The release has been out for a while, but UK programmer and multi-instrumentalist Will "Quantic" Holland deserves a second look. He’s the downtempo chillout answer to Prince: simply meticulous in his selection of sounds. And like Hollywood actors of yesteryear, he also does his own stunts.

His latest release An Announcement to Answer scales back that Tricky/Massive Attack trip-hop feel of 2002's Apricot Morning and 2004's Mishaps Happening in favor of something far warmer, robust and full of organic mystique.   While Quantic's fourth effort does offer a couple doses of that breakbeat giddiness (“Bomb in a Trumpet Factory,” “Blow Your Horn”), those cuts are all that remain of early heroics.

Instead, An Announcement to Answer emphasizes sensual charm, world music awareness and vintage jazz vibe sophistication of Verve's Remixed series.  

When he focuses on loose, jazzy atmospherics, his creations simply overflow with resonance. From stout, sprinkled loops and resplendent horns, to the Asian-infused strings on “Absence Heard, Presence Felt” set the tone for some fabulous world-beat grooves, Brazilian jazz, and electronica that simply envelop the listener. A St. Germain-Mr. Scruff-Fila Brazillia studio session just wouldn’t yield this kind of thrill.   

The best moments of An Announcement to Answer could be “Tell It Like You Mean It” and “Meet Me at the Pomegranate Tree,” both of which emote everything from island flair and Latin/Puerto Rican jazz to sheer cosmopolitan cool found in a New York ultra lounge. Best of all, it sounds like this guy Quantic's Sign o' the Times is still to come.