In the mid-1980s, a lot of music professionals and session musicians from jazz, pop, and jingles began manufacturing instrumental moods under the rubric of New Age music. Cusco is one of those groups. The band"s founders, Michael Holm and Kristian Schulze, are guns for hire and refugees from German "60s and "70s pop music. Named for Cuzco, the ancient Incan city of Peru, Cusco has all the elements that turned New Age into an industry trend. The sound includes lots of synthesizers, perky rock-funk rhythms, and enough sampled panpipes to provide virtual plumbing for all of Berlin. For every Andean-inspired piece like "Montezuma" and "Waters of Cesme," there"s also a cornball workout like "Didjeridoo," which subjugates this aboriginal instrument to an arrangement right out of Easy Listening 101. The Best of Cusco draws from seven of their first eight American releases, including the popular Apurimac and Cusco 2000. --John Diliberto