Guitarist Joe Satriani [ tickets ] will release a techno-futuristic guitar album, "Engines of Creation," on March 14, and has announced a five-week North American club tour for April and May.

"Engines of Creation" (Epic) sets the guitar technician in a new direction from his earlier solo rock guitar and G3 guitar trio adventures. Influenced by techno, ambient soundscapes and computer-assisted sound manipulation as used by groups like Crystal Method and Orbital, Satriani programmed drum tracks and synthesized keyboard loops, then soloed over them using synth effects, slides and a gamut of distortion techniques. (One track, the previously released radio single "Until We Say Goodbye," uses bass player Pat Thrall and ''Late Show'' drummer Anton Fig).

The album keeps to Satriani's all-instrumental tradition. Cuts like "Attack" and "Borg Sex"--with their Arabian scales, helicopter rotor-like sounds and extreme sustains--make the disc an apt soundtrack candidate for a fast-paced, sci-fi action flick, perhaps one in which a space station falls under terrorist attack. And given the use of slide guitar and one brief, humming tube-amp coda a la Keith Richards ("Champagne"), the movie could also feature a remote UFO research center in New Mexico or Texas.

According to his label, Satriani first developed the material in a studio at home, thinking it would be a side project. But friends and associates encouraged him to make a full-fledged album from his MIDI files, so he enlisted guitarist/producer Eric Caudieux to help him edit the material and give it form. Caudieux did programming and production work on Satriani's 1998 album "Crystal Planet" and 1997's "G3 Live."

For the tour, Caudieux will join Satriani on rhythm guitar and keyboards, supported by bassist Stu Hamm and drummer Jeff Campitelli, both of whom have worked with Satriani before.

Fans can download or stream two tracks ("Until We Say Goodbye" and "Borg Sex") from Satriani's official website.

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