Che Fu: Beneath The Radar

Herald rating: * * * *

Really, it's a bit rich with that album title to be claiming some sort of undiscovered status.

Che Fu has been a name since carving a solo career after his departure from Supergroove, although he's been taking his own good time between albums since his classic 1998 debut 2bS. Pacific and 2001's The Navigator.

But now he's returned, a little older than the local 2005 hip-hop generation, but their equivalent of a Shayne Carter or a Dave Dobbyn - a senior figure but still a standard-setter and a restless talent.

And on Beneath the Radar he's more ambitious than in his earlier work, delivering a finicky, funky bast of scratch-happy hip-hop, Stevie Wonder-soul, reggae and whatever else his solo production skills can mash into the tracks.

Sometimes that can leave you wanting less beat and vocal fireworks and more substance, especially on Lightwork, while the bravado rap of Mock Battle with its commando-raid metaphor does go on a bit and comes out sounding like Metal Gear Solid: The Musical (which should please his videogame sponsors). But there are hybrid gems aplenty elsewhere.

Opener Control Tower shows off its box of tricks early, showing that Wonder-styled singing can work with reggaefied sea shanty of chorus; D&D makes intriguing use of a sample of Herbs' Dragons and Demons in its discussion about media influences; the single 2D is a multiple personality tag-team of beats which might have been better named "ADD" but works despite itself; Mysterious Vibe comes on like Mystic Frequencies part II; and Not That Special has the sort of fizz that you usually hear on Missy Elliot hits.

But you do end up suspecting that, intriguing as much of it is, it's an album that might lack for easy access points, what with its askew arrangements and dense lyrics.

But adjusted to its multiple-personality mindset, it becomes compelling to hear him stretch the boundaries of Fu-music.

Label: Sony/BMG