As fond of Robert Wyatt and Kevin Ayers (both of whom appear on their second LP) as they were Brian Eno and Kraftwerk, Canterbury duo Paul Hammond and Ian Cooper’s use of found sounds, acoustic instruments and light, jazzy textures minted a distinctly pastoral strand of electronica in the early 90s. 1992’s Every Man And Woman Is A Star is the pair’s defining statement; an acid house chillout spent lying in the long grass watching the clouds drift by and the sunlight catch on a nearby stream. Be it the collision of 808 squelches, meandering sax and curlicues of 12-string guitar on “Pansy,” the lazy drift of “Honey” or the blissful, Echo And The Bunnymen-sampling wash of “Weird Gear,” Every Man And Woman Is A Star is a landmark release which the likes of Boards Of Canada, Four Tet and any artist ever labelled ‘folktronica’ still draw from.

Just as the hippie rave aesthetic of the early-mid 90s — with all its portentous VR references and dense layers — was taking shape, this beauty arrived and almost rendered everything else obsolete. Incorporating acid lines that were way more deftly tweaked than 99% of their contemporaries into gorgeously played acoustic guitars, woodwinds, loping beats, nature sounds and references back to bohemian generations past (voiceovers from new age gatherings, a vocal from Kevin Ayers), the duo of Ian Cooper and Paul Hammond created the absolute perfect encapsulation of a perfect, hopeful ecstasy sunrise.