Autechre - classic or dud

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.

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 - Eggshell
2. Amber - Glitch
3. Tri Rep - Clipper
4. Chiastic - Cipater
5. LP5 - Acroyear2
6. EP7 - Ccec
7. Gantz Graf
8. Confield - Eidetic Casein
9. Draft 7:30 - Surripere
10. Untilted - Pro Radii
11. Quaristice - 90101-5I-I
12. Oversteps - see on see
13. Exai - spl9
14. Elseq - foldfree casual
15. 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.

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?"

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

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.

rae

you know I’m right

“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

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.

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, 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.

he might be more interested in Aphex Twin tbh, send him the RDJ album

^Good call

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

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.

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

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?

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

Tri Rep remains their worst album for me. Lots of static tracks that pall quickly.

the thing with ae is that they're at their best now. neil young peaked in the 70s.

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)

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.

Tri Rep my fave by a wide distance - guess people look for different things in Ae

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.

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:

Cipater
Archcarrier
Ccec
Drane
Eidetic Casein
Gantz Graf (the video)
Surripere
Perlence
known(1)
bladelores
c16 deep tread
gonk steady one
au14

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:

Lowride
Slip
Garbagemx
Second Bad Vilbel
Eutow
Cichli
Laughing Quarter
Krib
Rae
Maphive6.1
Gantz Graf
Cfern
6IE.CR
Augmatic Disport
Simmm
d-sho qub
iris was a pupil
bladelores
c16 deep tread
violvoic
gr4
ecol4

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.

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 BOAC
sublimit
ylm0
cap.IV
lentic catachresis

under BOAC is spectacular. That would make a good starter track if you knew they were ready for a wild ride

under BOAC was the first autechre I truly got obsessed with

titles have definitely stood in the way of word of mouth

Just throw on Theme of Sudden Roundabout