Score is the first compilation released from Aurinko Records, a boutique label founded by German psytrance producer Tim Schuldt in 1997. Much like Atomic Records in the UK, Aurinko pioneered a more industrial approach to psytrance as the golden age of Goa trance came to an end. Score is fairly diverse, however—it was not until the release of the Catcher compilation that Aurinko’s sound began to homogenize. This compilation is lightly mixed.

Tim Schuldt leads the way with Absurd, one of his finest. The song opens with scattered snippets of various radio broadcasts that eventually give way to a slow stomping beat. Rough guitars and mysterious choral atmospheres—two Tim Schuldt trademarks—are put to great use later on. A great beginning.

Sentences To Heaven is a real jewel of a track; this is Jaïa at their finest. Beautiful vocals, crisp production, and an irresistible rhythm ensure a positive reaction. Interestingly, this is one of the earliest examples of what we now think of as “progressive psytrance.”

The Groupie Syndrome is a project formed by Tim Schuldt and X-Dream. Pacemaker, their only release together, is one of my all-time favourite songs. They just don’t get much better than this! I’ll leave it to you to explore this masterpiece in greater depth.

The oddly named Four Carry Nuts (Tim Schuldt and Detlef Funder) provide Kay Sea Isle, another winning track. This one is distinguished by an interesting use of highly filtered breakbeat loops alongside the usual dose of snarling melodies and evocative atmospheres. Great stuff.

Dodgy Connection unites Tim Schuldt with Joti Sidhu, another big name from back in the day. Off Limits is very intense: the soaring melodies and driving rhythms of this piece ensure maximum impact. Another favourite!

Non Zero is a one-off collaboration between Tim Schuldt and Oforia. Anthrax Sabotage should be good but it isn’t; it just drones on and on without any real direction.

Mittelstandskinder Ohne Strom (M.O.S.) attempt to revive the old school spirit with Toxic Offender, a peculiar song faintly reminiscent of X-Dream’s classic The Second Room (A Trip). It fails to make a strong impact, however—these guys have written much better music.

Score finishes with Harsh by B.E.T.H., a project formed by Tim Schuldt and Dino Psaras. This is aimless industrial mayhem, as raw and unpolished as the title might imply. No thanks.

The first five tracks of Score are incredible but then it goes downhill. I wonder what happened? No matter; those early tracks entirely redeem the compilation. If you don’t mind the uneven listening experience, Score is worth tracking down. It is among a handful of key releases clearly associated with the industrial/psytrance crossover sound that briefly held the limelight in 1998 and 1999. Collectors take note!

Tsunami is a one-off compilation assembled by Opher AKA India Drop for Kinetic Records, New York City. Although technically one of the first major psytrance releases from a North American label, the music is exclusively European and Israeli. The release was made primarily to advertise the Tsunami organization, then a major event promoter. It includes a range of styles with everything from German techtrance to full-on morning trance from Israel.

The compilation begins with an interesting offering from Zorba, a GMS side project featuring Riktam and Rossi (of Systembusters) in this case. The Deep focuses on tribal progressive rhythms backed by pleasant melodies and light atmospheres. The results are very nice.

Chakra’s Deliverance shares little in common with his predominantly dark and sinister old school offerings. This is much more innocent, almost Scandinavian in its serene austerity. Interesting.

I-Zen is the solo project of Erez Aizen from Infected Mushroom. Voices is a great piece of morning trance; just what one would expect from Infected’s period of peak creative development.

Saiko-Pod teams up with rising stars Logic Bomb on Magnetic Force, an acknowledged dance floor classic of the Y2K era. Who could ever forget those crazy monkey noises? This is a very strong collaborative effort: ultra-psychedelic and highly recognizable.

Total Eclipse rips into experimental drum ‘n bass with Psychedelic Terrorist, a song unparallelled in its frantic energy and breakneck pace. It sounds oddly dated by now but I can’t help but appreciate the madness of it all.

