For a second year, Fuzzy and Ministry of Sound have teamed up to capture the best moments of one of Australia’s most iconic music festivals, Parklife. The event means a lot to people, but for me personally it’s a hallowed date in the calendar each year as it marks the (unofficial) start to the summer festival season. From small beginnings in 2000, Parklife has evolved into a national institution, renowned for delivering cutting-edge line-ups. Now in its ninth year, Parklife recently sold out in Sydney and Brisbane, and played to near capacity crowds in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.

Parklife 2008 had arguably the biggest line-up yet, with the festival headlined by the likes of Goldfrapp, 2manydjs, Soulwax, Martin Solveig, Dizzee Rascal, Diplo, Plump DJs, Jesse Rose and Peaches; to name just a few. Parklife is renowned for having diverse line-ups, and that’s reflected on the tracklisting for this album. No matter what your music taste – electro, hip hop, breaks, indie pop, tech – you’d find something that tickles your fancy over the course of the journey, with 22 inspired selections.

The album starts up with the Elektrons club anthem Get Up, a monster hip hop and soul anthem to gets those booties shaking. Slinky selections from Goldfrapp and Neon Neon follow, leading into what was – undeniably – the biggest track of Parklife in 2008; Dizzee Rascal feat Calvin Harris & Chrome Dance Wiv Me. Since its release this track has been devastating dancefloors, and Parklife was certainly no different. The album continues nonchalantly through the middle, with cuts from Diplo, Blacklicious and Van She. One of the more impressive selections is I Don’t Wanna Stop by The Bamboos. This funk bomb is a trip down memory lane and reminiscent of a groovy cut you might have heard at the local discotheque in the 70s.

As the album moves into the second half, there are some storming tunes with I Love Techno by Soulwax, Peaches’ Downtown and the Plump DJs’ latest single, Shifting Gears. The album comes to a close with C’est La Vie by French house maestro Martin Solveig, and finally Fun Punch by local duo the Bag Raiders. The Bag Raiders were one of the highlights for many people at this year’s festival, and Fun Punch has been their biggest rack to date, so a perfect choice to close the album.

The Parklife 2008 album is a collection of music that aptly represents the quality of acts featured at this year’s festival. The diversity keeps you interested from start to finish, and if you attended this year’s festival then you’ll be keen to snap this album up, as every track will bring memories flooding back. If you missed the boat and didn’t make the festival then all is not lost; just get yourself a copy of this album, whack on your sweatbands and fluoro, set the stereo up poolside and crank this album in all its glory. Bring on summer!