This review is for two CDs, sold separately, but released simultaneously. "The Versions" is the instrumental version of "w/ the Artists", an 8 track dub/reggae/electronic music work of love by Berlin producers Mark Ernestus and Moritz von Oswald, who have been working on the right balance between minimal technoid electronica and roots reggae for many years. Recorded in Berlin, New York and Jamaica, "w/ the Artists" features vocals by Cornell Campbell, Jennifer Lara, Paul St. Hilaire, Shalom, the Chosen Brothers, Jah Batta and Love Joy. Altough I would usually tend to prefer an instrumental version of a record like this I must say that the vocal record is not too bad. It actually flows smoothly and the sweet singing parts are pleasing to listen to.

Wow, this is a cool idea I have never seen before: an electronic music xmas holiday record! Yeah, that's the spirit! I can definitely get back into the holiday vibe with this one. OM records artists from all over the world have taken it upon themselves to re-work, remix, re-write festive originals in electronic, drum'n'bass, electro-funky versions. Kaskade open the CD with their d'n'b/lounge/chill out version of "Peace On Earth"; Rithma go down the funky route with "Psycho Jingle Funk"; Late Night Alumni's "Signs of the Morning" is all jazzy, loungy and lush; "Winter Wonderland" is left up to Sutro Heights who seek a balance between '50es pleasantville choirs and electronica and take the minimal rhodes/wurlitzer and female vocals duo to new "heights"; the amazing Kaskade also take up "Still Still Still" and make more exciting lounge music with hints to the original orchestrations and a jazz guitar solo; "Charlie Brown Cut Up" by Colossus experiments with an unlikely but interesting mixture of church quire with organ and hip hop scratches with breakbeats; J Boogie's "Under the Christmas Tree" breaks out Santa's signature laugh and the bells and puts them in a scratchy funky picture; The Pleasant Grove Minstrels' "What Child is This" is melodic lounge-pop with breakbeats and minimal instrumentation; King Kooba's classic "O' Christmas Tree" is funky and distracting, while hitting the theme on the keys here and there in a jazzy fashion; Members Only do "Christmas Eve" with an upright bass (finally!), beats, processed vocals, string arrangments and that nice little theme played on a belly-sounding instrument and on a horn; and last but not least Casey Nefcy's "Psyonics Night" layer synth pads with deep bass lines and quasi hip hop beats for I am not sure which classic original... This is a great record, a great idea and, even besides the theme, a lot of good music is contained within it, so I suggest you get out the eggnog and prepare the fireplace to really enjoy the festivities this year! I just have one question: why no "Jingle Bells"? ;-)

The new album by prolific San Francisco based DJ and producer Galen Butler, aka Shakatura, fits perfectly into the spiritual and visionary catalogue of the record label Higher Octave (this CD comes out on their sub-label Cyber Octave). The word "Galactivation" refers to what Butler describes as «time to activate life as citizens of the galaxy on a galactic scale», so it's basically cosmopolitanism taken to the next level. Skakatura backs his globally-minded ideas with an equally global sound that organically meshes sounds and voices from all over the world with dubbed-out down tempo chill out, tribal, trance grooves. The blend is special and definitely effective. Beautiful album. All the compositions on "Galactivation" are originals, which you will hear him perform live, mixing them in with carefully selected tracks from around the world. Try to catch him during his residency at Groove Garden.

My hat goes off to this release for originality and quality. And if I say that (considering I am not a huge fan of MCs/dancehall/reggae) you gotta trust me on this one! Following their 2001 Different Drum debut EP "Killa", german DJ collective Al Haca Soundsystem pulled off a beautiful release that elegantly and exquisitely blends the rough and edgy roots of dancehall/reggae/hip hop/dub with the smooth and sophisticated sonics of electronica, ambient, trip hop and even occasional glitchy/experimental/noise music. The guest MCs come from all over the world and include Sizzla, Mr. Dead, Ras MC T-Weed, Farda P, Mr. V, RQM, He-Man, so expect them to be all over the map, ranging from the original jamaican style (like Sizzla or He-Man) to the style you'd hear during a new york city underground drum'n'bass nights with Jojo Mayer/Nerve (like RQM) or the machine-gun-word-spitting style, or from the Brooklyn hip hop style (like Mr. Dead) to the hip classy Darryl Jennifer-sounding minimal and narrative MCing (like the ecelctic and outstanding Ras Mc T-Weed) or the Tricky-type spoken word style. The album feels a little long to me but it's worth listening to.

Originally released by producer Youth's Butterfly Studios' sub-label Liquid Sound Design and now re-released by Cyber Octave (sub-label of Higher Octave) and licensed by cult label Dragonfly records, "Mana Medicine" has become sort of a cult record in the undeground scenes of New Zeland, Japan and Europe. Featuring Jairamji, Ott, Tripswitch, Grey Beard and Noodreem (from the UK), Drift and Lisa Walker (from Canada), Angel Tears (from Israel) and Zen Lemonade (from Australia), "Mana Medicine" is one of the most gorgeous sounding examples of ethnic dub ambient I have heard this year. The artists portray their cultural and geographical background within the tracks thus making it a special and unique release where ambient electronica merges with dub reverbs and delays, fusion/jazz hits here and there, organic grooves, ethereal sonics and ethnic references such as rain forest sounds, middle eastern flavors, flamenco guitars... Chill out, soulful, dreamy, trippy, mystical, relaxing, warping and wrapping, in other words close to a master piece. Think of a mixture of Conjure One, Muslimgauze, Echo, Rebro, Boards of Canada, and throw a bunch of super talented UK producers in this with their chill-out trance music and you'll be somewhat close... Jairamji's opening track and Angel Tears' closing one are probably my favourites! Get this right away!