Flying season's coming up. Lots of you leave town during the holidays, I've noticed — visiting far-flung relatives, going skiing on slopes alien to you, or simply trying to sock it to that old rat bastard, Seasonal Affective Disorder. I'll be leaving town with you this winter (see reasons number one and three), and I have to tell you, I have an inexplicable love of airports. I have entire folders on my MP3 player devoted to what I've dubbed, in the spirit of Brian Eno, "Music for Concourses" — instrumental tracks of varying speed and temperament, ranging from lounge-lizard chill-outs to spacy ambient tracks to driving techno. And bridging the gaps between these radically different genres — taking me from Boards of Canada to Frank Comstock — is Seattle's Benjamin Bethurum. He's got every part of my journey scored to perfection: the rush to the gate (the Asian-flavored, propulsive "Bullet Train Counter Point"), the inevitable trip to the cocktail lounge (the quietly menacing, James Bond-worthy "The Course Of") and even the seemingly endless hours spent staring out on the tarmac, watching those little trucks drive recklessly around ("Fluffy Bunny").

If I make his music sound like it's bloodless, mechanical or suitable only for mixes, that's not my intent. The basic fact of the matter is that Bethurum makes some of the most passionate, most human electronic music I've heard. I would place his work beside that of Squarepusher's Tom Jenkinson and pop-techno pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre with little hesitation. Bethurum's got two fantastic records, 2003's "Ubiquity" and the recently released "Versavice," either of which provide a solid introduction to his talents. (Check out some MP3s from his albums.) And his live shows (played with a "Collective" that includes terrific bassist Evan Flory-Barnes and savvy DJ Jacedo) aren't timid, introspective affairs; they're tear-the-roof-off-the-sucka throwdowns guaranteed to rock your booty on several levels, both obvious and subliminal.

Still, for my purposes, Benjamin Bethurum is a soundtrack giant in search of an epic vision. His music makes any life, no matter how dull, into a living, breathing tale of intrigue. And if you're going to imagine that you're a spy, there's no better place to do so than at the airport, where you have lots of time to sit, listen and dream stuff up.

See the Bethurum Collective:
Nectar, Nov. 3, with Beehive
TosT, Nov. 16, with Lucy Bland

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