The hollow droning kicks, razor-sharp percussion, eerie crackling atmospheres, and an absolute absence of melodies in X-Dream’s Aspirin make it a little tough to handle at times. It was something fresh and interesting at the time—there were few examples of this kind of extremely hard psychedelic techno on the market. Still, I think X-Dream has better work in this style.

Oforia breaks the zombie spell with Special Offer, a flagrantly melodic song filled with a sense of doe-eyed wonder and irrepressible bliss. The cheese factor is bound to alienate some listeners but I happen to consider this one of Ofer’s great triumphs, particularly of the post-Pigs In Space period. However you may feel about it, this is undeniably original.

I don’t quite know what to say about Yahel’s Reality. I never cared for his style but will admit this piece is more appealing than most songs I’ve heard from him. Still, I wouldn’t rate it highly—this is a bit shrill and inauthentic for my taste.

Infected Mushroom deliver one of their finest works with Symphonatic, a legendary song that has graced dance floors all around the world. I remember nights where everyone at a party would be waiting for it, where the introductory sample (“a man with a bass just walked in…”) would elicit shouts and cheers and all hell would break loose. It hasn’t lost any of its lustre in the intervening years—not in my estimation, anyway.

The compilation comes to a close with Morphem’s Hypnotone, a sublime classic originally released on Kiss The Future 1. Gorgeous, hypnotic, and deeply entrancing—one of my all-time favourites.

Tsunami is a noteworth compilation for several reasons. Not only is the music extraordinary, but it also reached many new listeners by virtue of being the most widely distributed release in North America at the time (and, perhaps, ever). The downside: there isn’t much of a sense of storytelling to the release. It jumps from one style to the next without consideration of any sort of coherent flow. No matter—given the quality of the music this can be overlooked. Tsunami is a wonderful compilation that has held up to repeated listening over the years. Recommended.

Flying Rhino Records remain one of the most important labels in psytrance history. Slipstream is one of their most pivotal releases; it marks the point at which they fully embraced the implications of the “progressive” concept of electronic music authorship that has since become one of the dominant movements in the global psytrance scene. Slipstream builds on developments heard on Turbulence, the second compilation in the “Flight” series of compilations. The liner notes for Slipstream outline the intention behind the release:

“With this album we have tried to blur the lines between Trance, Techno, and Hard House whilst staying true to our heritage. This is the album that defines Flying Rhino’s new style… Evolution without compromise.”

Atmos opens the compilation with one of his most famous works: Klein Aber Doktor. This song really deserves its own write-up; it is the prototypical progressive psytrance anthem. Timeless.

Slide (Pete Martin) released his debut album Unstable in 1998, cementing his reputation for insanely chaotic yet devilishly funky psychedelic trance. Slipping in under the radar, Confusional State signified a major turning point in Slide’s career. No longer would chaos reign; it was subsumed beneath the funk, wrapped in a slick outer layer of gloss and polish. The results are magnificently smooth and utterly irresistible.

Stoop & Fidget is a collaboration between Gus Till and James Monro, both key figures in Flying Rhino history. Mudless is similar to Rumbling Toon in some ways; it develops gradually, stirring more and more psychedelic elements into the brew, eventually reaching a sustained peak of activity. This refined approach is an acquired taste, certainly—but the sheer quality of this song should be obvious to all listeners.

Next up, Kopfuss Resonator provides Holy Water, a piece of psychedelic techno similar to what can be heard on their debut album, Spect-® Module. German engineering at its finest.

Venom AKA N-Tropic follow with Try It, another pumping psychedelic techno track. It zips and whirls but never manages to drive the point home.

Dragon’s Freak The Greek builds on Venom’s insectile aesthetic, ratcheting up the intensity. This has a little more going for it but it still feels noisy and incoherent. I am intrigued, however: could one argue for this being an early precursor of the “darkpsy” style? A curiosity.

