same tracklisting.
4LP BOXSET with insert
A:
Brace Yourself Jason
Hasty Boom Alert
Mushroom Compost
B:
Blainville
Lunatic Harness
Approaching Menace
C:
My Little Beautiful
Secret Stair Pt.1
Secret Stair Pt.2
Wannabe
D:
Catkin and Teasel
London
Midwinter Log
E:
Hanky Pokery
Jiggery Panky
Worcester
The Cut Of My Jib
F:
Lunatic Harness (Original Demo)
Lunatic Harness (Remix)
Mr. Angry (Remix)
G:
Brace Yourself (Remix)
Kubba
Vaken Bolt
Losers’ March
H:
Summer Living 2
Intellitag
Abmoit
Brace Yourself (Reprise)
2CD/DIGITAL BUNDLE
1-01 Brace Yourself Jason
1-02 Hasty Boom Alert
1-03 Mushroom Compost
1-04 Blainville
1-05 Lunatic Harness
1-06 Approaching Menace
1-07 My Little Beautiful
1-08 Secret Stair Pt.1
1-09 Secret Stair Pt.2
1-10 Wannabe
1-11 Catkin and Teasel
1-12 London
1-13 Midwinter Log
2-01 Hanky Pokery
2-02 Jiggery Panky
2-03 Worcester
2-04 The Cut Of My Jib
2-05 Lunatic Harness (Original Demo)
2-06 Lunatic Harness (Remix)
2-07 Mr. Angry (Remix)
2-08 Brace Yourself (Remix)
2-09 Kubba
2-10 Vaken Bolt
2-11 Losers’ March
2-12 Summer Living 2
2-13 Intellitag
2-14 Abmoit
2-15 Brace Yourself (Reprise)