https://d1rgjmn2wmqeif.cloudfront.net/r/b/202853-1.jpg
Might as well have a thread to live blog the live stream.
― neith moon (ledge), Wednesday, 7 October 2020 20:19 (three years ago) link
sir, when and where is that?
― lukas, Wednesday, 7 October 2020 20:21 (three years ago) link
I'm writing about this one for tQ and hadn't realised they were doing this, so now I'm trying to cram my own thoughts out before I get influenced by others' reactions
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Wednesday, 7 October 2020 20:21 (three years ago) link
Ah okay, autechre.warp.net, 1 Pacific tomorrow
― lukas, Wednesday, 7 October 2020 20:23 (three years ago) link
'SIGN' Album Stream. Thursday 8th October.22:00 CEST / 21:00 BST / 16:00 EDT / 13:00 PDT / 05:00 JST (9th) https://autechre.warp.net
― neith moon (ledge), Wednesday, 7 October 2020 20:23 (three years ago) link
oh goodie!
― calzino, Wednesday, 7 October 2020 20:25 (three years ago) link
Welp, goodbye plans to work tomorrow
― Paul Ponzi, Wednesday, 7 October 2020 20:30 (three years ago) link
> LP 14
[citation needed]
― koogs, Wednesday, 7 October 2020 21:10 (three years ago) link
LP01 IncunabulaLP02 AmberLP03 Tri RepetaeLP04 Chiastic SlideLP05 LP5LP06 ConfieldLP07 Draft 7:30LP08 UntiltedLP09 QuaristiceLP10 OverstepsLP11 ExaiLP12 ElseqLP13 NTS SessionsLP14 SIGN
Are Elseq or NTS Sessions not official long players? I mean they were kinda extra long too. Unless you consider the 5 Elseqs and 4 Sessions their own LPs, in which case we're on LP21
EP7, Qradrange and Move of Ten don't count as official long players, despite containing enough music to be one.
― octobeard, Wednesday, 7 October 2020 23:44 (three years ago) link
There's an argument against 12 and 13 being LP's given that 13 started as 8 hours of radio and, iirc, 12 was things they were using live. And the lengths count against them, imo, yes.
Maybe i'm just railing against calling something lp14 when it has a perfectly good name already. Like calling Jon Pertwee The Third.
― koogs, Thursday, 8 October 2020 04:58 (three years ago) link
elseq doesn't overlap much with the live stuff, and it was described as an album by the label and the group at the time I think.Also worth noting that several titles suggest a numbered list: Tri, LP5, Draft 7, Exai.
― assert (MatthewK), Thursday, 8 October 2020 05:21 (three years ago) link
If there's a numbered list - I wouldn't get hung up on it - SIGN suggests this is LP12: signs of the zodiac, the circle on the cover
― 1000 Scampo DJs (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 8 October 2020 06:38 (three years ago) link
It's clearly (clearly!) the 14th release of long form studio material (accepting official designations of their EPs). I don't think 'things they were using live' clearly demarcates elseq from any other release.
― neith moon (ledge), Thursday, 8 October 2020 07:36 (three years ago) link
i think it's possible to think of elseq and NTS as being something different to the "album" albums, and if you think of the number-related title sequence as a thing then i can make a case for "Sign" as 12 but can't figure a connection with 14
this is an entirely trivial game/crossword puzzle by the way, albums are long dead ffs
― 1000 Scampo DJs (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 8 October 2020 07:47 (three years ago) link
after a very casual first listen "gr4" and "th red a" was my fave sequence of tracks.
― calzino, Thursday, 8 October 2020 08:39 (three years ago) link
F7 is an absolute banger as well!
― calzino, Thursday, 8 October 2020 08:52 (three years ago) link
vocal track "esc desc" takes a very lovely detour
― calzino, Thursday, 8 October 2020 09:03 (three years ago) link
quite upset that “pissin AM” turned out to be exactly what it sounds like
― assert (MatthewK), Thursday, 8 October 2020 11:16 (three years ago) link
Still in doubt if I want to listen to this tonight? Like let it wash over me in all it's - undoubtedly awesome and confusing - glory, but without the chance to dive in again until the lp's arrive, versus ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and enjoy the ride.
