― DV, Wednesday, 17 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Gage-o, Wednesday, 17 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― robin, Wednesday, 17 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Keith McDougall, Wednesday, 17 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― gareth, Wednesday, 17 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― your null fame, Wednesday, 17 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
the ATP curatorship thing generally - it all falls down if the curators have narrow musical tastes. The Mogwai year really suffered in that regard, presenting the punter with a seemingly endless sequence of dullards. But who knows, maybe Autechre have a great love of Northern Soul, Norwegian Black Metal, and Sarah Records bands, leading to the most eclectic bill yet.
Or maybe it'll just be Plaid, Plone, Plonk, Plop, Plurp, Plup, Plipplop etc.
― Tom, Wednesday, 17 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― jk, Wednesday, 17 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
I think it was Ethan that was saying that he liked Funkstorung better, a statement I agree with ONLY if you are referring to their respective remixes. For some reason Autechre's style transposed onto other music sounds less interesting than Funkstorung's similar but slightly more palatable in a song setting stylings.
― Alex in SF, Wednesday, 17 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Mitch Lastnamewithheld, Wednesday, 17 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Curt, Wednesday, 17 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
and the best: the remix they did on the dj food remix album
― ambrose, Wednesday, 17 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― michael, Wednesday, 17 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― michael bourke, Wednesday, 17 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
incunabula if you want early proto-IDM ala artificial intelligence series, which they appeared on anyway.
amber if you want ambient-ish type stuff with some nice beats thrown in on occasion
tri repetae if you want a nearly perfect mix of melody and industrial influenced beats
lp5 if you want the most accessible of the abstract- try out song one and song ten on that disc (arch carrier is one of the song names, i believe.)
confield if you want to hear an audial equivelant to a math equation (which is nice in doses, but i don't recommend listening to the whole album unless you have other stimulus keeping you interested ie weed, maaaan)
― Todd Burns, Wednesday, 17 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Somehow along the years, like every band in history, they got to the point where instead of just churning out quality tunes in the "heat of the moment", the momentum you get when you go "hey, we're on to something here", they sat down and began to *think* about their music and where the development should lead to - and that's the point where a band loses the plot. I feel that Autechre started to go down a path where each successive album/EP *had* to be more dissonant, harsher, less aesthetically pleasing - just for the sake of it. The balance between the sublime abstract weirdness and the charisma of the "listenable" warm synths and coherency has been tipping too much in the direction of "what can we do to fuck as much with the sound just to make it barely listenable". Somehow they're trapped in what people expect from them: to deliver the most abstract and mathematically precise form of music on the planet. And paradoxally, this expectation has made them turn into both extremely unlistenable (yet still worthwile, because the gratification of spending hours to "get" it is still a lovely experience) and extremely predictable music.
― Siegbran Hetteson, Wednesday, 17 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― owen hatherley, Wednesday, 17 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Dare, Wednesday, 17 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Dare = time-travelling prodigy!
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 17 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― lee g, Wednesday, 17 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
I bet Confield will make sense in 2006.
If you were to hear Second Bad Vibel or Viral(as Gescom) on a loud club system you would get autechre. Autechre rules because they were a UK IDM act that you can actually dance to.
― mt, Wednesday, 17 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Lee, Thursday, 18 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
This is one of those cases where, even if you don't like the group, you have to admit that they're pretty much classic.
― Clarke B., Thursday, 18 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
(just posting here for a special troll in my heart who i see didn't bother to air his own opinions.)
― jess, Thursday, 18 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Indeed!
I'll say it again (I really remember discussing this before): pure soul music for the 21th century. Maybe forbidding at times. Cold? Inhuman? Never.
― Omar, Thursday, 18 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Jess, this isn't a Felix da Housecat thread!
― ethan, Thursday, 18 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― gareth, Thursday, 18 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Tom, Thursday, 18 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― bnw, Thursday, 18 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
I am no jess
i think this is a joke or a taking of my piss. i hope to god it is.
(and gareth, if you must know, it's sometimes lurker/poster/troll dr. funk - my first critic! - who apparently (to read his blog) thinks i'm dumber than pigshit, although he's yet to have the guts to say it on the board.)
but when it comes out, the press (Wire specifically) will be heralding it as the new-sound... blah blah blah blah...
