Wrapped in a designer grimy cardboard cover that apes the appearance of Industrial Rock albums, the London Sinfonietta’s disc is a laudable attempt to persuade twenty-somethings that new-music gigs are hip. Arrangements and transcriptions of electronica from Warp Records mainstays Aphex Twin and Squarepusher are juxtaposed with iconic modernist and minimalist evergreens. Aphex Twin’s (aka Richard D James) Prepared Piano Pieces are heard alongside Cage’s Sonatas and Interludes, while Squarepusher’s (Tom Jenkinson) music is supposedly contextualised by Varèse’s Ionisation and Ligeti’s Chamber Concerto. But, good as the intentions are, the reality is less appealing.

The aspirations of cultural relativists usually trip up when the quality of the work gets revealed. Aphex Twin and Squarepusher are resourceful and creative soundscapists in their natural habitat; but when their sounds are formalised by conventional notation and performed by musicians with conservatoire backgrounds the compromise is a step too far. Composers Kenneth Hesketh and David Horne view Warp Records originals through the narrow sound world of institutionalised contemporary music. One-time clear harmonies are blurred with post-Darmstadt chromatic clutter, and attempts to make the Sinfonietta rock over a funk beat as an encore is like watching Prince Charles moonwalk.

Ligeti’s Chamber Concerto (conductor unmarked – the pop bandwagon is no respecter of status) gets a finely balanced performance, and Cage’s First Construction bites. However, the stiff performance of Reich’s Violin Phase is alarming, while a disastrous rendition of Ionisation ignores the inner subtleties of Varèse’s writing. This album might provide some answers but seems oblivious to the questions.