Psychedelic Krembo 1

Psychedelic Krembo 1 is one of the first compilations from Israel’s Krembo Records, featuring a line-up of artists who were, at the time, quite unknown to the trance listening public. Breaking with local tradition, this compilation is one of the very few early Israeli releases to focus exclusively on original material from foreign artists. When it was released, it gained a strong reception from the online reviewing community, with Amit Eshel @ TRiP stating “this is probably the best cd of the year.” This no doubt has something to do with the inclusion of several strong anthems from Alphanaut, Talamasca, and Quirk. Each of these artists made their debut with this compilation, which makes it something of a collector’s item.

The 2LP edition of this compilation exclude the two songs from Quirk, which were later released on the Dimension Disco EP. Both songs from Quirk were also included on The Best of Psychedelic Krembo, released in 2002. As usual for a Krembo release, there are several spelling errors and mistakes in the track listing, which I have corrected for this review.

The Australian act Alphanaut opens the album with a freaky acid tune by the name of Neurozap. The beats are completely standard for old school trance, and hardly worth mentioning. The twisted leads are slightly more original, transitioning from the muttering of machine elves to the twisted scream of a banshee on mushrooms as the track progresses. A playful use of LFOs keeps it trippy, while the 303s ooze psychedelic intent. It sounds trite a decade after its release, but it isn’t hard to see why this was a crowd favourite back in the day.

Talamasca made a smashing debut here on Psychedelic Krembo 1, and became an instant hit. The original line-up of the group consisted of Cédric Dassule (DJ Lestat), Javier de Galloy (Xavier), and Steve Eli. It wasn’t long before Lestat became the driving force behind Talamasca, as the others dropped out within a year or so. Tribal Journey is aptly named, as it explores ethnic themes with a cosmic touch. The style is soft and melodic, similar in many ways to that of the tribal trance pioneer Elysium. This quaint and charming piece of old school will be of interest to collectors and historians.

Cognitive Dissidents is among the very first productions from Mark Allen and Tim Healey as Quirk, one of the most consistently experimental psytrance projects of the late 90s. The beats are as plastic and piercing as those of the single Robotised, released with the Matsuri compilation Truth of Communication in the same year. Unintelligable vocoded voices, wild build-ups, and intense melodies steadily increase the pressure. It may be rather messy, but you can’t bake a cake without cracking some eggs. I prefer the Dead Sea mix of this song, released on the Sale of the Century EP in Y2K. It is superior in every way to this early anthem, but it is fairly difficult to acquire on CD. Still, I must pay some respect where respect is due, and this powerful classic still resonates today.

Ree.K made her international debut with Glycogen shortly after releasing the Yammataikoku album on Psy-Harmonics in the same year. The style is similar to what was heard on the first Krembo release, The Japanese Experience, which featured material from K.U.R.O., Masa, and Charm. The drum programming is light, with brash hi-hats extruding far out into the stereo field. Fluttering 303s weave intricate patterns of incessant Eastern melodies, occasionally clustering up for an energetic surge. There is nothing too special about this song, but fans of the early Tokyo Tekno Tribe might find it interesting.

Dimension Disco isn’t as good as Cognitive Dissidents, but it has a number of interesting attributes. It seems to drift without purpose until a weird transition two minutes into the track, after which a frantic mad scientist theme descends on the proceedings. It remains fairly dark and sinister for the duration, dabbling around with rough analog riffs and sharp acidic leads. I find that although this song would have undoubtably bewitched dance floors in 1996, the final moments are too messy to maintain an enduring appeal through the years. You have to give Krembo some credit; they always took on Mark and Tim’s strangest and most experimental productions.

Alphanaut returns with New Shoes, a cosmic blast of peak-time madness. The sound quality is rough, but I have to admit that this anthemic favourite of yore is charming nonetheless. Several old school reviewers have expressed their appreciation for the Star Trek sample, “take us out of here – maximum warp!” In the final phase, the artists integrate some vaguely tribal chanting samples, a few hi-hat rushes, and more squelchy acidic melodies. It has the mark of a crowd-pleaser, but it doesn’t work any magic on me a decade later.

Talamasca open their second offering, Jungle Storm, with a long atmospheric introduction. Much like X-Dream’s Screw (The Truth), the crackle of thunder percolates through the speakers as a melody gradually gathers steam. After the beat finally drops, the songs builds steadily, transitioning from light arpeggios and resonant sweeps to powerful melodies strongly influenced by the victorious sound known from most contemporary Israeli acts. Closing in on the sixth minute, the song slows to a crawl, with the beat ponderously dipping in energy until it dissappears entirely. The storm sounds return, and the deepening breakdown stretches to nearly two minutes of ominous sample work and hypnotic atmospheres. The return is fairly sudden, but it works. No new ground is covered in the final run, although the artists make a passable use of modulation in an attempt to kick it up a notch. Jungle Storm proves to be the top tune of the compilation!

The compilation is closed by another Aussie act, 3rd Attention. Realm of the Lesser Light is an awkward and ponderous track in the style of the early Psy-Harmonics experimentations. I get the feeling that it is weird for the sake of weird at times. The weak beat and off-key melodies are not flattering.

Psychedelic Krembo 1 hasn’t aged very well, but several of these songs would have stunned dance floors back when they were released. Production techniques had not yet been refined to anything close to modern standards, and the movement had not yet matured to the point where sound quality even mattered to a lot of listeners. This is the sort of release I would have really enjoyed had I discovered it back in the day; the twisted combination of energetic acid trance and experimental psychedelia once suited my taste perfectly. Once I began my personal odyssey into developing my understanding of trance, depth and sophistication became important factors in my appreciation of the music. Most of these tracks do not satisfy either criteria, although Talamasca fares well enough in this regard, and I can’t help but appreciate the early tunes from Quirk for their maddening qualities. Archivists, collectors, historians, and old school fanatics may wish to investigate, but there is nothing here for listeners with more modern tastes.

Release Data

Title: Psychedelic Krembo 1
Label: Krembo Records
Format: CD/Vinyl compilation
Released: 1996

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