― Ilxor in the streets, Scampo in the sheets (Le Bateau Ivre), Thursday, 8 October 2020 12:13 (three years ago) link
(psst..) it's *available* to stream on slsk as well
― calzino, Thursday, 8 October 2020 13:54 (three years ago) link
tick.jpg
― Ilxor in the streets, Scampo in the sheets (Le Bateau Ivre), Thursday, 8 October 2020 14:22 (three years ago) link
― calzino, Thursday, October 8, 2020 9:54 AM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink
How can we be sure they aren't fakes?
― Paul Ponzi, Thursday, 8 October 2020 16:15 (three years ago) link
the one on slsk right now is definitely not real
― frogbs, Thursday, 8 October 2020 16:18 (three years ago) link
I like some of these fake Autechre tracks, they might be better than the real thing!
― calzino, Thursday, 8 October 2020 16:20 (three years ago) link
hmmm
― Paul Ponzi, Thursday, 8 October 2020 16:23 (three years ago) link
So how does this work? I just go to the Warp page and it'll be there? Or is it being hosted someplace else?
― Paul Ponzi, Thursday, 8 October 2020 18:53 (three years ago) link
autechre.warp.net
― 1000 Scampo DJs (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 8 October 2020 19:34 (three years ago) link
thanks!
― Paul Ponzi, Thursday, 8 October 2020 19:46 (three years ago) link
zomg i'm locked in
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Thursday, 8 October 2020 19:49 (three years ago) link
lol i've got to go out shortly
― 1000 Scampo DJs (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 8 October 2020 19:50 (three years ago) link
It's starting!
― octobeard, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:00 (three years ago) link
Yay, going with silence beforehand was a good idea
― Maresn3st, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:00 (three years ago) link
lol i wondered where the noises in the house were coming from then remembered i'd got the stream running
― 1000 Scampo DJs (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:01 (three years ago) link
I love it already.
― octobeard, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:02 (three years ago) link
ohhhhhhhhhhhhh
― lukas, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:02 (three years ago) link
Those pesky sound designers next door
― Maresn3st, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:02 (three years ago) link
i am listening on cheap child's headphones because our daughter is being restless and i didn't want to go upstairs and risk waking her, these were all i could find downstairs.
― neith moon (ledge), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:03 (three years ago) link
avoid the chat. are those things always like this? gonna periodically check in here instead
love this already btw
― Paul Ponzi, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:03 (three years ago) link
damn
― lukas, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:04 (three years ago) link
imagining myself on a beach tbh
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:04 (three years ago) link
Stuck at a city hall meeting #sadlolEnjoy people.
― Ilxor in the streets, Scampo in the sheets (Le Bateau Ivre), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:04 (three years ago) link
That chatroom is so gross and unpleasant and reminds me why I don't look at 99% of things I could look at online
This is lovely music though
― boxedjoy, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:06 (three years ago) link
lol i never dreamed of looking at the chat, same as i turn it off if i'm watching a football stream
― 1000 Scampo DJs (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:07 (three years ago) link
yeah it's gorj so far. leaving the chat tab hidden for sure
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:07 (three years ago) link
The synthetic yet operatic quality of the pads and their lovely, cavernous reverb (which seems to be a different reverb effect they've been using the last 5-6 years) is incredible. Very different vibe immediately
― octobeard, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:09 (three years ago) link
ah here we go on some electro shit
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:09 (three years ago) link
omg whut with this 2nd track already
― Paul Ponzi, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:10 (three years ago) link
oversteps feel here. so lush though! almost feels like they're trolling us.
― neith moon (ledge), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:10 (three years ago) link
soo...Oversteps 2??? nice
― frogbs, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:11 (three years ago) link
def lush
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:11 (three years ago) link
If this is trolling, keep trolling me daddy
― octobeard, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:11 (three years ago) link
beautiful
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:14 (three years ago) link
SFJ interview with the guys
https://sfj.substack.com/p/autechre-sign
― lukas, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:15 (three years ago) link
sounds almost progressive / symphonic. they've really developed a lot melodically.
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:16 (three years ago) link
ugh no thanks to having to sift through sfj words xp
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:17 (three years ago) link
i checked in on the stream late and but whatever is happening now is phenomenal
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:18 (three years ago) link
this disembodied marimbas thing is great and NEWhow are they always new?
