Search - Gescom :: A1-D1

One of Gescom's strongest releases.

Steward Willons | Illinois | 04/03/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As most listeners are probably aware, Gescom is one of the pseudonyms of Autechre - used when they release material on the SKAM label. Gescom tends to be more along the lines of early Warp music and acid house than their Autechre material. It's less experimental, but you still get that twisted Autechre sensibility peaking through now and then.



The tone of the songs varies quite a bit. It doesn't feel like the album has a "flow," but that's not necessarily bad. It feels like of like a collection of singles. The music is more repetitive than most Autechre material, although it's never boring.



"A1" is actually one of the funkier tracks I've heard these guys do. It begins with a mashed-up breakbeat reminiscent of Funkstorung before diving into a looping melody that gets gradually tweaked over the course of the track.



"A2" sounds like something Aphex Twin would have done in the Analog Bubblebath series. It definitely has that familiar acid house feel.



"C1" sounds the most like Autechre of all the tracks. A two-bar loop receives constant variation for the duration of the track.



"C2" consists mainly of a barrage of beatless noise, which gradually morphs into a twisted beat.



"D1" brings us back to the 4/4 acid house feel. During its 9 minutes, the rhythms begin to come apart and things get weird. The basic 4/4 pulse remains as does a generally danceable feel.



While this is stylistically different than most Autechre material, I think most fans would enjoy seeing this other side. At minimum, everyone should check out the online samples. 30 seconds gives a pretty accurate view of what to expect. After listening to most of Gescom's output, I can also say that this among their most accessible work and definitely their strongest. Check it out."

Headphone Commute Review

Headphone Commute | 06/08/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Gestalt Communications returns after four years of silence, with two 12"s on Skam. The same release is repackaged into a mini white album with a clear sticker announcing in Braille its abbreviated name. The rest is just bar code and catalog number. The six tracks contain chopped up, effed up, transposed and twisted samples from classics like the 1978 disco, Space Dust, by Galactic Force Band; the 1994 acid track Downfall by Armando; 1993 ambient piece by David Byrne and Brian Eno, Come With Us; and a Chicago house track, No Way Back, from 1986 by Adonis. As always, the true identity behind the Gescom collective remain unknown, and we can only guess at the names of the usual suspects. Of course, Skam does not shed any light on the obscured artists either. What we can extract from this release is that it's as dirty, mental, and sick acid flashback as we could possibly anticipate. Whether Sean Booth or Rob Brown were involved, we can only presume, but will never know. What we can be sure of, is that A1-D1 sounds nothing like the 2008 album by Autechre, Quaristice. Perhaps Russel Haswell or Rob Hall had another hand at this. But since Gescom (aka, friends of Autechre) is a project of almost twenty different people, the digging and guessing is a moot point. Ignore the mystery and enjoy the release if you like abstract IDM by the above mentioned names plus AFX, The Tuss, Lego Feet, Jega, Clark, and Mr. 76ix. And I really dig A1."