(Ahead/Stomp)

One of the most respected names in dance music makes a return to the compilation market with the first release in a new series titled Trans-Atlantik. The release comes from new label Ahead music which was started by trance veteran Scott Bond who is highly respected and acclaimed DJ and producer. Slinky as a brand now enjoys a huge following and familiarity around the world starting at its roots as a club night in Bournemouth in the UK and now the brand has expanded to being nothing short of a global phenomenon in the dance scene. The compilation consists of a 3 cd set mixed by Dave Lea (Hard Dance), Scott Bond (Trance) & Tim Lyall (Chunky House & Techno Breaks). The value packed release contains tracks from names such as Dave Holmes, Lab 4, Paul Van Dyk, Armin Van Buuren, James Talk and many more.

Disc 1 kicks off on a house and breaks vibe mixed by Slinky resident Tim Lyall. This experienced DJ has been in the industry for 13 years and his experience and depth shows through nicely in this disc both in terms of quality mixing and tidy track selection. The moods builds from ambient breaks and slowly builds to include some tasty acid house such as James Talk – Eggs Are Cute and Burns – See Me Fall (Matthew Dekay & Proluctors Mix). The last few tunes finish off on a more driving note with the highlight being the melodic goodness of Probspot – Blueberry and a stormer from Drumatic Twins titled Rock Steady. It was definitely a surprise to hear such quality house tunes on what I thought would be a predominantly trance oriented cd.

Disc two slams down the progressive trance sound of trance veteran Scott Bond, who presents a healthy serving of new and recent releases from some huge names in the scene. Kicking off with the beautiful Tilt – The World Doesn’t Know he builds the progressive vibe of the mix with tracks such as his own production Scott Bond & Solarstone – Red Line Highway and the tasty Randy Katana – In Silence (Txitxarro Mix). The solid mix concludes with some more driving numbers such as Dogzilla – Your Eyes and Fire & Ice – Para Siempre (Woody Van Eyden Remix).

The third disk pumps up the volume and intensity with its offerings of hard dance and techno mixed courtesy of long standing Slinky DJ Dave Lea who recently headlined the Slinky promotional event here in Sydney. This disk kicks off with the percussive madness of Hertz – Breaker and then lays down a number of slamming tunes such as Armin Vs. M.I.K.E. – Intruder, Nick Sentience – Timescape and the crazy melodies of GTR – Flood Control. As the mix develops the sound gets harder and tougher so fans of hard dance will enjoy this third disk.

Overall, this brand new 3CD box set will be an excellent addition to your cd collection. It is most definitely good value seeing as it is jammed full of quality tracks spanning a number of genres such as trance, tech, hard dance, house and breaks and is mixed superbly throughout. We can only hope there will be a Slinky festival to go along with it. If you are fan of previous Slinky releases you will no doubt find enjoyment somewhere throughout the compilations three disks; highly recommended.