― assert (MatthewK), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:19 (three years ago) link
haha fair, here are the good bits:
“I hadn’t felt that solid about putting together an album in a while,” Booth said.“We started building up the rig in the summer of 2018, right after the Australian tour,” Booth said.“The MIDI keyboard only handles a very limited set of information,” Booth says. “And it’s based on the piano, a very specific instrument from a very specific time. We’re just using MAX to be more compositional in what we do.”The duo worked on tracks for over a year, finishing in February of 2020, before lockdown.“We’d get in touch and it would turn out we were doing the same kind of thing, without even talking,” Brown said. “I’m not sure we could do it in the same room now. But we’re often thinking the exact same thing.” Like what?“Ah . . . that’s lush—fuck.”
“We started building up the rig in the summer of 2018, right after the Australian tour,” Booth said.
“The MIDI keyboard only handles a very limited set of information,” Booth says. “And it’s based on the piano, a very specific instrument from a very specific time. We’re just using MAX to be more compositional in what we do.”
The duo worked on tracks for over a year, finishing in February of 2020, before lockdown.
“We’d get in touch and it would turn out we were doing the same kind of thing, without even talking,” Brown said. “I’m not sure we could do it in the same room now. But we’re often thinking the exact same thing.”
Like what?
“Ah . . . that’s lush—fuck.”
― lukas, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:19 (three years ago) link
gently burbling programmatic music w mean ole bass
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:19 (three years ago) link
There's some really interesting, subtle delay FX on those marimbas that have been building over the whole track in the background there
― octobeard, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:20 (three years ago) link
and that dry muffled kick I always love
― assert (MatthewK), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:20 (three years ago) link
there are a couple more quotes in the article ... for those who DARE
― lukas, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:20 (three years ago) link
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Thursday, October 8, 2020 1:19 PM (fifty-two seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink
the core, the heart music
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:21 (three years ago) link
omg jerk my tears why dont u
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:21 (three years ago) link
Oh HELL yeah. Oversteps 2 is exactly what I wanted
― J. Sam, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:22 (three years ago) link
this is incredible so far
― Paul Ponzi, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:22 (three years ago) link
woot
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:23 (three years ago) link
This is easily the first Ae album fans who departed in 2001 might actually enjoy. Much more so than even Oversteps.
― octobeard, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:24 (three years ago) link
it's very complex in a melodic way. 2-4 have been basically ambient.
beat back tho
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:26 (three years ago) link
the funk
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:26 (three years ago) link
snappin
― assert (MatthewK), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:27 (three years ago) link
8-bit chirpin
― J. Sam, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:29 (three years ago) link
into it
― lukas, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:31 (three years ago) link
Sakamoto vibes
― Maresn3st, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:31 (three years ago) link
the expanding universe
― J. Sam, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:32 (three years ago) link
this reminds me of fennesz a little bit!
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:32 (three years ago) link
oh man it's so pretty
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:33 (three years ago) link
most flat out beautiful track they've done in a decade
― assert (MatthewK), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:34 (three years ago) link
feeling like i'm trapped in a slow-motion horror film and klaus schulze did the soundtrack
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:35 (three years ago) link
yeah I already like the beatless tracks here better than all the beatless tracks on NTS (and I'm a freak for NTS)
― Paul Ponzi, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:35 (three years ago) link
very emotional
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:36 (three years ago) link
ok we're gonkin
― J. Sam, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:37 (three years ago) link
The comment above about "How are they always new?" is ringing hard with this.
― octobeard, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:38 (three years ago) link
― J. Sam, Thursday, October 8, 2020 1:37 PM (one minute ago) bookmarkflaglink
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:39 (three years ago) link
like a streamlined nts jam, really sick
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:40 (three years ago) link
I already preordered the LP and the stream keeps cutting out so I'm gonna bail on this but I loved everything I heard
― frogbs, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:42 (three years ago) link
this one
― lukas, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:43 (three years ago) link
feel like the beat tracks are interludes between the ambient tracks, which are the highlight! another gorgeous one
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:43 (three years ago) link
oh man this is soooo good
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:44 (three years ago) link
"gr4" more like gr8
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:44 (three years ago) link
feel like the beat tracks are interludes between the ambient tracks, which are the highlight!
