Sony Music Gatecrasher Global Sound Syste

Amazon.co.uk Essentially, Gatecrasher is known for two things: its loyal affinity to trance music and the colourful cyber bunnies who worship at its altar. If you've never been, and don't really fancy dressing up like an extra from Pokémon, this is a good introduction to one of Britain's premier nightclub experiences. The pace and quality is relentless--a never-ending stream of sequenced nirvana that rarely fails to deliver. Spread across two CDs, the first nudges gently percussive techno into the realms of soft Teutonic trance. Oliver Klein's "Rheinkraf" bubbles away like effervescent mercury, while the seductive pianos tickling Frean's "Heaven's Gate" are fittingly celestial. England's Terra Firma subtly ups the ante with the staccato-driven "Keep Moving" and the ethereal vocals wafting through "Love Has Come Again" are welcomingly human. After this comforting blanket of rich progressive house, CD2 blows in like a force 9 gale. The beats are harder, the riffs razor sharp, and when storm-trooping anthems like Albion's "Air" march neatly through your brain, you're left in no doubt that Gatecrasher is one UK export we should all be mightily proud of.--Paul Tierney