How do you to take the origins of the 80?s Dancehall sound, rhythms deep rooted in Reggae, and bring it into the 21st century? Even more importantly, how do you include the new technologies and mentality of today?s music makers in such a way that you do not dilute or lessen the strength of the original sound and source? ?Phase 3? sways away from being orderly and logical; it is light years from being systematic and methodical, but some how, the meeting of Stereotyp and the Al Haca sound system achieves and succeeds in finding the right routes and channels to bring European Dancehall and Ragga into the present and the future, while still paying ample respect for the days gone by. What you are listening to, is unlike anything else in the record shop where you bought it. ?Phase 3? as mentioned, is far from the safe and mentally sound. Ever the experimentalists, musical scientists, both Stereotyp and Al Haca carry advanced knowledge of the different genres and musical styles; hence the act of conducting controlled aural tests and musical investigations are sometimes pushed to the point of no return. What you are listening to, could in fact, be the edge of the musical envelope you could say. Even Ragga developed in the '80s as Raggamuffin, a hybrid style featuring a DJ or Sing-Jay half-singing, half-rapping, got noted for being unsafe within the confines of Reggae. The Casio keyboard, the synthesized rhythms and digital instrumentation, the rapid-fire toasting all made for uneasy listening unless of course you were Kingston ghetto youth. ?Phase 3? breaks even more boundaries and sound limits, and takes digital dancehall data into a whole new era. The poorly populated city districts have been there before, and the younger generation will once again have no problems relaying to the accumulated knowledge of the musical and lyrical contact. This time though, it will probably be the Paris, London, and Berlin youth !It was after the bizarre and non compromising single on Stereo Deluxe records that the meeting of Stereotyp and Microfish (a close musical connection to the Al Haca sound system), was worthy of notice and attention. The trips from North Eastern Germany to Vienna became more frequent and the experiments really turned inwards and forwards. A true meeting of the musical minds, with knob twiddling as the focus of the art form. Stereotyp meets Microfish became Stereotyp meets Al Haca and the series of small twists and turns on the control panels got greater and more profound. With ground breaking, genre bending albums like ?My Sound? (Stereotyp) and Inevitable (Al-Haca Sound System) firmly established for such luminary labels as G-Stone recordings and Different Drummer, it was time once again to tear up the rule book and continue the passion for unnatural musical science in the sound laboratories of Vienna and Greifswald. ?Phase 3? is more then just a modern day or futuristic dancehall experiment. It digs deeper into downtempo and dub then most downtempo or dub albums actually do. Its electronica aesthetic rather than the more dancefloor dancehall orientation gives clues to the origins of Stereotyp and the Al Haca sound system, hence, making it a perfect addition to the roster of Klein records, the true experimental label of Vienna. Included in the experiments are the well known ingredients of Daddy Freddy, one of the founding fathers of fusing organic and electronic Ragga. Also appearing is Lady Saw, the first lady of Dancehall, who?s X rated attitude can mix it up with the best of Jamaica's rudest bwoys. In fact the ingredients range from far and wide. RQM from the street corner poetry set of New York, Ras T-W**d from the blessed UK?s ?Overproof Sound system?. Many more contribute to the operations asked of them.?Phase 3? is exploratory to say the least. It examines just how far you can go with the origins of a style and a sound. Most musical experiments fail to find, but ?Phase 3? is exempt and delivers the results asked of the examiners on every count. An experiment others will be following I?m sure. Alan Brown, (Soul Seduction, Vienna)