otm
― Paul Ponzi, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:45 (three years ago) link
gah don't stop
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:45 (three years ago) link
gr4, of all the songs so far, deserves the 20 minute NTS treatment haha
― octobeard, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:46 (three years ago) link
i gotta lie down
― lukas, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:46 (three years ago) link
aoty
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:47 (three years ago) link
yes
― Paul Ponzi, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:48 (three years ago) link
for real
― J. Sam, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:48 (three years ago) link
properness
And Brad came in late! The opener was probably their best opener since Cipater
― octobeard, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:49 (three years ago) link
yes and it's probably not even in the top 5 tracks so far
― Paul Ponzi, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:50 (three years ago) link
ooo let's have a fight about an album that we haven't finished listening to yet cuz i stan the opener
― lukas, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:51 (three years ago) link
these chords could mash up well with I've had the time of my life from Dirty Dancing lol
― J. Sam, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:51 (three years ago) link
just absolutely losing my shit to this one ("th red a")
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:51 (three years ago) link
why isn't this out until next friday! i already want to hear it 300 more times
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:52 (three years ago) link
these chords get better the more i hear them. this is gonna be a blissed out headphones album for sure. shame i never get to bliss out with headphones any more!
wow some super abrupt endings to these tracks.
― neith moon (ledge), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:52 (three years ago) link
This square wave synth sound is something I haven't heard from them since literally Amber.
― octobeard, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:53 (three years ago) link
oh this is IT. nodding solemnly rn
― J. Sam, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:53 (three years ago) link
that's what struck you first and not the kick????? xp
― lukas, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:53 (three years ago) link
(but i mean, well spotted)
― lukas, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:54 (three years ago) link
yes, love these sounds so much more than the glassy chimes that dominated oversteps.
― neith moon (ledge), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:54 (three years ago) link
I randomly threw on Amber earlier today and it's surprising this doesn't sound worlds away. I've only caught a couple tracks but I'm way more psyched than I thought I would be.
― change display name (Jordan), Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:56 (three years ago) link
I'm losing my shit over this record
EVERY SINGLE TRACK
― Paul Ponzi, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:57 (three years ago) link
what a closer
― lukas, Thursday, 8 October 2020 20:59 (three years ago) link
xp Yeah that's kind of the shock to me. This is easily their most consistent record since.... LP5?
― octobeard, Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:00 (three years ago) link
gossamer trails
― assert (MatthewK), Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:00 (three years ago) link
Like in the past I've often made custom playlists of their releases, or usually there's always 1-3 tracks on a record of theirs I will skip.
Not a single thing here warrants anything short of your complete attention.
― octobeard, Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:01 (three years ago) link
agreed. I can't wait to hear this again
― Paul Ponzi, Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:02 (three years ago) link
whomp
― neith moon (ledge), Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:03 (three years ago) link
Love that their classic Juno 106 bass sound lives on in this finale.
― octobeard, Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:03 (three years ago) link
― sound of scampo talk to me (El Tomboto), Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:03 (three years ago) link
this is actually lush tho
― J. Sam, Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:04 (three years ago) link
last track is a portal
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:05 (three years ago) link
that might have been the highlight of 2020 for me
― Paul Ponzi, Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:06 (three years ago) link
*stands up alone in bedroom, applauds*
― J. Sam, Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:06 (three years ago) link
wow
― lukas, Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:06 (three years ago) link
I have been feeling like shit and that last track pierced through my shields and I felt a wash of calm through me and now I'm crying a bit, so there's that.
― assert (MatthewK), Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:07 (three years ago) link
should I poll all these reactions or just wait for Whiney to do it
can't believe you actually enjoy this, ha ha ha
― frogbs, Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:10 (three years ago) link
fuck what do i even do now
― J. Sam, Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:10 (three years ago) link
Because I don't understand time zones, I only heard the last track. It was very pretty! Based on the above I'm guessing it resonates more in context.
― eatandoph (Neue Jesse Schule), Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:11 (three years ago) link
Waiting on Whiney to post a poll of the best quotes of the live stream
― octobeard, Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:13 (three years ago) link
totally. i've just been pacing back and forth
xps
― lukas, Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:14 (three years ago) link
fuck frogbs you beat me to it lol
― octobeard, Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:14 (three years ago) link
it's like 80% very straightforwardly pretty. kind of a beach at sunset album imo. definitely not what i was expecting.
