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Artist: JOHNNY CASH
Title: AMERICAN IV: THE MAN COMES AROUND
Label: American recordings/Lost Highway
Link: www.americanrecordings.com
Root: US/Country Folk
The original man in black poses as the ultimate impostor for this fourth collection of covers and personal classics revisited for American Recordings under the guidance of industry Guru/ producer Rick Rubin. With the commanding voice of a clan's patriarch holding on to the last sunrises and sunsets of his life, Johnny Cash finds solace in others songwriting, making their songs his own, and does so with little more than his shivering baritone and a guitar, turning Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" into a gospel anthem, transforming the agony of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" into a song of redemption in the face of addiction, and so disposes at will of Paul Simon's "Bridges Over Troubled Water" (with backing vocals by Fiona Apple), Sting's "I hung My Head", while Don Henley lend his voice for backings on "Desperado", and Nick Cave drops in for an unlikely duet on Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry". Challenged by illness and old age, every new Cash album could be his last, his soul bear on every verse and chorus, the measure of each songs a weary but still beating heart. His inevitable demise looms gravely at both ends of the record. The opening track: "The Man Comes Around", an account of Cash's own personal dealings with damnation, God and an impending Judgement Day, then finishes by breaking the spell of introspection and solitude with the whole Cash family joining on the chorus of "We'll Meet Again". There, he grants himself the luxury to carve his own epitaph with the words of others.

Artist: DJ MARK FARINA
Title: MUSHROOM JAZZ 4
Label: Om Records
Link: www.omrecords.com
Root: US/ Downtempo-Hip Hop
Few DJs are known to excel in different genres with range and versatility like Mark Farina. The Mushroom Jazz series picks up where his early namesake 1990's club left off, the place that first pioneered the mad blunted jazz sound, a blend of hip hop breaks, blues and soul roots, with a healthy dose of jazz, R&B and dub vibes, with the incidental overlaying of spoken words. Not content to just select and beat match records, Farina, third in the holly trinity of maestros that includes DJ Krush and DJ Cam, is a true turntablelist. Crafting a journey out of layers upon textures of flavor, moods and tone from multiple sources, one cannot distinguish were one record begins and the other one ends. Remarkably, this 4th. installment not only lives up to its predecessors, but outperforms them as well with a mix as flawless as it is inspirational, void of club hits and unraveling the unexpected, the unexplored with an unmistakable sensitivity all his own. The great news for those now discovering the Mushroom Jazz series, is the possibility to seek prior volumes and grasp the magnitude of DJ Mark Farina's imprint on the urban soundscape.

Artist: VARIOUS ARTISTS
Title: DREAM THERAPY (A global adventure in subconscious beats)
Label: Quango Records
Link: www.quango.com
Root: Various/ Downtempo-Ambient Electronica
It used to be for the most part of the nineties, that Los Angeles would bask into a stream of psychosonic alpha waves every Thursday from midnight to 3a.m. Bruno Guez, the mad scientist behind the dream inducing program "Short Waves" on KCRW, abandoned the airwaves to pursue loftier goals through his label Quango, now an ancestral figure in the history of the US electronic scene. Dream Therapy comes as part of the latest batch offerings dubbed "A global adventure" and finds Guez doing what he does best: compile a selection of downtempo gems into a dream sequence for over stimulated metropolitan urbanites in the pure tradition of earlier Quango releases "A journey into Ambient Grooves" and "Dimensions In Ambiance". The expert psycho-navigation is mostly dubbed infused with layers of afro to latin beats insidiously breaking through vaporous space, with Richard Dorfmeister (on the remix tip for Fila Brazillia and Professor Oz), as well as Howie B, Basement Jaxx, I:Cube and Starseeds to name a few. This is New Age music that doesn't suck, escapes the elevator shaft and dares to be sexy, all the while breaching consciousness to induce hypnotic pleasure. Cheaper than your shrink or a trip to the Ashram.

Artist: JAMES LAVELLE
Title: GLOBAL UNDERGROUND: BARCELONA
Label: Global Underground /Boxed
Link: www.global-underground.com
Root: Global Underground /Boxed
The debate over weather or not dance music is on the decline as a cultural phenomenon could find new vigor in Global Underground's new release Barcelona. The most respected mixed compilation series in the world, matching the biggest name DJs with the fastest moving metropoles, creates a vibrant testimony and historical account of the otherwise ephemerous nature of DJ sets in clubland. Enters James Lavelle, the founder of Mo'Wax records who gambled over the talents of then unknown DJ Shadow, Air, Nightmares On Wax, Howie B and countless "headz", who at one point or another had a release on the legendary label. Add for substance being one half of U-N-K-L-E, the hybrid prototype that fused hip hop breaks with the rock sensibility of Radiohead's Tom York, The Verve's Richard Ashcroft, Stone Roses lead-man Ian Brown as well as DJ Shadow and the Beastie Boys' Mike D, making one of the most progressive album of the late 20th. century. There's more to James Lavelle long list of credit, but when this eccentric englishman put his vinyl case down on June 21st. In Barcelona's Nitsa Club, he gave his audience a night to remember. Lavelle's leftfield progressive approach is a departure for G.U. and more straight forward genre defining mixes. More eclectic and bold than brand name DJs, he creates relationships between sub genres, from breaks to house to downtempo to tribal to electro to rock, that others wouldn't dare to explore, mix matching Sasha with The Doves, Leftfield, FC Kahuna, Layo and Bushwacka, DJ Shadow, Uberzone, Ian Brown and countless stalwarts of the dance world. Then again, if you are know for creating hybrids, it allows you the kind of freedom of expression that make "Barcelona" a unique and evolutive DJ mix, which if brought back in the context of the initial argument, demonstrates that dance music will only generate this type of excitement and stay relevant if it breaks away from the formats in which it pigeonholed itself.

