CD, Thisco, 2008
www.myspace.com/thomartmr
I do appear to be attracted to particularly strange compilations as of late…it’s either that, or they find a way of bringing themselves to my attention. Thisco Records are a fairly well known label hailing from Lisbon, Portugal – I wish I knew an awful lot more about them but their ‘about us’ section on their website doesn’t have any English text, but they do seem to have several interesting upcoming releases. They certainly come across as a forward thinking, and rather artistic bunch. However I don’t think this compilation puts that across.
“C:\>_THOMAR” ranges from cute, kitschy electro, through to some odd world music sounding matter, to outright cheesy, sample laden techno. Stereoboy’s “Bubble 1” is very kitschy electro. I could imagine it being made in the 80’s on an Atari, as some sort of homage to Kraftwerk – but the most entertaining part of the track is the break right in the middle which sounds alarmingly like The Prodigy’s “No good start the dance” – anything that brings to mind both Kraftwerk and Prodigy can’t be bad though. U-Clic is like Benny Benassi gone 80’s; In fact I’m not entirely certain if this compilation had an entire 80s theme as it certainly seems prevalent amongst the tracks; maybe if I learnt some Portuguese I might be able to answer that one via their website. Waste Disposal Machine “I sing the body electric” has some fairly interesting crunchy sounds, and lyrics, and is a definite highlight to the compilation. Tatsumaki’s “I Live For Drugs” is techno with samples about drugs – not particularly inspiring fare.
Towards the end of the CD is where it starts to get seriously interesting. Zentex “Uusiase” is a pretty interesting piece of dancefloor friendly electro, but still nodding in the direction of the 80’s, yet not overly so. Euthymia’s “The Serpent” is gorgeously crafted, world music, with layers of eastern orchestra. I love the use of choir samples and natural environment sounds ranging from rattlesnakes to crickets chirping – although it feels slightly out of place here, it’s still a gorgeous track.
All in all, though, it’s not a bad compilation if you’ve got your 80’s head on but fancy a modern twist on it, with some interesting twists in direction from Euthymia and Zentex. Not going to grab much attention from those who aren’t familiar with the label already, but it’s an interesting introduction none the less.
[5.5/10]
— Kate Turgoose