― Baxter Wingnut, Thursday, 18 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
all signs point to a new ep, as they need to keep their name out here after their tour, i guess.
― Todd Burns, Thursday, 18 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― bob snoom, Thursday, 18 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
I don't necessarily disagree. In my headcanon "Bryan Ferry Sings LP5" is an actual thing. It's never going to happen outside of remixes though. I 100% feel that Plaid ought to go back to doing more vocal collabs
― the forces of darkness making making us laugh ourselves into DEATH?? (dog latin), Monday, 6 February 2023 04:09 (one year ago) link
autechre must follow the mouse on mars path: getting an mc like mark e smith
― CerebralCaustic, Monday, 6 February 2023 05:13 (one year ago) link
The NTS set is the same set as the Mixlr one from December, for anyone interested.
― assert (matttkkkk), Monday, 6 February 2023 07:39 (one year ago) link
the description did seem familiar
― koogs, Monday, 6 February 2023 09:06 (one year ago) link
aw
― what have I done to deserve you (lukas), Monday, 6 February 2023 17:07 (one year ago) link
If someone you knew was curious about Autechre, but had never heard Autechre, what track or album would you play them in 2024?
― your mom goes to limgrave (dog latin), Tuesday, 11 June 2024 20:09 (three days ago) link
PLUS and SIGN followed by LP5 and EP7.
― Instead of create and send out, it pull back and consume (unperson), Tuesday, 11 June 2024 20:12 (three days ago) link
Is there something from 2000-2010 we’d add?
― Marten Broadcloak, mild-mannered GOP congressman (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 11 June 2024 20:24 (three days ago) link
d sho qub!!!
― frogbs, Tuesday, 11 June 2024 20:26 (three days ago) link
plus and sign otm. then maybe exai. the hard thing with finding a good ae track to play someone is the length ime. for pretty ae there's gr4. for 'goes hard' ae i think spl9 is relatively economical in terms of length.
― he/him hoo-hah (map), Tuesday, 11 June 2024 20:26 (three days ago) link
I wonder what the ultimate AE playlist would contain
― Marten Broadcloak, mild-mannered GOP congressman (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 11 June 2024 20:28 (three days ago) link
1 hour? 2 hours? 4 hours? 8 hours? 16 hours?
― frogbs, Tuesday, 11 June 2024 20:32 (three days ago) link
4.640147 hours
― Marten Broadcloak, mild-mannered GOP congressman (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 11 June 2024 20:36 (three days ago) link
The band has such a huge catalog and evolution of their sound in some ways over the years that it's a complicated answer.
I think I would need more context to better suggest something. Are you recommending them to someone with the intent of them listening to or getting into the full catalog? Or are their tastes configured in such a way that they'd be more amenable to pre or post 90's Ae? Do you want them to experience an "album" or a general "vibe"?
I almost think putting together a playlist might make more sense. If you had to pick an "album" I feel Sign/Plus, Oversteps and Draft 7:30 do a decent job of straddling the accessibility of their 90's output with the textural experimentalism they've explored since, but LP5, EP7, Chiastic and Tri Rep are straight up classics too, with the latter influencing a significant number of artists in the late 90's.
― octobeard, Tuesday, 11 June 2024 20:39 (three days ago) link
I think you could concisely express the high points and diversity of their output in a 2 hour compilation, honestly. You don't need to play them all end or gonk steady one or anything long form to convey what they're about.
― octobeard, Tuesday, 11 June 2024 20:40 (three days ago) link
yeah the question is how much stuff like Garbage/Eutow/Arch Carrier do you include
― frogbs, Tuesday, 11 June 2024 20:43 (three days ago) link
you could get long-winded and sound like a sports journalist about it, consider referring to them as 'booth and brown' at least once.
my attempt was with a 24 year old who likes yung lean. it didn't work. but getting him into neil young did, so that's nice.
