In the Autumn of 1996 four like-minded musicians got together to form an egalitarian musical collective called Sofa Surfers. Right from the start they committed themselves completely to the DIY ethos. Essentially, Sofa Surfers are the product of the technological revolution of the late 80s and early 90s that democratised the means of producing music. Now as much as then, they have been sleep-walking on their own instinctive route between dub aesthetics, breakbeat science and traces of their rock background. On Sofa Surfers third album ?Encounters? this diversity shows not only in their music but also in their approach to the production and their collective chemistry. While their debut album ?Transit?(1997) amounted more or less to a collection of singles combined with a playful eclectic spirit and a simultaneous seriousness about dub, breakbeats and electronica, their follow-up ?Cargo?(1999) added a more precise focus to their musical vision. By now, they had entered an altogether different league. With ?Encounters? Sofa Surfers are taking an even bigger step forward. Around the time that Sofa Surfers started work on ? Encounters? a neo-conservative backlash hit their native Austria. By the time the album was finished, they had formulated a forceful and lively riposte to the country`s political mood.?Encounters? is testament to a global understanding of individual identities, defying any notion of borders as artists hailing from lots of different cultures meet to create a musical statement against all kinds of xenophobia. The way Sofa Surfers interact with different artists on ?Encounters? is based on the comparatively young tradition of making music together across great geographical divides. Ideas and basic concepts are sent out to vocalists who in turn add their lyrics. Each track grows and takes shape as it is sent to and fro between the band and their collaborators. Some of them are old friends, others have brought new influences into the bands musical spectrum, amongst them east-coast shooting stars Sensational and Dalek as well as fully-fledged legends like Junior Delgado and Mark Stewart. Even though some of the tracks have been created in collaboration with artists that belong to the spoken word/oral culture scene, ?Encounters? is no hip hop album, nor would it aim to be perceived as such. More than that, it represents the next logical step towards an open artistic process in which rap functions as a universal medium of cultural expression. Rap becomes the rhetoric of intercultural exchange, thouroughly questioning all notions of national identity and territorial thinking. At their live gigs, Sofa Surfers use visuals by Vidok.org that contrast with their own loosely choreographed stage performance. They appear as a collective without frontman or focal point, very much akin to the tradition of the sound-system; tracks dissolve into each other to the point where everything blurs into one continuous performance. The band throw themselves into the remix and create a seam less set that resembles the dynamics of a DJ set, even though it is created live on stage.