Black Hole

Nephilim is an old school Goa trance label which has remained mired in obscurity for much of the label’s existence. Before digging into Black Hole I am going to provide a short description of the label itself, to better frame this review. Nephilim released early vinyls from Har-El Prussky and Edi Mis, two noted Israeli trance pioneers, back in 1995. In 1998 the label jumped into the limelight with the timely release of the techno-influenced Spect-R Module album from Kopfuss Resonator, who make their formal debut on this compilation. In the meantime Nephilim had dabbled with releasing the abstract edge of psytrance with vinyls from O*Men, Psyko Disko, and the debut 12″ release from Finnish iconoclasts Texas Faggott. Returning to the early years, Black Hole is actually the second CD release from Nephilim, following Har-El’s New Pagan Moon album. At this time, Nephilim is still resolutely within the domain of acid-driven Goa trance, although the emerging experimental edge might be perceived by some scrutinous listeners, especially in the tracks by Nada.

I have recorded the text found in the liner notes for posterity:

Nephilim is an alien race that came to our planet 445,000 years ago.
They had spaceships, computers and music.
They created Homo Sapiens and later our civilization.
Fundamentally they are the true masters of techno.
Techno combines digital technologie with the organic live system and is the most effective form of music to date.
Opening up new channels in human consciousness, it transcends the terrestrial dimensions and connects us with our futures.
Most Nephilim left the Earth 11,000 B.C. to go back to their home planet “Marduk”, know as “The 12^th Planet”.
The first Nephilim record appeared nearly 13,000 years later, in 1994 A.C.
With the debut album “Pagan Moon Child”, performed by Har-El, they introduced the innovative Isra-Alien technotrance factory to the rest of the world.
This project was accompaned by two 12″ singels “Wonderland” and “The Scanner” (two well know trance hits) containg three more trax each.
Next came the C.D. “New Pagan World”, another hard trance album by Har-El including the ‘96 Goa favourites “Telekinetic”, “Apocalypse” and “The Alchemist”.
With Edis Mis’ 12″ vinyl “Sylyer Pyramid”, “Yogi”, and “Chinese Dragon” presents “Nephilim Rec.” another star of Goa’s heaven who is also being played in the deepest underground clubs all over the planet.
“Nephilim’s” following project in 1996, the 12″ “Nada”, should become the next milestone in techno history as all three trax become very soon favourite D.J. food world-wide.
“Nephilim Records” is very proud to present you now this three “Nada” titles in C.D. quality together with five more previously unreleast trance hits of “Kopfuss Resonator” and “Monosubstance”.
The “Nephilims” wanna say a big thanks to all their artists especially to Har-El Prussky for his endless patience.
More thanks to Gal Ofer, Boaz Shoob, Avi Yosef-B.N.E., D.J. Eitan Mhalav, Orit, Limor, and Vered (De Future Crow), Stefan Dietrich, Peter Hofig, Sammy from Belgium, Techno Terra, Mother Earth and all the friends, aliens and positive forces who help us to create a better world.
Remeber: at full volume the resonance and rhythm of sound inputs the extra energie required to jolt the human sensoy circuits up into the next level, from the terrestrial to the extraterrestrial.

All seven projects are produced by Frank Fleischer, Ofer Schechtman and W.A.D.L.

Kopfuss Resonator opens the album with an epic 12 minute song entitled Scheckel Waves. Without much in the way of sharp hooks or clear melodies, it tends to sound like a lot of the filler released with the growing movement in 1996. A plucky bass line bobbles along with a traditionally light kick drum and sparkling 303s. The progression follows a steady course through long building sequences, incrementally increasing the overall energy levels. The choice of samples, smartly placed at the peak of the final build, speaks of a lost age of hedonistic abandon: “we want to be free to do what we wanna do! And we want to get loaded, and have a good time, and that’s what we’re gonna do!” It comes across as too long in the home listening environment, but this is a track that was clearly designed for deep trance dancing in the ritual context. Once upon a time this would have carried enraptured souls through the electronic night into uncharted realms.

