Following up on a standout inaugural EP by Alpha Tracks, KI/KI’s slash imprint now presents a mighty 8-track compilation of propulsive trance, split over two equally potent parts. The compilation contains a selection of dancefloor favourites curated by KI/KI herself that have been intensively road tested during her gigs in the past year. 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. slash003 turns more introspective, recalling darkened, brooding club basements. Launching off, DJ Hyperdrive more than lives up to his namesake. ’Starburst’ rockets at light speed, its space-age momentum conjuring a retrofuturist fantasy. Amour Noir’s ’Sunday Morning’ is a love letter to dance floors, its choral-style vocal and gliding synth alluding to the reverence of liturgical music. Tbilisi’s Bassiani resident Newa transposes a wiggy acid bassline onto a steely techno pulse, then for ‘Astral Recall’ (one of KI/KI’s most played songs of 2022) Arman John partners a driving beat with a lucid melody, crafting a hybrid flex that melds genres and moods seamlessly. Plunging into darkness before emerging into sunlit euphoria, slash003 channels a vital feature of every masterful DJ set – the emotional journey of contrasting styles and atmospheres, set in motion by adrenaline-fuelled beats.