Gescom - ISS:SA (Skam)

So we'll never know who's behind Gestalt Communications (Gescom), so what? It's pretty obvious that Sean Booth and Rob Brown of Autechre have a hand at this. This 2003 EP only reveals the well respected label, Skam and its title, ISS:SA, and even the latter is slapped as a braille sticker. The release did however follow on the heels of Autechre's DRAFT 7.30 (released only a week later) so many fans pick up the glitchy destroyed patterns, doomed abstract chords, and unrecognized splattered percussion to be as an extension of the album. Unlike any other collective, Gescom continues to lead us into the dark alley of nightmarish pleasures. All the while you're protecting your valuables and trying to scratch your head and place that sound that you've heard before. C'mon brain! Reconstruct this puzzle into a four second jingle! There!!! No, gone again. Smack! The last track, titled Slow Acid is a favorite of mine. This needs to be turned up much louder to hear all the tiny little white noise melodies in the background, while the AE kick progresses forward in a steady beat, and the common acid-house chords are choked up beyond comprehension. Sub woofer required. The artwork contained in the sleeve of the record is a special bonus. Another testimony to why records can offer just a little bit MORE. The insert is a two sided glossy print featuring a digitally modified image of trumpet, or perhaps a polished motorcycle exhaust pipe, creating an astonishingly bizarre brass instrument, the likes of which could only belong to Booth and Brown. The CD version of the record has a bonus track, titled Megamix. This is a 15 minute Gescom concoction which was originally featured on BBC Radio One's show when they did a Skam Records label profile. Here, the metallic rhythms and bit-crushed patterns are continuously looped into tiny fragments. I can only speculate if all the pieces are from previous Gescom releases and if it was performed live by sliding the loop window over an area of some track(s). Only like Autechre.

myspace.com/skamsmak | skam.co.uk

Gescom - A1-D1 (Skam)

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.

skam.co.uk | myspace.com/gescomskam