Various The Best of Psychedelic Krembo USTA (Israel)

Israel’s Krembo Records produced some major moments in trance back in “the day” (which, depending on who you ask, is somewhere between 1995 and 1997). Recently Krembo mutated into USTA, and this re-release of high-wow-factor trance is a pretty good collection. Psy Sex’s gloriously direct Alien Cop kicks things off, if you don’t know this one it’s an offset bass, about six thru-the-roof synth runs and that ravey hoover synth. Oh, and snare rolls. But that’s to be expected. Xerox & Freeman’s Callurion is a new one on me, as subtle as a breezeblock and as effective as anything with escalating 303’s, gloriously daft melodies, and about four breakdowns. Oforia’s Arcadia makes top use of those Goan key changes that were so prevalent “back then”, obviously it’s sounding dated now but the tune manages to retain some of its slink-factor, as well as mashing things up a treat with (again) mental kicks, silly melodies and breakdowns. Talamasca’s Jungle Storm I loved at the time, but it sounds rather flat and tame now, and compared to the rollercoaster in-ya-faceness of the rest on offer here. Chakra & Edi Mis’ Liquid Troll, well what can I say, if you don’t know these tunes from Chakra & Edi Mis then… shit, where to start. Sort of a psychedelic velociraptor vibe, they really go for this idea of being chased by something… which nobody every replicated either before or since. The synthline on Liquid Troll is delightfully heavy, the 303 can’t wait to get cracking, and surprisingly it all sounds a lot less dated than it should. Enertopia’s Marakash 2000 sounds like it’s at about 200bpm, and with a very rough kick at that. It’s hard to listen to. Make it stop… Quirk’s Dimension Disco is an acid-led wanderer with what now sounds like a stupid series of kick rolls before the finale kicks in, and when it does it’s sounding very clichéd… Chakra & Edi Mis close the album with Brain In A Box, an acid-housey tune with their unique stamp on it, hefty melodies and an Infinity Project vibe. Some of the music here has clearly aged better than others, and this certainly isn’t a release for everybody. If you have all these already then steer clear, if however you missed them before then go sniff it out – the Krembo sound used to set pulses racing all over the planet, and this album demonstrates exactly how and why.

More info: www.phonokol.com, www.musicaplus.co.il