Gomma Audio No. 1 is a various-artists collection featuring various works that were released between 1999 and 2001 on the Munich, Germany-based Gomma Records label, and as Shadow Records so often does, they've released some of these excellent sounds to the hungry ears of dance music fans stateside. Gomma Audio No. 1 features the work of Headman, Ike Yard, Protein, Leroy Hanghofer, Low Daddies, Barridstyle the Palermo King, Ilk Steiger, and Spenzer. The works that appear on Gomma Audio No. 1 are kind of experimental in places, yet sort of '80s kitsch in other places. Overall the sound and the aesthetic of this recording consists of that German, almost mechanical feel that much of the electronic dance music of this region consists of, sort of a trend started by Kraftwerk. When this recording references '80s kitsch, though, the sound mixes the influences of early-New York City hip-hop with some of the electro-synth pop that was hugely successful in that period. This is an interesting recording that surely has a lot of wonderful things going for it. Aesthetically this compilation is complete, and musically it consists of its own vocabulary; if Shadow set out to document the Gomma Records sound and encapsulate it, then they certainly have. ~ Matt Borghi, All Music Guide