Alongside his role in the now-defunct trio Cabaret Voltaire, Richard H. Kirk has managed an ambitious career as a solo musician, exploring a wide range of electronic and dance music under at least 30 different names (not including his own). The Number of Magic was Kirk's sixth solo album—though it marked his second LP on a young Warp Records, whose identity was taking shape with the release of the seminal Artificial Intelligence series. With a focus on sound processing and a complete unwillingness to settle into one typical genre, The Number of Magic runs from ambient techno to dub to jazz to ethno-funk. Yet it's remarkably cohesive and listenable, demonstrating a profound ability to find surprising new contexts for unusual source material.