The highly successful Bonkers series blisters ahead with its 15th release; this one entitled Legends of the Core. This compilation set utilises the duo format for all four CDs. In the past we’ve seen obvious pairings – Breeze & Styles, Dougal & Gammer – but Bonkers 15 surprises.

CD One features Raver Baby icons Hixxy and Re-Con. It opens with typical euphoric happy hard courtesy of Dreadhed ‘On Fire’. Fans of the Raver Baby formula – simple beats, carefree lyrics and an overall cheesy atmosphere – will easily identify with this CD. Watch out for the anthem ‘Love Comes’ – this track is guaranteed to get hands raised and people hugging. Check out the tidy breakdown which kicks off ‘We Can Do It’ – pity it’s so short. This track has more attitude than your average happy hard fare. Another quality track is Re-Con’s ‘Pull Over’. It has spunk. It’s also devoid of the bland loved-up cheesy lyrics which so characterise happy hard, preferring to focus on strong dance worthy beats. The CD ends with Breeze & Styles’ ‘Love Garden’. This is a bittersweet track, perfect for late morning stomping when you’re in your own world.

Sharkey and Marc Smith serve up round two. Sharkey kicks off proceedings with the heavenly ‘Ascending Angels’. It’s a melodious beginning for this CD. Several tracks later we hit some phatter beats thanks to ‘Life Is A Construct’, however the trance-like elements of freeform are never far away. The middle of the CD flows through Ephexis, the melancholic male vocals of Cube and the bounce of Ham. The CD takes a sharp turn to the darker side, closing with Dreadhed’s ‘Take The Blame’. No gabber fans, your turn is next, this is simply the harder side of freeform.

Scott Brown and Neophyte deliver CD Three. I must admit, as a gabber fan, this pairing annoys me. Neophyte is a true gabber god. Scott Brown lingers on the edge of happy hard/hardcore. Give me a Neophyte mix, minus Brown’s influence, any day. Nevertheless, the compromise works. Tommyknocker blasts from the speakers, his ‘Nocturnal Rituals’ signalling the intensity the listener can expect from this CD. I’m a particular fan of track 4, Tommyknocker’s evil ‘Twist’ (fond memories of Godspeed). Scott Brown throws in several of his tracks – ‘Capital Murder’, ‘Fasten Your Seatbelt’ and ‘We Don’t Stop’. This CD provides an excellent counterpoint to the lightness of the other compilations. Tracks from Evil Activities, Ophidian and Neophyte cement the gabber touch – let us hope it will be an ongoing feature of future Bonkers (my only question being, will gabber fans bother to buy Bonkers?).

Well respected duo Dougal and Gammer polish up the CD set. ‘Tell Me A Story’ starts the journey, featuring the lush vocals of Lisa Marie (and you can bet $5 she will sing it Live at Utopia). Dougal and Gammer collaborations feature prominently on this CD. Chalk up ‘Reflections’, the feel-good ‘Open Your Eyes’, ‘The Underground’ and ‘Tripod’. Fans will instantly recognise Darren Styles’ ‘Dropzone’ with its quirky beat and spellbinding melody. Gammer closes Bonkers 15 with his own fiesty ‘Let’s All Say F**k’ and a cheeky nod to Steven Hawking.