Bus (Gus Till’s solo project) restores interest with Something’s Always Out There, a fantastic work of cinematic psychedelic trance that shimmers with creativity. Something about the way in which Gus manipulates sounds in this song promotes a sense of awe and wonder. Blissful listening!

Blue Planet Corporation’s Micromega marks the climax of the compilation; this is the closest thing to classic Goa trance one will find here. Bubbling acid lines and chattering breakbeats leap through the air as the song opens up. Awesome stuff, and it can also be heard on BPC’s debut album, Blue Planet.

The compilation closes with Tribal Chord Projection by O.J. Project, a mysterious artist that might be an alias of Massimo Vivona. This is a stripped-down piece of progressive trance characterized by tight rhythmic programming and extremely deep atmospheres. It sounds a bit like the opening number by Atmos but lacks the same kind of spark. Although it is not the most successful offering on Slipstream it is easy to understand why it was selected for the compilation.

Slipstream is arguably one of the more important releases of 1998. It helped to pave the way for the rise of the minimal and progressive trends that dominated psychedelic trance for the next three to five years. Aside from being historic, Slipstream also makes for solid listening years down the line; its appeal is long-lasting. I would recommend this to all collectors with particular emphasis on anyone interested in the development of progressive psytrance.

Although DJ Bim had previously released Vibration 1 and Vibration 2 with Com.Pact Records, Goodfellas is the first official compilation on Medium (later Midijum) Records, his own label. Medium was heavily involved in the rise of progressive psytrance in the aftermath of the golden age of Goa trance. This compilation straddles the boundary; it features a blend of minimalism with hints of the old school sound.

Goodfellas did not receive a full vinyl release; instead, four tracks were put out on a sampler EP from Medium. Several of these songs can also be found on the 2CD Reincarnation compilation, an early “best of” compilation also from Medium.

The compilation opens with Return Of Shalam by Amourphous, better known as Noma to Scandinavian trance fans. This is deeply minimal and very forward-thinking for its time. Every sound has its place; the arrangement is about as stylish as can be. Pulsating rhythms and alien sound effects warp time and space into an all-consuming nothingness. This is a quintessential example of minimal psytrance in action.

Vapour is a one-off collaboration between the original line-up of SBK (Linus Wessel & Sebastian Krüger) and Jeppe Ornkilde of Phony Orphants. Sneaky Spasm isn’t much to speak of; it has a plodding tribal groove and a smattering of errant synth-lines, but doesn’t manage to muster up a memorable moment.

Next up, Tim Schuldt’s snarling masterpiece Pretty Poison receives an interesting remix treatment from Oforia. Taking the edge off, Ofer has crafted a devilishly effective alien epic. The wailing guitars are drowned in muddy atmospheres and a fiendish bass groove, conjuring a very unusual sound. The only thing missing is that last powerful moment when the guitars really kick in, but given that this remix is intended to be much more ethereal, it isn’t that much of an issue. This is an excellent reinterpretation of a great song.

Something Weird is easily the best of the compilation. Tim Schuldt and Space Cat join forces to deliver a darkly melodic example of psychedelic trance. Much like Schuldt’s collaboration with X-Dream (as The Groupie Syndrome), this collaboration brings out the best in both producers. Just listen as that sinister bass line crawls up from the depths of the main breakdown to a metallic blast of full-on energy. Awesome!

CHI-A.D. (Dave Young) digs deep with Machine Brain, an entrancing piece of psychedelic trance that straddles the borderlands of progressive and old school Goa trance. If you’ve heard Anno Domini you will know what to expect here. Quality stuff!

Johann Bley’s remix of an otherwise uninteresting old school Goa track by Evolution doesn’t really do it for me. The spirit is there all right—but the production style is rough and unpolished. The same could be said of the Mark Woods track; Goa fanatics might get a kick out of it but the rest of us aren’t likely to. Both tracks can be safely relegated to the dustbin of history.

