Gescom - MiniDisc [Warp/ EMI - 2006]This as it’s title and cover suggest original was a minidisk only release in 1998. Here it’s presented for the first time ever on cd, the original 44 tracks index down to a smaller 88, which frankly makes it rather frustrating trying to find certain element or track bits. Sadly this Frustration taints the whole thing, this is a very mixed bag of some great moments, some ok moments and some down right awful moments. Gescom is and was the side project of Autechre’s Rob Brown & Sean Booth, which comes off like Autechre's more playful and not so clever kid brother. Most of the album it's made up of little bits of electro beat discharged, little snippets say a few seconds of computer sound- come rhythmic play about, then it's on to the next track. Littered here and there are a few real length tracks moving towards a few minutes, which are fairly standard Intelligent dance music or electro ambience, that could have come from anyone of Warp records 1990’s all stars. On about a quarter of the tracks there’s some general interested a memorable moments, like a less angler and precise Autechre, but sadly with little of their ear for melancholy machine dieing melodic tones. This ultimately feels like they created this material purely for the mindisc format, as a result too much comes off as rushed or just excise in computer rthymic burps, which really they can do with their hands tied behind thier backs. Interesting as a missing link or historic record, but otherwise avoid. Roger Batty
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