Various Artists
Slash Compilation One

Opening slash002, Copenhagen's Peachlyfe delivers a deviously ambient interlude. Rising into a transcendent crux, 'Sane & Awake' flirts with breakbeat's signature percussive style, teasing a drop, before taking a U-turn, panning out into evermore blissful peaks. Full of bounce, DJ Lucid brings the build with 'Entry Plug', drawing together dramatic strings and a pounding kick drum, while Narciss expertly splices up a haunting vocal fragment on 'Once More With Feeling'. Geared towards festival stages - huge crowds and height-of-the-night summer climaxes - the record takes its cues from the hedonism of the 1990s, delivering a powerful punch that's anything but backward facing. DJ Car Keys, part of Dutch-pop sensation Goldband, makes a special appearance in his debut as a solo producer. Closing the B-side, 'Spinning' is a 155-bpm belter, where a looped hit-hat collides with psychedelic spoken word passages.