Techno veteran Russ Gabriel (who directed his Ferox label for eight years) has been venturing into the nu-jazz world for some time now, most notably with recent singles on the consistent Out of the Loop imprint, which offers up this superb change of direction. Much like contemporary Ian O’Brien, Gabriel explores jazz-fusion in a dance context soaked in live instrumentation, as on tracks like “Patience,” a garage burner with syncopated percussion, steady horns and Corinna Joseph’s Beth Gibbons-esque croon. Unknown bursts forth, though, on tracks like the epic “We Will Be Turning,” whose soaring, layered vocals anchor fractured beats and thick, emotional strings, and “Offenbach West,” a tough Rhodes-fueled broken-beat jam with a fascinating chord progression that weaves in and out of dissonance. Unknown is a brilliant album from a man who has effortlessly made the transition from producer to musician.