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:14 (three years ago) link
I think I heard the last two tracks because I only just got done with work and realized why this thread kept popping up to the top of new answers
I might actually get this though & I've felt this band were taking the piss for, like, decades
― sound of scampo talk to me (El Tomboto), Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:15 (three years ago) link
can't wait to listen to it in higher res
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:16 (three years ago) link
uhhh apparently you can download the album from the store.
― octobeard, Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:29 (three years ago) link
how. do you just check out the pre order download?
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:31 (three years ago) link
yes. oops.
― lukas, Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:32 (three years ago) link
not listening to it again today though. have things to do, need to recover.
― lukas, Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:33 (three years ago) link
oh thanks for the info, i have now purchased it :D
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:36 (three years ago) link
Oh my, the site said "DOWNLOAD: 0 OF 11 TRACKS" but I clicked the link and it's downloading! Good thing, since I assume the vinyl is, like, three months away.
― assert (MatthewK), Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:45 (three years ago) link
yeah i downloaded it too. and i'm at work! lol. hopefully the download option will still be there when i get home.
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:47 (three years ago) link
ok yeah "m4 lema" is where it's at
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Thursday, 8 October 2020 21:47 (three years ago) link
It's 9am here in Tasmania, I am blowing off a seminar and firing this up.
― assert (MatthewK), Thursday, 8 October 2020 22:03 (three years ago) link
"esc desc" is overwhelming
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Thursday, 8 October 2020 22:07 (three years ago) link
chord progression of "A Forest", mashup potential perhaps
― assert (MatthewK), Thursday, 8 October 2020 22:19 (three years ago) link
Metaz form8 sounds like a pulsating alien ecosystem
― J. Sam, Thursday, 8 October 2020 22:21 (three years ago) link
between NTS and this we'll need a new ballot poll for these guys haha
― octobeard, Thursday, 8 October 2020 22:28 (three years ago) link
OK what Boards of Canada track am I hearing in "psin AM"?
― assert (MatthewK), Thursday, 8 October 2020 22:51 (three years ago) link
I dunno but there is a definite BOC vibe to some of these tracks
― Paul Ponzi, Thursday, 8 October 2020 23:09 (three years ago) link
Right, I've submited my copy, so I can talk about this now. gr4 is definitely my favourite - like a string quartet! I also like the trippy-uppy rhythm of 'si00' - I've no idea how this works musically, it's like the kick is going slightly too quick but keeps falling over - I'm sure I've had dreams a bit like this, like when you're trying to run somewhere but can't seem to get anywhere. Definitely cut from a similar cltoh to Oversteps, but it's not the same. This is exactly the Ae album I wanted. Definitely didn't need 'NTS Sessions 2.0' in 2020
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Thursday, 8 October 2020 23:21 (three years ago) link
I can't get over how massive and gorgeous M4 Lema is. In many ways it's the exact track I've been hoping they'd write since Confield came out, something that perfectly combines all of the classic and modern ingredients that make up their sound and aesthetic, while sounding deeply emotionally and even spiritually resonant and lush while anchoring a sick ass hip hop beat.
― octobeard, Thursday, 8 October 2020 23:48 (three years ago) link
F7 is chills-down-the-spine beautiful
― J. Sam, Friday, 9 October 2020 00:36 (three years ago) link
― assert (MatthewK), Thursday, October 8, 2020 11:51 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink
everything you do is a balloon
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Friday, 9 October 2020 00:39 (three years ago) link
schmefd 2 is one of the most difficult tracks they've done. it's almost what 12-tone? with some detunes. very weird.
album has a 'tomorrow's harvest' vibe to it speaking of boc. but it's a lot better lol.
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Friday, 9 October 2020 00:43 (three years ago) link
this fits a nice autechre niche for me, beautiful but idiosyncratic. 'nts' remains a staggering achievement and my personal fav.
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Friday, 9 October 2020 00:46 (three years ago) link
damn the last track on this is a real stunner. so much space.
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Friday, 9 October 2020 00:51 (three years ago) link
but intimate and calm.
― assert (MatthewK), Friday, 9 October 2020 00:51 (three years ago) link
esc desc is too short!
