Producers and artists put their music on websites such as the Internet Underground Music Archive and MP3.com. Listeners and selectors download the music and forward the vibe. MP3 Portals such as the Dubroom provide another angle of this "Cyber-Culture".

Needles to say that the Online Community also has an impact on the music itself. Online Collectives of every thinkable kind surely give music another dimension. If only because Cyberspace transcends the physical distances between talented like-minded people. 

Take Unity Riddim Sessions Volume One, for example.

Take producer JAH Servant, known from the VERSIONIST.com Riddim Community. He likes to hang around at places like the Caribbean Gospel Club and is a member of S.T.A.R. Network. His makes some very nice riddims in his studio, just waiting for a vocalist to come around. 

Online, this is possible. JAH Servant had already made some name at VERSIONIST.com and his riddims found their way to the vocalists at the Caribbean Gospel Club. The final recordings were taken to STAR Network's Mark Ragsdale, who handled the rest. Another "Unity Session" was born... 

Unity Riddim Sessions Volume One is a humble beginning in many ways.

The CD is released through S.T.A.R. Network. In this network you can find people like Yabby You's Webmaster and also DUBROOM.com's Messian Dread. Or vocalists, such as Zema and Wayne Stoddard. And producers, such as JAH Servant.  

STAR's Mark Ragsdale (JAH Mark) is happy with this first touchable release coming out of this network, which he so graciously holds together.

For JAH Servant, it's a next step as well. He made quite a name at the VERSIONIST.com Riddim Community, where producers develop and display their talents to very critical audience. But his tight and dubby riddims could withstand the criticism.

Psalm S150 DJ, couldn't be less happy with this gem as well. This is obviously the CD of his dreams! And why not? After all, he has a special relationship with the participants as he watched the project come into existence at a place he runs online.

He introduces the music in the liner notes. The liner notes reveal how JAH Servant and the vocalists came together in a group he formed on the Internet. PS150DJ is a Christian from the Caribbean and besides selecting music, he runs the Caribbean Gospel Group. 

URS1 is first and foremost a typical DJ album. It's a "Riddim Album". Four fundamental musical tracks, voiced by a variety of singers and some dubby versions.  

JAH Servant provided the four different riddims on which the vocalists sing and chant completely different melodies and lyrics. Although every track has his own vibe because of the different vocals, you must be able to stand 5 or 6 tracks in a row with the same drum and bassline. Or use the program function on your player to make your own selection every time.

There are some very nice tunes on the album. My favorites are Audrey Gordon's "Hide Away" and the subsequent Dub. JAH Servant's riddims are all very danceable. The DUB Versions are very clean and unfortunately don't break loose, but the riddims are tight.

When you want to support independent collaborations of online artists, go to the STAR Website and get this CD. Because it's the humble beginning of something that could become very interesting.