Proving that Dance has the power to move peoples' hearts as well as their bodies, the Serious Road Trip has enlisted the assistance of some of the luminaries of the techno, trance and ambient scene to put together a triple CD to raise funds and awareness for their relief missions to the war-torn Balkans.

Scrupulously apolitical, the Serious Road Crew man (and woman) the album's contributors. Some have submitted live mixes or alternative remixes of their top tunes, while others have opted for tracks which have a thematic link, reinforcing dance music's post-CJB political consciousness.

Many clubbers are becoming politicised by the threat the Criminal Justice Act represents to their lifestyle. Even rock'n'roll was never this persecuted. Other recent manifestations of protest have included Beat Beat Dance's No Repetitive Beats compilation, and Orbital's 'Criminal Justice Bill', four minutes of silence which is intended to demonstrate what dance music will sound like if the CJB is executed to the letter.

The Serious Road Trip CD adds an international aspect to all of this, and brings it home in a way a thousand newspaper articles never could. Listening to the plaintive, gypsy wails of 'Ceasefire' gives one pause for reflection on the universality of dance music, and its links with ethnic trance. Dear as dance culture is to our hearts, we're facing only a threat to our lifestyle, where these people are having their lives destroyed quite literally.

The Serious Road Trip is a registered British Charity with its main focus on children as the innocent victims of war. It is independent of any political or religious ties, consisting only of unpaid volunteers. It was formed in July 1991 to highlight the plight of deprived children worldwide, but is currently preoccupied by its humanitarian work in Eastern Europe. In May 1992 the first red double decker left London, visiting Romania, Poland and Russia, taking entertainment and practical help to orphanages and other institutions, and in June 1992 it became the first British organisation to enter Sarajevo as part of the first Peace Convoy to the city.

They now operate a fleet of bright yellow 4X4 Bedford trucks based in Split, from where they deliver aid throughout Bosnia/Herzegovina. The trucks are covered in cartoon characters, which together with their gay livery and the hands-on approach of their drivers succeed in transcending the ethnic tensions which stratify the region. As well as delivering food, clothing, medicine and educational materials. The Serious Road Trip works to provide therapeutic light relief and entertainment with unarmed trucks to remote areas, bringing food, medical supplies and a touch of humanity to a shell-shocked and dispossessed people.

Lol Hammond and Charlie Hall of The Drum Club have drummed up support from the likes of System 7, Lion Rock, Banco de Gaia, Loop Guru, Transglobal Underground, The Orb, Bini tribe, Higher Intelligence Agency and Ege Bam Yasi, to assemble a three-CD set which retails at remarkable £14.49.

The opening track, 'Ceasefire', is based on samples of traditional Balkan music and was the inspiration behind the album. In fact, the strife which grips the former-Yugoslavia has been uppermost in the minds of most of projects such as Theatre-Go-round, Mania 4 Romania and two hugely popular Bananas 4 Split tours for refugee camps and childrens homes. Susan Sontag or Waiting For Godot it ain't, but it delivers hope and happiness in the midst of trauma and despair.

It is a sobering thought that all of this carnage and deprivation is happening only 30 hours' drive from central London, and perhaps the reasoning behind all this is best summed up by Orbital's vocal sample from 'Remind'. It appears on the third CD. and is taken from their excellent live Glastonbury set: "It's like a cry for survival... for their survival and for our survival!"