Wingmakers

Wingmakers parties have been the crème de la crème of UK underground gatherings for some years; few and far between, they come closest to those ‘legendary’ Dragonfly bashes of yesteryear and this compilation, coupled with a rather tasty-looking launch party in London this Friday, is one of the best things to have happened to the UK scene all year. It’s a who’s who of the UK trance illuminati, most recording tracks with Pogo (who appears to have a collection of brilliant samples at his disposal), as well as some other choice international contenders. Silicon Sound kick things off with Wired, a straight-down-to-business showcase of why SS’s breezily melodic sound is among the most loved at the moment. Laughing Buddha & Pogo’s Dragon Wings is frantic, with great samples and a melodic-but-cruncy danceability. Pogo then teams up with Dickster, and it’s uncommonly good stuff – once again the samples are great, and Dickster’s unflinching backbone adds gnarl and snarl to proceedings. Next up, Tristan plus yup you guessed it Pogo, and this is utterly superb. The much-missed Tristan, moving away slightly from the scary its-behind-you nightmare trance of high-watermark Audiodrome moves gorgeously and the top-notch production brings a tear to the eye. Graham Wood & Franco Rossi’s Resurge is a delight, a real smack back to 1995, as the Infinity Project maestro returns to those big crescendos, eastern riffs and deep kicks. Prometheus’ Golden Triangle is a smoother ride than normal for Benji, sitting in at a mature and confident 142bpm, and Quadra’s Alien Life Form builds into the perfect groove, in keeping with Quadra’s gliding, rolling style. Phoenix Rising by Wingmakers is class in a glass, one of the best samples I’ve heard in ages, coupled with a fat upsy-downsy groove, begging to be played on a big rig. If you can keep still to this, you’re either dead or on ketamine. Finally, Polaris & Hopi close the album off with a smooth, isra-friendly track that has plenty of smooth melody and glide all the way through it. All in all, a nice collection showcasing the latest in a series of reinvented London sounds.