I sit here, facing the wall of a converted conference room, now stuffed with temps busily shuffling papers, stapling, clipping, stapling and clipping. I diverge from everybody else, reading the fertile crescent that is the liner notes to Deeper Concentration 2. My headphones are plugged in, my head is bobbing.

Tim Haslett, the author of these liner notes, has got somethin' to say. Reeking of urban credibilty, he describes the musical contents of DC2 with phrases like "furious and unpredictable cross- pollination" and "sophisticated trickery." High expectation to fufill, dont'cha know?

I've gotten cozy with DC2. Upon first listen, the disc was immediately recognizable as something that didn't belong in my "sell for used" CD stack. But I've since come to realize just how finger- lickin' good this album really is. First, it's stocked with a cast of DJs that run the gamut from "he that possesseth turntable rep galore" to "who?" (After having already enjoyed a week of blissful groove to DC2, I was pleasantly surprised to see the names DJ Spooky, DJ Rob Swift and Mix Master Mike in the liner notes.) Secondly, the combination of dub-heavy beats, bad-ass samples and juicy hip-hop just rolls so easily from start to finish. Few tracks jump out of the global vibe, giving DC2 solid continuity that few electronic compilations can compete with.

Looking back to the liner notes, there's no doubt that this record has surpassed the expectations set by Haslett's gushing. I am a believer, I hear the word, the groove, and the easygoin' vibe. And it's DC2.

-James P. Wisdom