― he/him hoo-hah (map), Tuesday, 11 June 2024 20:44 (three days ago) link
Autechre are probably my favorite band I've never actually tried to get anyone into, just seems like a big ask, sure they have some kickass tracks that'll pique their interest but they're just one small piece of a catalogue that by and large is very inaccessible, for me personally it took quite a few tries to get into it. idk if i wanna put anyone through that. its kinda like On Cinema in that regard.
― frogbs, Tuesday, 11 June 2024 20:48 (three days ago) link
yeah i agree with that. i doubt i'll ever try to 'introduce' them to anyone. probably no one is going to be like 'oh i've heard of them i've been meaning to check them out.' i feel like either you're already a fan or you're not interested.
― he/him hoo-hah (map), Tuesday, 11 June 2024 20:55 (three days ago) link
the guy at the record store said that to me after I ordered the Confield/Draft reissues, he asked where he should start and I was like "man idk I've never even said their name out loud"
― frogbs, Tuesday, 11 June 2024 21:05 (three days ago) link
i doubt i'll ever try to 'introduce' them to anyone. probably no one is going to be like 'oh i've heard of them i've been meaning to check them out.' i feel like either you're already a fan or you're not interested.
I think you absolutely could get a regular person into Autechre, but your pitch has to be basically "You wanna hear the wildest shit ever?" And then play them a track that almost sounds like music made by humans. Dip their toes in the shallow end of the pool and then let them go further out on their own if they want to.
― Instead of create and send out, it pull back and consume (unperson), Tuesday, 11 June 2024 21:06 (three days ago) link
For a two hour mix I'd probably make sure at least 1 song per album was on the mix, with a couple EP/single only tracks here and there when necessary. That alone, if chosen wisely would give a good progression of their stylistic diversity and sound evolution. Obviously you're leaving a ton on the cutting room floor. But that's for the person to then explore on their own.
Here's a sample:
1. Incunabula - Eggshell2. Amber - Glitch3. Tri Rep - Clipper4. Chiastic - Cipater5. LP5 - Acroyear26. EP7 - Ccec7. Gantz Graf8. Confield - Eidetic Casein9. Draft 7:30 - Surripere10. Untilted - Pro Radii11. Quaristice - 90101-5I-I12. Oversteps - see on see13. Exai - spl914. Elseq - foldfree casual15. NTS - six of eight (midst)16. SIGN/PLUS - Metaz form8
This is about 2 hours, showcases nearly every aspect of their style, including the insane experimentalism. I didn't pick my favorites from each, but tracks that seemingly expressed the core aesthetic intent and vibe of each record from my view. Exai and NTS were a bit tough though since both really expresses that diversity on their own.
― octobeard, Tuesday, 11 June 2024 21:11 (three days ago) link
I mean people get into Aphex Twin still all the time, prob not that much of a stretch, though they maybe don't have anything that grabs your attention immediately like Aphex does. when I play their wilder shit for people the reaction I usually get is "do people enjoy this?"
― frogbs, Tuesday, 11 June 2024 21:12 (three days ago) link
but yeah I like octo's approach, I did that when trying to make a P-Model/Hirasawa mix CD for someone, which is also one of those things where each release builds off the previous one in some way, so just going steadily chronological is pretty fun. though I will say I'd choose an entirely different set of tracks lol
― frogbs, Tuesday, 11 June 2024 21:14 (three days ago) link
Now that I look over that list - if I had to POO with a gun to my head as an intro to the band - it would be Surripere. It starts quite accessibly with an electro beat and droning series of delayed chords. It expresses the dark melancholy vibe of their 90's work, and then dissolves into a chaotic deconstruction that feels definitively post 90's Ae, ending with an only vaguely repetitive beat/bassline that feels distinctly alien.
― octobeard, Tuesday, 11 June 2024 21:14 (three days ago) link
rae you know I’m right
― assert (matttkkkk), Tuesday, 11 June 2024 21:19 (three days ago) link
“I think you absolutely could get a regular person into Autechre, but your pitch has to be basically "You wanna hear the wildest shit ever?" I totally believe in this strategy, people just need to be exposed to more weird shit. Could even see people who don’t even really like music enjoying Autechre, its sort of like cinematic pyrotechnics or something
― brimstead, Tuesday, 11 June 2024 21:22 (three days ago) link
though I will say I'd choose an entirely different set of tracks lol
Yeah - shit I'd probably change this list wholesale myself after a day or two. spl9 I put on because I wanted at least one insanely aggressive up tempo banger on it, but kinda wish I'd gone with Flep or recks on. Probably should have gone with Parhelic Triangle on Confield.
