Back again after a few days of enforced silence – the posting plans for this week are all up in the air at the moment, but at least tonight I can finally draw attention to a couple of recent standout sets.

First of all we have a new installment of the Rampage Turbo series, courtesy of Pearsall. That alone should be enough to secure a download from most people, but this is a very special set with a focus on venerable hardcore label Stage One Music. Pearsall’s own Sonicrampage post gives a good idea of the basics, and diving into the set itself shows what a golden period of proto-freeform it was.

Anyone disappointed by the death of quality acid lines in modern freeform (hardly used by FINRG artists, and very lacklustre in Nu Energy tunes of the mid-2000s onwards) will find solace here, as Pearsall has made some superb selections alongside amens, vocals and happycore-esque big kicks. I’ve already given the set a few listens, and both the mixing and pacing are as spot on as you’d expect. Although I recognise a good few of the tunes, they’re from a time when I often listened to sets without a tracklist, and so this is a great opportunity to check who was responsible for these anthems.

With more and more people coming to freeform these days, sets like this can only be a good thing – great work by Pearsall, and let’s hope that there’ll be a few more history lessons yet to come.

01. Cortex – Summer Lovin’ (xy2)  
02. DJ Energy – Anticlockwize (xy2)  
03. DJ Fury – Soundflow (Remix) (Stompin’ Choonz)  
04. Cortex – Digital Brotherhood (FDN)  
05. Teknodred – More Understanding feat Dave Jay (Stompin’ Choonz)  
06. DJ Fury – Lemonade Raygun (FDN)  
07. Helix & Fury – Sanctus Dominus (xy2)  
08. Cortex – Eurosis (xy2)  
09. Citadel of Kaos – Paradise Lost (Just Another Label)  
10. Helix – Helixia (Stompin’ Choonz)  
11. Brisk & Trixxy – Back To The Top (Remix) (Just Another Label Premium)  
12. Square Wave – Like A Criminal (Stompin’ Choonz)  
13. D-Zyne – Digital Havoc (xy2)  
14. Teknodred & Ad Man – A Voice Spoke To Me (Helix Remix) (Stompin’ Choonz)  
15. D-Zyne & Fury – Hyperhydrosis (xy2)  
16. DJ Fury – Desensitize (Stompin’ Choonz)  
17. Helix & Teknodred – Mindless Pleasure (Stompin’ Choonz)  
18. DJ Fury – Lemonade Raygun (Main Floor Mix) (Stompin’ Choonz)  
19. Helix – Now Control (Stompin’ Choonz)