A record by Oren Ambarchi is always instantly recognisable, even if the instrument he is using to create it isn't. Aside from his collaborations with some of the loudest artists on earth (Sunn O))), Merzbow, Keiji Haino), Ambarchi's deep solo explorations of the less commonly-harnessed sonic possibilities of the electric guitar have resulted in some quietly engrossing releases on the Touch label: 2001's Suspension, 2004's Grapes From The Estate and 2007's In The Pendulum's Embrace. While pattern spotters will already be getting excited about the possibility of a new Ambarchi album in 2010, Touch are taking the time to collect together some of the fragments of the Ambarchi catalogue which escaped their curatorial reach this decade.Despite the eight year gap between the first and last pieces on this collection, and the fact that some are live recordings and some were created in the studio, Intermission 2000-2008 flows pretty well, thanks to those trademark Ambarchi sounds. The album begins and ends with Tibetan singing bowl, but in between an intense hum pervades, occasionally punctuated with electrical contact click, as if one is hearing the thoughts of a sentient machine from the inside. Over this framework, intriguing details are meticulously arranged; the intimidatory atmospheres of 'Initimidator' are occasionally broken by prepared piano clatter from Anthony Pateras, while 'A Final Kiss On Poisoned Cheeks' (originally released on gorgeous etched blue vinyl by Table of the Elements) is pockmarked by swirling feedback and radio tones. As is typical from Ambarchi, from these dark, claustrophobic and abstract settings, bursts of melody occasionally emerge, creating surprising juxtpositions. 'Iron Waves' features -most unpredictably - vocals from Ambarchi himself, whilst album highlight 'The Strouhal Number' twinkles delicately over a background of distant explosions, as if we were listening to the bombs dropping on Iraq from a spot by a swimming pool across the border in a Saudi hotel.Such eye for detail elevates this collection from being one for Ambarchi completists to being an excellent introduction to his work, one for sonic fetishists everywhere.Intermission 2000-2008 is available now from Touch.