Twenty cuts and a curve you can read at a glance: Becking's 'Back The Funk' opens at 140 BPM, the fastest tempo in the whole selection, and from there the journey never climbs — it paces itself. 'Hypa' by Specialist Moss and Silva Bumpa eases down to 135, and AC Slater marks the first valley with 'Swingin'' at 130 BPM in Ab major. Three tracks in, the full range the rest of the trip will move through is already drawn.
The middle stretch is where the selection shows its names. 'Twizted' brings together ATW, Interplanetary Criminal and Main Phase on ATW Records, the label the latter two co-founded in 2019 as a platform for contemporary UK garage; Interplanetary Criminal is also the producer behind 'B.O.T.A. (Baddest of Them All)' with Eliza Rose, a UK number one in 2022. Three slots later comes the milestone of the ride: 'Rampage', Skream's collaboration with ROKAR released in May on IFEEL, a homage to garage's roots that was already circulating as an ID in Chris Stussy and Ben UFO sets before it dropped. And on '8 For 8', at 139 BPM, Wiley is credited alongside Local and Lucas Alexander — the second-fastest tempo of the lot, placed just past the halfway mark.
The last train at 130
The final stretch flips the logic: instead of tightening, the cuts stretch out. ZOIG's 'Obsession' holds C minor for 6:38, the longest running time in the selection; azztech's 'Dope' takes 6:29 at 133; and the close belongs to Soul Mass Transit System with 'Feel Da Vibe', 6:15 at 130 BPM on ec2a, a label that presses limited-run hand-stamped vinyl and a regular home for the project.
That is the most telling gesture here: a festival journey that starts at its fastest point and ends ten BPM lower, with no loss of energy — just more room. The climax doesn't wait for the end; it is spread across the middle, and the last half hour is about letting the bass breathe.
Sources: Wikipedia · Bandcamp · ec2a
