The Perth trance massive has been spoilt rotten of late with the visitation of some of the world’s biggest and brightest stars. The feast was set to continue on nicely with the arrival of Slinky at Metro City for their second visit this year. The event celebrated the Bournemouth superclub’s launch their brand new mix compilation; “Trans_Atlantik.” The serious trance lovers all around town eagerly awaited performances from Above & Beyond, Scott Bond, Dave Lea and Agnelli & Nelson. A memorable night of melodies and stomping beats was ensured!

“I can’t wait… for the weekend to begin” rang merrily from the speakers as the event kicked into gear. As more and more punters entered the enormous Metro City, the tunes went from deep house to progressive to some very tasty melodic trance courtesy of Adam Kelly and Kenny L. The crowd and intensity grew as the first trance anthem was dropped; “Bilingual” by Cosmic Gate. The eyebrows and arms lifted in appreciation of this dark and melancholy tech-trance stomper.

11:00 saw Tony McGuinness and Jono Grant a.k.a. Above & Beyond take to the stage amid some of the most spectacular visuals and lighting ever seen at Metro City. The lasers beamed across the venue and as if they weren’t stunning enough, the lightning looked fabulous as it cast all sorts of images up in the air above the dancefloor. The vast majority of the punters made their way to the floor to enjoy a feast of smooth and sumptuous trance.

In 1999 Jono Grant met with Pavo Siljamaki at Westminster University and together they created the Anjunabeats label. Tony McGuinness made up the trio and ever since they have created tunes that never leave the record boxes of DJ’s Armin van Buuren, Tiesto and Paul van Dyk. As a live duo they have taken some of the UK’s big and small club nights by storm, Slinky most definitely included.

The Perth Slinky Trans_Atlantik crowd was smallish in number but absolutely tremendous in appreciation of its music and friendly as all dance music crowds should be. It was impossible to find a face that wasn’t smiling on the dancefloor. Above & Beyond were clearly enjoying themselves as well, which is always great to see.

Tony and Jono (Paavo Siljamaki wasn’t in attendance) made way for Scott Bond with each receiving a rousing reception from the Slinky crowd. We all hope to see Above & Beyond again soon as they are without doubt at the top of the trance tree. Their set went by all too quickly.

Scott Bond, as we all know this man needs no introduction having conquered the UK trance scene with his work with Gatecrasher. Mr. Bond’s set earlier this year was a warm and drifty one however it didn’t get the crowd going quite like the selection of tunes that he put under the needle on this particular occasion. The crowd was set on fire with a true gem; Scott Bond vs. SolarStone’s “Red Line Highway.” This track is ideal testament to both Bond and SolarStone’s prowess in the studio as well as behind the turntables.

The tracks that succeeded “Red Line Highway” could easily restore the faith in trance for anyone whose interest in the sound might be depleting as the synth-lines rushed at the listener’s ears yet were marvelously melodic. “Jump the Next Train” by Young Parisians feat. Ben Lost kept those hands in the air as Scott Bond appeared to be having a hell of a lot of fun behind the wheels of steel.

The Slinky party kept a-rockin’ right up until 2am when Dave Lea was handed the reigns. As Bond was the spark behind the Gatecrasher phenomenon, Dave Lea has been the force behind Slinky. Lea is known for cooking up a storm behind the decks and he didn’t disappoint as he went on an energetic rampage of hard-edged trance. By this point the face of every crowd member had repetitive straining disorder from all that smiling!

Agnelli & Nelson were up next. A tough job was ahead of them to maintain the fantastic standards set by their predecessors Above & Beyond, Bond and Lea. They didn’t disappoint as a lovely and drifty set was presented to the small but well up for it Slinky crew. To couple the lavish tune selection, Agnelli and Nelson’s ability behind the turntables for the most part was second to none. (A couple of hiccups towards the end were easily forgivable.)

Agnelli & Nelson pumped out the original version of Loops N’ Tings which signaled an up-turn in the set’s energy. Swiftly following this track and others was the unforgettable classic; “Traffic” by Tiesto. No matter how many times this track is played in front of an ecstatic dancefloor, it always gets the same hands-in-the-air response.

An enormous applause followed Agnelli & Nelson as they left the decks once again to the more than capable hands of Adam Kelly and Kenny L. The crowd kept on grooving until the very end with a replay of a lovely tech-laden version of Jan Johnston’s timeless classic; “Skydive.” An enormous thankyou goes out to Above & Beyond, Scott Bond, Dave Lea, Agnelli & Nelson and the event organizers for putting on one of the trance events of the year. Special thanks must also go to Kenny L and the Metro’s crew for staging that stunning visual and lighting display. Overall, a luscious night of trance which none of its attendance will want to forget in a hurry !