Artist: FLUNK
Title: FOR SLEEPYHEADS ONLY
Label: Guidance Recordings
Link: www.33rpm.com
Root: Norway/Downtempo-Pop-Folk-Electronica
At last, Astralwerks no longer has the monopoly on Norwegian import. Flunk is the latest offering from the country that brought us the talents of Royksopp, Kings Of Convenience and Sondre Lerche (see prior reviews). To shamelessly cover the single that sold the most records ever, New Order's "Blue Monday" into a cool minimalist electronica folk anthem was the only flag the 3 piece combo needed to wave to get worldwide attention. Moving passed this blunt and obvious maneuver, Flunk opens a musical landscape of blurred perception, where funky downtempo grooves, dubbed basslines, new wave keyboards and acoustic guitars become the playground for the icy vocal contortions of nordic marvel Anja Oyen Vister, which bears remarkable resemblance to Bjork and Emiliana Torrini. Served tastefully chilled, not frozen, For Sleepy Headz Only is full of deja-vu and doesn't shy away from paying tribute to what ultimately inspired its creation, but takes the experience to the next evolutionary step, merging pop-alternative and electronica with an all encompassing sensibility. Flunk, and Norway at large, might find itself at the forefront of the next big thing, a new wave of revolutionary talent set to topple every old pre-conceived notion about music, which is exactly what New Order did in its time.

Artist: FATBOY SLIM and MIDFIELD GENERAL
Title: BIG BEACH BOUTIQUE 2
Label: Southern Fried Records
Link: www.bigbeachboutique.com
Root: UK/Dance
On July 13th. 2002, 40.000 to 60.000 people were expected to gather on Brighton Beach, for the second annual Big Beach Boutique concert, with Norman Cook aka Fatboy Slim headlining the concert featuring big beat's other distinguished influential figure, Mindfield General, as well as John Digweed. 250.000 showed up for the party, making it the second largest spontaneous human gathering for a musical event since Woodstock. Police report showed only a below average number of 6 arrest for that day, and two death, one an accidental fall as revelers where living, and a 40 years old man who had too much fun for his ailing heart. In all, no one overdosed, fought or did more than party, get sun burned, dance and have the time of their lives.... Surreal considering the numbers. The amplitude of the event brought back memories of a time before the government cracked down on raves and confined dance culture to clubs they could monitor. But the party must end, and with little hope to see a policy change in effect any time soon, the only remaining positive effects of that day are found on this CD, less a proper mix than a grab bag crowd pleasing celebration which really takes you there, churning out beats over 17 tracks from Groove Armada, X-Press 2, Mint Royale, Lo Fidelity Allstars, Fatboy Slim, etc... all unavoidable dance anthems designed to make you tap your feet, make your booty boogie or have you leap in the air wishing you too could have been in that crowd. For that kind of fun in the sun, Norman Cook proved himself to be the ultimate master of ceremony. They might need a bigger beach next year.

Artist: DEATH IN VEGAS
Title: SCORPIO RISING
Label: BMG UK (Import)
Link: www.continorooms.com
Root: UK/Rock-Electronica
A DJ culture experiment turned Indie Rock, or vice versa, whatever mind trip Richard Fearless and Tim Holmes have been on, they are now deeper in it than on prior Death In Vegas albums. Much of the beat has dropped in favor of late 60's psychedelia complete with sitars, guitars and authentic Indian string arrangements, courtesy of violinist Dr Subramaniam. A stylistic exercise boasted by an allstar cast of vocalists who take center stage on Scorpio Rising, from Nicola Kuperus of Adult who scores the best new wave post punk hit with "Hands around my throat" since Nina Hagen fled to West Berlin, followed by an esoteric as ever Dot Allison (One Dove, Slam), Mazzy Star singer Hope Sandoval, moaning her way through a glorious psychedelic country- folk tribute to... herself, Liam Gallagher of Oasis, who finds himself temporarily rescued from his drunken tabloid life and resurrected as the prime British rock wonderboy on the title track, while old guard hero Paul Weller (The Jam, Style Council) honors the old guard before him by singing former Byrd Gene Clark's swan song to garage rock 'So You Say You Lost Your Baby'. Intertwined with experimental gems that detractors will dismiss as fillers, but bring DIV to its bare essential as a production duo made of raw guitar cords and a lot of knob tweaking. The ultimate irony in 2002, is that you have to rely on DJ's to make the greatest moral tempering, bad ass, drug infused rock record of the year.

