Music Mosaic is a new label from the land down under and they have released a series of CD's since last year that "encourages all cultures and nations to live together respectfully on our planet Earth." All of their releases so far have been compilations that cover a different style of music and they proceed to present a worldview of that style of music by exposing us to a wide variety of practitioners of it from around the world. Lotus Groove, Didgeridoo Trance Dance, Healing Sounds and Inner Peace are some of the titles that they have released so far with each having a unique and distinct style of music being spotlighted.

While many of the artists that have been assembled in these packages may be unfamiliar to many of our readers there are those names that stand out immediately as very recognizable including the likes of Jai Uttal, Gabrielle Roth, Georgia Kelly, Steven Halpern, Kamal and Karunesh. These names do give you some idea of the range of styles that are covered in these collections but the one thing that I have learned about music is that great music comes from the those who don't have recognizable names as much as it does from the "stars" of any given genre.

Dance Planet is their latest effort in this ongoing series and it certainly lives up to its name. With pulsing beats and high energy on most of the cuts it carries the listener on a world wide journey into the land of trance, dance and world music. The music does not maintain a high trance level throughout as it moves from the beat driven synthesizer pieces to the flamenco dance stylings of Gypsy Moon's cut called Luna Piena. 

The driving hynotic beat of Watsi Watsi by Don Peyote on track 3 lets Dance Planet begin to reach the full potential of its title. Dominated by beats and rhythms this song reaches down into your soul and says get up out of your seat and move. At 7:37 (longest on the disc) there is ample time for this piece to take the listener on a trancing journey and bring them back. This is a stand out cut on this disc and Don Peyote's synthesizer work is top notch.

Other tracks that caught my attention as I moved through this eclectic collection of dance music  were Mirror by Chillum (track 8)  which kept my feet bouncing the whole time while the beat poured through my headphones in my late night listening session. Earth Dance Dreamtime opens the disc and it grabs your attention right away with its aboriginal sounds and persistent beat. And finally Shakuhaji Tales gives us Kamal at his trancey best. High marks for this percussion driven piece with some very interesting programmed instruments and some creative voice work that adds to the overall effect.

Dance Planet is a good CD and one that I would own but I could have wished for more continuity in the choice of the styles of music that were chosen to become part of this mix. Many of the tracks would be right at home in the middle of a good John Digweed set but there are a couple of tracks that just take the momentum and let it dissipate by moving the listener into a completely different frame of mind for a few minutes before taking them back to trance and dance land. This is a minor complaint though since most of the tracks keep you moving and grooving all the way through. Take a listen, I'm sure you will like what you hear.

Reviewed by Michael Foster for Ambient Visions