BLT – God is Love

God is Love established BLT as one of the leading artists from Israel, released hot on the heels of Shahar’s Amalgamated Amalagamation compilation. Breaking with tradition, this album explores deep progressive and techtrance territory with a high degree of originality. Five of these tunes were even re-released on the Danish label Iboga (four on a vinyl single), which was a real surprise at the time. The cover art is different but not very well done if you ask me, but at least they were trying. Over an hour of sound can be found on this release.

Monolith sets the tone for the album with static atmospheres and a lengthly sample from 2001: A Space Odyssey. After this, Yuli begins to draw the listener out of the atmosphere with heavy techtrance rhythms and impeccable sound design. The mysterious tones express a vision of the void that is highly expressive, entrancing, and serene. The result is a high-fidelity science fiction introduction and a definate favourite.

Global Spirit fuses Yuli’s groove with the incredible atmospheric textures of Cosma (Avihen Livne). The combination proves to be deep and powerful, just as one would expect. Finely crafted and very enjoyable.

The Callback remix to The Calling, was made in collaboration with Danny Makov. This is a great tribal trance track, but it is completely eclipsed by the superior live mix released on Anything U Want in 2004.

Froggy Business, later released on the Ectoplasma compilation from Iboga, drives deeper into moody minimal territory. Haunting atmospheres compliment stark mechanical loops that slide in and out of the sound canvas like slippery eels. Tribal textures evoke organic impressions, augmented by the creeping undergrowth that writhes around in the bottom end. It feels as if it would compliment The Rain Song from Anything U Want; images of the murky cloud forest at twilight easily come to mind while listening to this ornate production. One of the best pieces here.

The title track God is Love is an innocuous dubby chill-out tune composed with Ziv Matushka, formerly of P.Cok. It’s nice without being anything special.

She’s My Baby focuses on extreme depths of bass and groove. The initial moments are filled with chunky rhythms and piercing percussion, reacquainting the listener with steady technological beats after the short excursion into natural sounds. After a tribal-laced break which samples Janis Joplin, the tension builds, and the last key note is latched on to the end of that monster bass line. Here is where it gets really interesting, as crunchy hypnotic noises slip and slide over the dirty groove. Fun stuff!

The No Nonsense mix of Nonsense is well described; this is a track which exhibits Yuli’s taste for straight-forward grooves and subtle noises. In the very last minute the bass drops into funky overdrive, leaping around with manic abandon for a very short period of time. Aside from that, it’s all about the progressive build. If you enjoy the linear approach this might be for you.

Next up is BLT’s own Floor mix of the classic Israeli anthem Bizarre. This track has been remixed several times since it was originally released on The Forum in 1997, so there is a lot of history to this one. It’s also the only place on the album where Yuli really lets loose and delivers a real dancefloor hit. Despite the nostalgic appeal, I actually prefer Psycraft’s own remake of this tune, released on New Moves.

Back to Basics concludes the album with one more heavy techtrance work-out, doused in crunchy percussive elements and a melancholic atmosphere. Phrases captured from the news spring up every now and then, speaking of a “cease-fire,” and there is also a quip from Morpheus of The Matrix asking “do you believe in fate?” It’s not bad, though my attention tends to wander at this point.

There is also a hidden downtempo track on this album, rumoured to be titled Tomorrow Never Happens. More words from Janis Joplin and thrown about as the track wriggles through friendly sound patterns and open atmospheric effects. It’s a light-hearted and easygoing way to finish up.

God is Love is an interesting album, but BLT had not yet realized his potential at this stage. Two years later, with the help of Danny Makov, Yuli would go on to create a masterpiece. Still, there is something to be said for the original approach of groovy techtrance that is exhibited here. Monolith and Froggy Business are the best expressions of the style, and one should not discount the collaboration with Cosma entitled Global Spirit. A couple of the other tunes are superseded by better versions (The Calling and Bizarre) which reduces the value of the release somewhat. In general, I don’t find that the flow of the tracks keeps me interested beyond the first four, after which I’m usually disinclined to continue listening. I may be somewhat disaffected by this album, but I easily perceive the substantial amount of heart and soul that was put into it. Techtrance fans should certainly give it a try, but most psytrance listeners would probably do well to investigate BLT’s next album release: Anything U Want.