― neith moon (ledge), Friday, 9 October 2020 08:20 (three years ago) link
those square wave synths are spot on a similar timbre to Everything You Do Is a Balloon. holy damn
― octobeard, Friday, 9 October 2020 08:54 (three years ago) link
Downloading all the files when you pre-ordered it already (still?) works, so... Blasting this in an otherwise empty office. Dark skies, w/ rain coming down. Fuck me. So many feeellsss
― Ilxor in the streets, Scampo in the sheets (Le Bateau Ivre), Friday, 9 October 2020 09:52 (three years ago) link
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Thursday, October 8, 2020 8:43 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink
Well this makes sense as I am a huge TH fan and I can definitely see that connection, especially in the sadness and world-weariness of some of these tracks. Has Ae ever made music this beautifully sad? Maybe a few things on Amber but certainly not lately.
After one listen I have no idea if this will replace Confield and NTS as my favorite Ae, but I really do think it has a shot at doing so, which is a pretty remarkable feat this late in the game
Wish I'd ordered from Warp but in my haste I preordered from Boomkat when the LP was temporarily sold out on the Warp site so no early downloads for me
― Paul Ponzi, Friday, 9 October 2020 10:10 (three years ago) link
there was a talk of more than one album in the pipeline, i wonder if there's going to be a big tonal difference between this and whatever else they've got up their sleeves
― 1000 Scampo DJs (Noodle Vague), Friday, 9 October 2020 10:13 (three years ago) link
for sad Ae look no further than “rae” on LP5
― assert (MatthewK), Friday, 9 October 2020 10:58 (three years ago) link
I was listening to Autechre yesterday while my family made fun of it/me. Mostly because I wanted to see her reaction I showed my older daughter an online demo of Max/MSP and I was shocked at how well she immediately understood and appreciated the concept. It was pretty neat to see!
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 9 October 2020 12:46 (three years ago) link
I was listening to Autechre yesterday while my family made fun of it/me
i played "moon river rock" for my family and they LAUGHED at me
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Friday, 9 October 2020 12:47 (three years ago) link
"Someone I know" downloaded a leak of this and it was Negativland's Over the Edge Vol. 3 split into 11 tracks. It's like the Internet of the early '00s never died.
― Let's put the X in 100 gecs (Tom Violence), Friday, 9 October 2020 13:02 (three years ago) link
without to get all imago here buy g4 really isn't long enough
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Friday, 9 October 2020 13:05 (three years ago) link
si00 makes me want to watch sealab
― it bangs for thee (Simon H.), Friday, 9 October 2020 13:48 (three years ago) link
does that mean I'm listening to the right leak
― it bangs for thee (Simon H.), Friday, 9 October 2020 13:55 (three years ago) link
I can't believe people still make fake leaks
― Paul Ponzi, Friday, 9 October 2020 14:10 (three years ago) link
I think it's nice
― it bangs for thee (Simon H.), Friday, 9 October 2020 14:15 (three years ago) link
anyway whatever I'm listening to it rules, this really does have a Tomorrow's Harvest vibe. this is probably as accessible a record as they are capable of making right now
― it bangs for thee (Simon H.), Friday, 9 October 2020 14:16 (three years ago) link
i know it's corny but i would buy a
Rob&Sean&Max/MSP
t-shirt
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Friday, 9 October 2020 14:59 (three years ago) link
gah gr4 just came on again ;_;
Get that shit printed up!
― J. Sam, Friday, 9 October 2020 15:23 (three years ago) link
One of the coolest things about Autechre is their obvious aversion to anything remotely saccharine-sounding. Even on Sign--their most melodic, conventionally beautiful album in a decade--the tonality remains in this sort of cold, austere grey zone. Like, I know it's theoretically more complicated than this, but they tend to go with some variation of minor or pentatonic or atonal, but NEVER straight major-key. Maybe Corc from LP5 has the most major-key feel to it, but I think that's still mostly pentatonic. Recury from Chiastic Slide also comes to mind, but that was a long time ago...
― J. Sam, Friday, 9 October 2020 15:33 (three years ago) link
i think one of the keys to understanding autechre is that they're working with music as a language, and what they really like to do is tinker with the language in a way that shows both the beauty of it holding together and the overwhelming ecstasy of it exploding or falling apart into unpredictable, unstable shades of meaning. i feel like they focused heavily on rhythm as a language in the 2010s but the last decade has been about melody and harmony as a language that they've been poking holes in and reshaping into something that is their own invention. and this record is like the most graceful statement of that process so far.
