Bochum Welt - R.O.B. (Robotic Operating Buddy)

Label: Rephlex
Released: 2008
Style: Breakbeat, Electro, IDM

"Long-standing Braindance aficionado Gianluigi Di Costanza finds himself at something of a crossroads on this release. On one disc he looks back to his Rephlex past, compiling all the rare, hotly sought after material you'd otherwise have to turn towards eBay for, while on the other he offers a glimpse of the direction in which his music's headed, with a selection of new tracks and mixes. Turns out these forking paths pretty much wind up at the same destination: exactly the kind of futuristic electro/techno/whatever amalgam of electronic disciplines you've come to love and trust the Rephlex stable for. There's something timeless about the Rephlex sound (and Bochum Welt is one of the label's key ambassadorial figures): not necessarily because it never gets old, but rather because these guys just don't feel the need for arbitrary change. There's certainly an argument to be made in favour of that mindset, after all, who really wants to hear electronic artists whose musical direction is dictated by the latest software updates they've installed? No such problems here. Both discs present a sci-fi tinged vision of a future that never quite happened, but electronica devotees will doubtless find themselves right at home in this synth squelching nonplace, comprehensively running through dystopian soundscapes, hotwired circuitry and the kind of beats that'll have you pining simultaneously for the mid-nineties and the year 2537 AD." - Boomkat

Tracklisting:

Disc 1:

1 Flag (3:00)
2 Robotic Operating Buddy (3:36)
3 Saint (Dmix) (5:05)
4 8221SB (3:23)
5 Interlude (Extended) (3:37)
6 DR2D (5:16)
7 Gyromite (4:28)
8 Test Mode (2:49)
9 HC-012 (4:45)
10 Family Computer Robot (4:11)
11 Fcs (6:17)

Disc 2:

1 Extra Life (3:40)
2 Avtomaticesk (Edit) (2:23)
3 Mechanique (Version) (3:11)
4 Paph (2:43)
5 Asteroids Over Berlin (3:19)
6 Puck (2:50)
7 Lunakhod (2:57)
8 B2 (2:59)
9 Desktop Robotics (4:31)
10 Leafs Brought By The Wind (3:19)
11 Asteroids Over Berlin (Live) (2:19)
12 Board 2 (3:30)
13 Hug Me Tight (2:56)
14 Greenwich (3:54)
15 Fortune Green (3:20)
16 Radiopropulsive (3:46)
17 That's Mutuality (2:39)
18 Feelings On A Screen (3:01)
19 Arnos Park (3:16)
20 La Nuit (Slumber Mix) (3:08)

Link (Disc 1)
Link (Disc 2)