I chose acroyear2 for LP5 because it is a wild shift in their sound and accurately foreshadows some of their future direction while retaining the clear melodic accessibility of the 90's. I chose Ccec to showcase the Ae "swagger" and hip hop influence in their work. Neither are my favorites on each.
― octobeard, Tuesday, 11 June 2024 21:23 (three days ago) link
I will say though - damn, their opening tracks on nearly every full length album (and "EP") are just absolute stunners. Maybe only Amber and Quaristice are lacking in this department.
― octobeard, Tuesday, 11 June 2024 21:25 (three days ago) link
Octobeard, that's a fantastic set of "Welcome to AeLand" tracks.
I recently introduced a 63-year-old friend of mine to Autechre, the first time I've attempted to do so with anyone (I'm 37). He has really wide-ranging but kind of "basic" taste, from CSNY to Metallica to Olivia Rodrigo for example. Spends a lot of time on Youtube checking out new stuff. For newer electronic stuff he said he's into Skrillex, Daft Punk, and DJ Snake in particular. He's also into the Blade Runner soundtrack. He had never heard of Autechre, Aphex Twin or pretty much anything "IDM" adjacent.
So I played him some tracks from LP5. He was blown away by "Acroyear2" and said it was like electronic speed metal. But he started to lose interest after a few minutes. I was like, "you have to wait until they switch the beat up!" So we did, and when the beat came back in half-time he thought it was cool, but clearly not as much as I did.
I followed that up with "Corc" as an example of their gentler side. He thought it was pretty, but about halfway through it he said something like "This doesn't really go anywhere, does it?" For me this listening session had already become the awkward situation where you're showing someone a song or a movie you love and you become ultra self-conscious and every potential fault in the work of art becomes magnified. So I said what I was already kind of thinking, something like, "yeah it's pretty repetitive/static in some ways but I think the details in the percussion and synths that are constantly changing are really interesting." He could appreciate that too, but he was craving something like pop song structure, where Autechre is like, "here's an idea, let's see what we can do with it" with nothing resembling a verse, chorus, etc.
He had basically the same reaction to "Arch Carrier" where he really dug it at first but wanted it to go somewhere else after a couple minutes.
Overall I'd say it was a success in that my friend appreciated the production and wasn't freaked out by any of it. And he did think the speed up/slow down effect on "Fold4,Wrap5" was really cool. So maybe he would be more into the rhythmic experimentation on Confield or Untilted. So I might send him some of those tracks and let him explore on his own without me anxiously sitting next to him lol.
― J. Sam, Tuesday, 11 June 2024 22:54 (three days ago) link
he might be more interested in Aphex Twin tbh, send him the RDJ album
― default damager (lukas), Tuesday, 11 June 2024 22:56 (three days ago) link
^Good call
― J. Sam, Tuesday, 11 June 2024 22:58 (three days ago) link
J. Sam, I like using synaesthetic analogies for explaining their style sometimes. You were basically sharing some abstract expressionism with someone with an aesthetic tolerance that borders around cubism.
With Ae, the minimalist song structures are often the point. He'd probably feel similarly listening to Villalobos perhaps
― octobeard, Wednesday, 12 June 2024 01:41 (two days ago) link
I.e. he is the kind of art person that needs representation, even if abstracted, rather than purely abstract exploration of texture, shape and color with no earthly reference points.
― octobeard, Wednesday, 12 June 2024 01:46 (two days ago) link
I think a 63 year old person into CSNY even giving Ae a chance is miraculous, and cool to hear how open they were to it
― Paul Ponzi, Wednesday, 12 June 2024 13:09 (two days ago) link
If someone was curious about Autechre but had never heard them, I'd play them something from their classic 90's run, probably "Tri Repetae". That would be my answer in 2024, and also in 2004.
