Thisco

"Thisconnected" (Album, 2002)

As a calling card for the wellspring of leftfield electronica that can be found on Portuguese label This.co's books, Thisconnected is as smart and impression-making as you could expect to see. There's an otherwordly, ethereal, unhinged, even illogical feeling to a lot of this (just check out second cut Ja Ja - a chant that features in the track - for a piece that personifies the This.co approach to freeform eclecticism).

Some artists I was already familiar with when this was released (in 2002) are perhaps more immediately accessible such as Ras.al.Ghul. The sleeve design (above) is misleading. It suggests something more in-your-face, aggressive, painful even. This is never painful. Challenging, thought-provoking, hard to define and unpredictable - yes - but not painful. A recommened point of embarkation for the label. 7/10

Rob Dyer (June 2010)