Tim Schuldt shares his first of three disguised as Mono Substance. Sadness & Anger carries all the trademarks of his early beginnings as an acid trance producer for High Society, Trigger, and Polytox – all from Germany. The beats are rough and ready, with smashing hi-hats and powerful (for the time) kick drums, with plenty of bassy resonance. The title is well-chosen, as the track is flavoured with a melancholic tone. The progression is fairly straight-forward, but the composition is a little on the messy side. Still, not bad for an early effort!

Nada (Gidi Raz & Kobi Levi) explores the alternative frontiers of the early Israeli trance sound on Black Hole. N.R.G. is the first of three sourced from a Nephilim 12″ release. In some ways this reminds me of Chakra, Witchcraft, California Sunshine, or the later work of P.Cok. The texture of the kick drum changes in some segments, which is not a very common technique in trance, but it is well employed. The transition just after the sixth minute is an interesting twist, and then it leads out into a moody come-down. I never paid any attention to Nada back in the day, but this track certainly has personality!

Robotrip is likewise a fairly experimental mish-mash of elements. At times it is anxious, frantic, and rather shrill, but it somehow retains the essence of the Eastern flavour. It meanders along ponderously, slipping from one sequence to the next with a smooth flow. While listening, I made a faint connection to Rhythmystec and Voodoo People in terms of style. It’s decent, but not quite as charming as the previous track.

The second Kopfuss Resonator track sounds quite progressive for the era. Ground Connected strips back the energy levels associated with old school, manifesting as a straight-forward groover that lightly pounds away beneath simple chord sequences and acid blips. The rhythm is stodgy and rather awkward at times, so I don’t think this early foray into minimal pans out.

The second Mono Substance tune is the only one from this compilation to have gained any outside exposure, as it was re-released on four other CDs from 1996 to 1999. Tim’s rhythms go deeper in this one, with an elastic low-frequency bass line and a plodding kick drum. The main melody is standard trance fare, but it is executed in such a way that a great deal of energy manages to be conjured. After the first bridge, an extra layer of acidic sounds intermingles nicely with the existing structures, swooping into existence in a rather sublime fashion. I’m not sure if the raspy screams work in context, but it isn’t a big deal. This is actually a good old selection for acid trance fans!

Nada’s final return is B. Sky, a mysterious tune that seems, for a time, to be rather low in energy. The beat is less distinct than was the case with the others, leaving small acidic accents to spiral through a sparse soundscape. Through a series of incremental builds, the energy is slowly raised throughout the track. I was really caught off guard by the explosive final breakdown just past the sixth minute – the technique employed here is intelligent and devilishly effective! The last run doesn’t quite capitalize on the results of this intriguing break, but the smooth liquid synths would have thrilled an audience ten years ago.

Mono Substance wraps it up with the most energetic of the lot: Northern Light. This is also the most poorly produced, with a sloppy arrangement and awkward key changes. The style is similar in several respects to Tim’s side project Brain Accent and the classic Orange Acid, though not nearly as good. I am not even sure if this is finished, given that the track just trails off without any real conclusion. Leftovers!

Black Hole is only going to be of interest to collectors, historians, and archivists. I only really found this music came alive while I studied it in detail, in an academic or intellectual sense, with an appreciation for the early history of trance. In more objective terms, this is an obscure and somewhat formulaic old school release that doesn’t manage to retain much of an appeal over the decade since its release. In fact, I don’t really have a strong favourite from this album, but they’re not all bad by any means. Nada’s first two are surprisingly interesting, given that I never gave them any consideration years ago. The first Kopfuss Resonator would have been powerful in the day for DJs, but their second offering is bunk. Tim Schuldt as Mono Substance provides some decent old tracks in his signature style that seem superior to his work as Mama Indica and Kind of Intelligence at least. We’ll just have to forgive him for the final track of the compilation.

Black Hole is a surprisingly listenable creation, having no real moments that make me wish to skip forward, which was fairly common with inconsistent old school compilations. I will leave one word of warning for anyone who decides to turn back the clock and give this a spin – let all the tracks play through. By their very nature, there is no way to appreciate these creations when skimming through, as they all rely on cumulative effects. In the final assessment, I would have to call this a below average release for time it was released, but maintain that it may be of interest to collectors. 1996 was too kind to trance listeners to call this better than average.