Artist: WEEKEND PLAYERS
Title: PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS
Label: Multiply Records(Import)
Link: www.weekendplayers.com
Root: UK/ Downtempo Electronica
"Pursuit Of Happiness" might represent the furthest advance in human cloning as of yet. Combining the irresistible trademark sultriness of Sade with the typical british melancholy found in Everything But The Girl, Weekend Players have created the next hybrid monster of UK soul-pop. Not the side project of Andy Cato (Groove Armada) as initially reported, working here only as a producer with a chilled-out groove methodology that by far outdoes anything his band ever did. It's jazz trained singer Rachel Foster's soulful vocal expansion and song writing that seduces, intoxicates and gives the album its sexy, blissful identity. A cure for any bad case of gloom, the good vibes are generously dispensed with the warmth of an endless summer. Rachel Foster however is quick to defend the pseudo hedonistic philosophy behind her music for not being just happy-happy-joy-joy neo-hippy utopia, but more akin to soul awakening, offering an artistic path to self-awareness and empowerment. The message even if futile, makes the connection and is delivered on a fresh slice of pure heaven, as an antidote to an ever expanding Big Brother world and a naive reminder that the pursuit of happiness is and must remain at all cost, an unalienable human right.

Artist: DOT ALLISON
Title: WE ARE SCIENCE
Label: Mantra Recordings
Link: www.mantrarecordings.com/dotallison
Root: UK/Rock-Electronica
In the grand mythology of electronica, there is an unspoken admission to the epic origins of all the moody, swooning keyboard lines that once belonged to countless bands on the darker side of post punk new wave. Even back in the mid eighties, New Order led a pack of acts that were bluring genre definition between rock, pop and dance. Through the nineties, this creative zest pool evolved in very separate categories obeying to market demand and formats dictated by underground scenes. Scottish born Dot Allison, known for her musing with One Dove and countless guest appearances on dance tracks by the likes of Slam, reconnects with the notion that a hybrid mix of styles makes for richer blood. Her second love child, "We are science", is infectious like venom, moody and dark like a gothic eyeliner, but her trademark ethereal vocals escape shoe gazing by providing the angelic uplift. One note of the mermaid's spellbinding chant causes drowning into oceans of introspection, brooding lament and breathy incantation. Electro guru Felix Da Housecat and Slam offer two stellar remixes, while guitars, drums, bleeps and other unidentified noises are orchestrated to perfection into a new and original proposition: for the eighties to reincarnate in spirit with exciting new forms as opposed to a retro five minutes fad.

Artist: DUB PISTOLS
Title: Y4K-NEXT LEVEL BREAKS
Label: Distinct'ive Breaks
Link www.dubpistols.org and www.distinctiverecords.com/y4k
Root: UK/Nu Breaks
Remember the word "fun"? If not here's a joyful reminder. What makes a great dance mix is the ability for the DJ to pack the action with great selections and a flair for daring twists and turns. Leading this this new Y4K grand demolition derby is Dub Pistols frontman Barry Ashworth, known for his fusion of sounds built on tough breakbeats extracted from hip-hop, ska, reggae, punk and soul. Tossing 14 tracks into the mix for an unescapable ass shaking experience, Ashworth unloads all the heavy weaponry for his very first mix compilation, and brings dance music out of the bore into the core. Forget all that sell out "tikky-tikky-ince-ince" trance stuff, the true underground flavor of unexpected sounds that make the hair stand on your back lives within this lesser known but worthy series which some aficionados claim to be the only one that matters.

Artist: VARIOUS ARTISTS
Title: INHOUSE VOLUME III MODERN HOUSE SOUNDS FROM DEEPEST GERMANY
Label: E:Motion
Link: www.efa-medien.de
Root: Germany/House-Downtempo
Let's take aim at the title of this otherwise excellent compilation. Passing by endless rows of Mercedes Benz and Beemers on the autobahn, beyond the green pastures and the rolling hills, in the thick of the darkest forests, through the wooden doors of the local gasthoff, there you will find in his ledderhosen... a DJ spinning house music as if he was Wagner composing the Niebelungen. Not quite an October Fest traveling brochure either. What then is Deepest Germany? A nation under the groove perhaps, which after enduring a decade of lobotomy by way of ultra cheesy techno, barely escaped a gothic heavy metal backlash by redefining its politics of dancing, sampling jazz, soul and funk and latin rhythms, to create a new emerging house scene in the process. Think of it as the German response to the San Francisco scene (minus Lisa Shaw), churning out unabashed grooves with a bit of Detroit techno for industrial appeal, and a zest of electro-disco for good measure. Inhouse is a disposable guilty pleasure worthy of discovery, with a nack for unhearthing talents that won't be heard anywhere else.