If there was ever a question about the quality of locally produced electronica matching international standards, then this year has shown us just what Brisbane is capable of.

With a succession of highly innovation and well produced records released on a variety of major and independent labels, 2000 has seen Brisbane's electronic music community truly come into a new era of maturity.

Among the electronic groups here. Soma Rasa have always been one of the real stand-outs. Produced in the Hazard brothers' home studio, their debut full length release, I Mix Therefore I Am sees the group's sonic melting pot finally taking a solid form.

Although the record features 15 tracks, the duo - Dan and Bill Hazard - are far from having their entire back catalogue of material recorded.

"I think we have something like 20 songs just sitting on our computers here," Dan explains. "We kept writing new sets all the time between tours and a lot of those songs are still just sitting on the computer, not having much done to them."

An artist who has added to the Soma Rasa equation was NYC designer and sculptor Richard Brogue, whose work has been seen throughout the pages of the New York Times and on the album covers of acts such as Meat Beat Manifesto. Adding a strong visual element to Soma Rasa's music, Borge's image choice seems perfectly aligned.

"Having someone on the other side of the planet that you've never met before doing you artwork's pretty cool," Dan laughs. "I really got to know Richard well too because we spoke a few times. I was just looking at the Meat Beat Manifesto site and saw his link from there and went and checked it out. I have always been into his artwork, so to have him offer to do the art was a great thing for us.

LAWRENCE ENGLISH.