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Friday, 9 October 2020 15:43 (three years ago) link
err "rhythm as a language in the 2000s"
these are great posts but Whiney is going to have a field day with this thread
― Paul Ponzi, Friday, 9 October 2020 15:46 (three years ago) link
autechre are more than a band, they are light itself
― it bangs for thee (Simon H.), Friday, 9 October 2020 15:48 (three years ago) link
i keep replaying "m4 lema" because it really is the perfect bridge from the nts stuff to this record
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Friday, 9 October 2020 16:13 (three years ago) link
hm wow I'm halfway through listening to this and it totally rules
― flamboyant goon tie included, Friday, 9 October 2020 19:10 (three years ago) link
I've just got the 675 mb download of this and it's not bad!
― calzino, Friday, 9 October 2020 20:55 (three years ago) link
i know it's corny but i would buy aRob&Sean&Max/MSPt-shirt― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Friday, 9 October 2020 14:59 (seven hours ago) link
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Friday, 9 October 2020 14:59 (seven hours ago) link
For Christmas, for me plsplsplsplspls
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Friday, 9 October 2020 22:30 (three years ago) link
I don't like the official SIGN shirt, so yes please.
― lukas, Friday, 9 October 2020 22:31 (three years ago) link
gr4 is definitely my favourite - like a string quartet!otm. The second half of gr4 in particular destroys me. You just know they were like "ok this is too beautiful, we can't allow it to go on a moment longer"
― J. Sam, Saturday, 10 October 2020 14:40 (three years ago) link
What I've always loved about the group is sort of their way of recontextualizing themselves in real time, just by tweaking a rhythm, or introducing a melody when you least expect it, or where you at least expect it. It's partly about language, but also about how that language mutates and changes the more times you translate it. Lost in translation so many times that eventually something is found in translation.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 10 October 2020 15:48 (three years ago) link
I'm the guy that sees the patterns and I feel like you're reaching here
― pareidolia, Saturday, 10 October 2020 16:59 (three years ago) link
I'm sure the patterns are there are if you are detail oriented, but I'm not, so I'm happy to luxuriate in being disoriented.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 10 October 2020 17:10 (three years ago) link
the kind of pompous commentary that really makes me want to listen to more autechre
― sound of scampo talk to me (El Tomboto), Saturday, 10 October 2020 17:19 (three years ago) link
Pompous?
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 10 October 2020 17:32 (three years ago) link
yall need to chill. maybe listen to some nice beats and interestin melodic ambient tracks. the new autechre album for instance!
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Saturday, 10 October 2020 17:34 (three years ago) link
I mean, almost from the start one of the things I've loved most about Autechre is that no matter how much I've picked up about how they make their music, they've remained utterly, almost uniquely foreign to me. I don't think that reaction makes me "pompous," it's just me appreciating them in a way I appreciate few other acts.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 10 October 2020 17:35 (three years ago) link
another thing some of you should probably do is try listening to musique concrete or read up on like pauline oliveros and deep listening, expand your electronic music horizons a bit and challenge yourselves before asserting that autechre are "taking the piss" or being completely foreign/alien or whatever. like maybe do some homework first idk.
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Saturday, 10 October 2020 17:40 (three years ago) link
make yourself sit and listen to something challenging that doesn't pander to you and do nothing else while you're listening.
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Saturday, 10 October 2020 17:42 (three years ago) link
Wait, there is other electronic music?!
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 10 October 2020 17:44 (three years ago) link
yes. and other things besides compulsively posting everything that occurs to you on a message board.
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Saturday, 10 October 2020 17:50 (three years ago) link
somebody got up on the wrong side of the bed
― sound of scampo talk to me (El Tomboto), Saturday, 10 October 2020 18:01 (three years ago) link
autechre good, beat go squelch and snap
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Saturday, 10 October 2020 18:57 (three years ago) link
I love this entire record but the final third is everything I wanted from post-NTS Autechre
"gr4" being barely over three minutes almost feels like sadistic trolling though
Not to incur anyone's wrath but I think I feel what Josh is saying upthread on "esc desc," which to me sounds like a very simple and beautiful melody that's been broken into random and different-sized pieces, which forces your ears to try and reassemble them somehow
― Paul Ponzi, Saturday, 10 October 2020 19:35 (three years ago) link
Where are y'all listening to it at this point?