M-Sphere concentrates on a cheerful, easygoing mood on Space Cam. Bubbly melodies progress through a series of pleasing transformations while simple beat structures loop and repeat beneath. Not bad, but nothing extraordinary either. I prefer M-Sphere’s later work.

Many of the early Medium compilations are a mixed bag in terms of quality and style, and this one is no different. I’d say this fares a little worse than most of DJ Bim’s releases for one simple reason: the old school tunes really flounder. Instead of tracking this one down it might be more worthwhile to grab Goa-Head 8 and the aforementioned Reincarnation compilation.

Voojoo Rituals is a somewhat obscure Israeli psytrance compilation “mixed” by DJ Gidi. I say “mixed” because the mixing here is truly awful—but at least it is all in the form of short fades rather than long beatmatching. The packaging is peculiar; this CD comes in a kind of plastic case with a blue switch at the corner to eject the disc. Worth noting: Hovek Olam also released a vinyl sampler EP featuring four of the better tracks from Voojoo Rituals.

The compilation opens with Scotch, a killer collaboration between Domestic and Infected Mushroom. Ranging from dark and minimal to full-on melodic bliss, this track covers a lot of territory. It is easily my favourite from this release and a surefire winner for all fans of the early Infected sound. The mix into the next track is the worst on the CD, unfortunately. I wish that beautiful lead-out could be recovered somehow…

The Race, taken from Full On 4, is a serious piece of power trance featuring samples from the speedway. Instead of overt melodies, Passenger (Guy Zukrel) uses layers of tonal constructions that accentuate the bass line. Simple yet deadly, but not the best from this MFG side project.

The Psycraft remix of BLT’s Lemon is bubbly and cheerful. It combines a fast bass-heavy groove with fluttering melodies and pleasant atmospheric themes. Something nice for the morning time.

After Infected Mushroom, Dark Soho was seen as the next big thing from Israel in the year 2000. Madness features a menacing blend of grinding guitars, cinematic atmospheres, and heavy beats, remaining true to the sound of their debut album Sun Spot. This is one of the better early singles from the group.

Satlanation AKA Gorlation Corporation is made up of Assaf Dor and Nir Shoshani (better known as Hujaboy). Alongside DJ Gidi they provide a lesson in Bassology with fat chunky beats and dazzling psychedelic effects. There is definitely a bit of Plastic Zeus in this one (see my review of U.F.S. 2 for more about that).

Creatures From Outer Space is a collaboration between DJ Goblin (of Psysex) and Talamasca. It originally appeared on a vinyl single from 3D Vision Records, though this version may differ slightly as it is the “Interactive Mix” (and I haven’t got the vinyl handy to double check). This deeply alien track is pure quality—Goblin and Lestat really know their business. It casts the listener deep into the shining void, building toward an extraordinary climax that seems to go on forever. Fantastic stuff!

BLT’s Fluffer is a playful piece of trance. The stodgy beat clunks and grooves as wispy melodies spiral through the air. Deep and interesting: a sign of things to come for Yuli.

Look At Me is not the best from Infected Mushroom but that isn’t saying much; they’ve got a lot of range and even some of their less successful tracks are better than the gems of other producers. This particular offering sounds a lot like other tracks from this era—a mix between The Gathering and Classical Mushroom. Aside from the insanely cool melodies, this track undergoes a bizarre metamorphosis at the halfway point when the title sample plays and the kick drum fattens up considerably. This is certainly a keeper for fans of the iconic Israeli group.

Psycraft rounds it out with Wild 19, a strange tune with spooky hints of melody, a plodding groove, and ill-fitting samples about executions and other nonsense. The BLT influences are strong in this one but the results are mediocre.

Voojoo Rituals is a strange one. Like many listeners, I really don’t appreciate the so-called mixing—and the order of tracks is odd, to say the least. Still, this compilation offers great insight into the development of what Shahar, in his Isratrance review, refers to as the “new generation” of Israeli trance producers. As such, it is certainly worth a listen.