U.F.S. 3

The third compilation in the Unidentified Forms of Sound series features some of the biggest names in Israeli trance. Compiled by DJ Eyal Yankovich, the focus is supposedly on the cutting edge, but it doesn’t stop him from throwing in some filler. I always thought the cover was pretty decent, and 71 minutes of music can be found on CD.

Eat Static stands out like a sore thumb on this otherwise completely Israeli compilation, but City of Sin is a great piece of work. This is as funky as trance gets! No time is wasted starting things up as silly sounds romp around in a demented fashion. A bouncy beat rolls out, showing some influence from hard dance and nu-nrg. City of Sin is a not a one-dimensional creation however; smoothly wistful atmospheres strike up from time to time, funky wah-wah guitar riffs manifest impressions of rainbow kaleidoscopes and bell-bottom jeans, and wailing horns give it an occasionally jazzy quality. Even though the arrangement drags on for too long, I would still call it a favourite – flaws and all. Its big and bold and full of wild ideas; just what the doctor ordered!

Space Cat’s Power Up is an anthemic piece of melodic Israeli trance. At the time of release, I had not heard anything good from Avi since Beam Me Up (1999), so I was glad to hear something this good from him. The track itself spends a few minutes getting the groove on with a heavy rolling rhythm and a smashing hi-hat drive. The memorable Posfordian lead finally emerges close to the fourth minute, sounding very streamlined and euphoric. The arrangement is just perfect for expressing the full power of the song. It may be shamelessly derivative, but it certainly makes for a solid dancefloor epic.

Infected Mushroom provide one of the most creative tunes of the compilation with Doremifas. This was released at the peak of their psychedelic trance career, just as they were slipping into the more commercial sounds of Converting Vegetarians. Elastic rhythms and tight bass lines spiral out of control very early on, and the Mushies never stop messing with filters and effects for bizarre purposes. The main feature of the track is a loopy and whimsical circus-like theme that develops toward the middle of the song. It isn’t hard to imagine evil clowns and drunken midgets when the childish leads start whipping around. This is quite a ridiculous track, but one cannot deny the abundant talents of these notorious producers.

Oforia provides a template-driven snorefest with The Miner, which sounds exactly like so many of his other songs. Bold metallic leads follow simple patterns while sticky digital rhythms chew the scenery. Uninspired.

BLT provide hints of a future classic with The Calling. Yuli would go on to remix this track on his next two albums: God is Love (2002), and Anything U Want (2004). The final mix – with live percussion by Danny Makov – is so excellent that it makes the early versions completely redundant.

Dark Soho’s Kapa Kuchak sounds like a leftover. Although it was released in the same year as the ground-breaking album Combustion, there isn’t much to it. Moody stomping beats churn while some disinterested atmospheres zip around. With a minute left they finally arrive at a level of energy and activity that should have been achieved very early on. Dull.

Hujaboy throws down the techtrance gauntlet with Happy Mental. This comes from the era of Hujajoy and his Boo Reka project, and it sounds something like In Hell X Hell. A stodgy minimal techno rhythm forms the foundatio. Beyond that, the track is doused in layers of sharp metallic noises that sweep across the soundscape with commendable gravitas. Unfortunatly the production quality and the arrangement do not do this track any justice. There are some cool ideas here but the execution is flat.

Domestic and Cosma collaborate to provide a deep piece of psychedelic trance: X-Port. Tight breakbeats are tamed to spice up the percussive strata while a static bass line pulsates beneath. A heavy sample about “chemically induced altered states of consciousness” is thrown into the mix fairly early on. The acid line that emerges shortly after the third minute is the energetic peak of the track – afterwards, the producers rely on the power of their atmospheres to carry the storyline. Cosma’s silky smooth techniques manage to keep it interesting while remaining incredibly sublime. The final minutes are delicate and entrancing, delivering on the promise of quality. Though it is fairly minimal, this is still a very nice tune.

Violet Vision shuts it down with a funky cosmic trip through wiggly dimensions. A long intro introduces a familiar sparkling theme, and a McKenna sample: “you are all listening.” The beats on this one vary from non-chalant to deeply house influenced, with plenty of mutability. The style would have suited Dragonfly well at the turn of the millenium; this is reminiscent of White Sands by Prometheus from Kamaflage 1, or perhaps some of the material from Order Odonata 5. Though there are some good ideas here, it sort of loses the plot by the very end. It’s a nice effort nonetheless.

U.F.S. 3 isn’t a great compilation, but it’s not terrible either. While the second in the series had a few shining moments of sheer genius, the best offerings of this release aren’t mind-blowing. The juxtaposition of formulaic filler and extreme experimentation doesn’t really work. With the inconsistent quality levels and peculiar track ordering, I don’t get much use out of this lacklustre release. It isn’t aging well either. Check it out if you’re a big fan of post-millenial Israeli psytrance, but keep in mind there are much better releases out there.