If someone had never heard of, say, Neil Young, then I'd play an album he recorded in the 70's, that to me is the spirit of the question, and everything he's done in the past 20+ years and the artist he is today isn't relevant.
When you need an intro to an artist with a decades long career and a prolific, highly varied catalogue, it's always best to start at the beginning or close to it, no?
― NoTimeBeforeTime, Thursday, 13 June 2024 08:32 (yesterday) link
I think SIGN is maybe the right choice here. I would have be tempted to say something like LP5, which was my introduction to them, but I think the futureshock might have diminished with that one by today's glossy standards
― your mom goes to limgrave (dog latin), Thursday, 13 June 2024 09:05 (yesterday) link
Tri Rep remains their worst album for me. Lots of static tracks that pall quickly.
― assert (matttkkkk), Thursday, 13 June 2024 12:39 (yesterday) link
the thing with ae is that they're at their best now. neil young peaked in the 70s.
― he/him hoo-hah (map), Thursday, 13 June 2024 12:53 (yesterday) link
Agreed - and I love Tri Rep but it's not exactly demonstrative of where they've been for most of their career (Chiastic Slide maybe more so)
― ledge, Thursday, 13 June 2024 13:05 (yesterday) link
I rank Tri Rep near the bottom too though a lot of that has to do with how much it just hurts my ears
I'd always heard that referred to as their best so I tried it over and over again, decided to give Chiastic a shot just to see if I should give up on them or not, and wound up liking it way more. no reason this kind of music can't groove.
― frogbs, Thursday, 13 June 2024 13:53 (yesterday) link
Tri Rep my fave by a wide distance - guess people look for different things in Ae
― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Thursday, 13 June 2024 14:10 (yesterday) link
i really like tri rep but it took me a while, like frogbs is saying, lots of weird high end and the rest is kinda still comparatively. chiastic slide and garbage are my favs from the 90s.
― he/him hoo-hah (map), Thursday, 13 June 2024 14:13 (yesterday) link
I'll occasionally put on one of the first three autechre albums which I do enjoy a lot, but yeah, Chiastic Slide to me is the one where they actually start becoming the autechre I love and if I wanted someone to get into them, I would probably not pick something from the early-early albums
If I had to pick some tracks, I would go with the tracks on each of the albums which initially hooked me, something like:
CipaterArchcarrierCcecDraneEidetic CaseinGantz Graf (the video)SurriperePerlenceknown(1)bladeloresc16 deep treadgonk steady oneau14
― silverfish, Thursday, 13 June 2024 14:48 (yesterday) link
Funnily enough I actually made a "one track from each release playlist a while ago:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4I4DcXrTiNjhcBw9Y5vNM3?si=c8b42457b6924f46
Not sure how satisfactory it is in being a "best of", since there are albums where I prefer multiple tracks over those on other releases, but it's:
LowrideSlipGarbagemxSecond Bad VilbelEutowCichliLaughing QuarterKribRaeMaphive6.1Gantz GrafCfern6IE.CRAugmatic DisportSimmmd-sho qubiris was a pupilbladeloresc16 deep treadviolvoicgr4ecol4
― your mom goes to limgrave (dog latin), Thursday, 13 June 2024 15:01 (yesterday) link
Said it before but I would really love to hear some updated mixes/remasters of Tri-Rep and Amber. The former especially could use some mixing adjustments and more prominent bass and sub bass. At times it's almost 80's-ish in its sonic presentation.
― octobeard, Thursday, 13 June 2024 18:08 (yesterday) link
some things that haven't been mentioned yet (I think? these song titles, man...) that I would personally include:
the egg (from the first artificial intelligence lp)under BOACsublimitylm0cap.IVlentic catachresis
― (⊙_⊙?) (original bgm), Thursday, 13 June 2024 20:55 (yesterday) link
under BOAC is spectacular. That would make a good starter track if you knew they were ready for a wild ride
― your mom goes to limgrave (dog latin), Thursday, 13 June 2024 21:47 (yesterday) link
under BOAC was the first autechre I truly got obsessed with
― silverfish, Thursday, 13 June 2024 23:25 (yesterday) link