― Mr. Cacciatore (Moodles), Saturday, 10 October 2020 22:30 (three years ago) link
I think if you ordered the album on the Warp site you got an instant download of the whole album (at least that's what I read upthread)
If you didn't order it (you should) or didn't order it from Warp, a person I know says it can be found on s**ls**k amidst the fakes if you know what you are looking for
― Paul Ponzi, Sunday, 11 October 2020 00:08 (three years ago) link
I ordered it on the Warp site but the download link didn’t work - I think making it available early was inadvertent.
― Tim F, Sunday, 11 October 2020 00:18 (three years ago) link
They've done something similar before.
I ordered my CD from boomkat along with some other stuff - it was a penny cheaper, but no download for me.
― koogs, Sunday, 11 October 2020 01:03 (three years ago) link
Even if your downloads show “0/11 available” or whatever you can try clicking the link, that was the case for me and the FLACs came through immediately. Warp store, 2xLP preorder.
― assert (MatthewK), Sunday, 11 October 2020 05:19 (three years ago) link
i think one of the keys to understanding autechre is that they're working with music as a language, and what they really like to do is tinker with the language in a way that shows both the beauty of it holding together and the overwhelming ecstasy of it exploding or falling apart into unpredictable, unstable shades of meaning. i feel like they focused heavily on rhythm as a language in the 2000s but the last decade has been about melody and harmony as a language that they've been poking holes in and reshaping into something that is their own invention. and this record is like the most graceful statement of that process so far.― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map)
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map)
― Lowell N. Behold'n, Monday, 12 October 2020 06:13 (three years ago) link
yeah a deeply insightful post mapThere's lots to engage with on SIGN but I'm a little perturbed by the clear callouts to previous work, makes me worry they are planning to hang up their boots. I'm about the same age and feel like I am completely done with my passion for my career, I wonder if it feels fresh for them still.
― assert (MatthewK), Monday, 12 October 2020 06:30 (three years ago) link
i'm surprised to read upthread that this is new material and not an assemblage of cuts that just happen to fit together stylistically, which is how I originally read it: Sean and Rob thinking "2020 is hell, let's hit em with some mood music"
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Monday, 12 October 2020 09:51 (three years ago) link
pic.twitter.com/s0fLC1mOnm— Good Steely Dan Takes (@baddantakes) October 10, 2020
^^ @AutechreComment has to be a Whiney account.
― Ilxor in the streets, Scampo in the sheets (Le Bateau Ivre), Monday, 12 October 2020 10:53 (three years ago) link
What a fantastic album
― Tim F, Monday, 12 October 2020 23:29 (three years ago) link
:) :)
you guys are nice. sorry i was grumpy on saturday.
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Monday, 12 October 2020 23:38 (three years ago) link
Your order has been dispatched.
― Ilxor in the streets, Scampo in the sheets (Le Bateau Ivre), Tuesday, 13 October 2020 07:18 (three years ago) link
Loving some sounds & moments on this, it hasn't come together as an album for me yet though. Only listening once a day, chances of getting some blissed out headphones time are slim.
Never thought I'd say something like this but if anyone's missing their harder meaty beaty stuff, the new Rian Treanor album File Under UK Metaplasm is excellent - slightly more dancefloor adjacent than e.g. NTS but by no means four to the floor.
― neith moon (ledge), Tuesday, 13 October 2020 09:59 (three years ago) link
NTS Sessions was a pretty hard act to follow, so I guess it was kind of inevitable that this would be a little underwhelming. Some of their stuff takes a (long) time to click with me, admittedly, even if I always appreciate it on first listen.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 13 October 2020 19:10 (three years ago) link
I can't remember the last time an Ae album has clicked with me so quickly and top to bottom. Maybe LP5? Everything since has taken either months or years (Confield, Draft, Untilted), or merely parts of it clicked and I basically ignored the rest (Quaristice, Oversteps) or was so damn long I was able to piece together cohesive track listings that essentially mimicked a stellar Ae album experience from top to bottom (Exai, Elseq, NTS).
More interestingly for me, SIGN has a distinctive emotional character I've not really experienced in an Ae album since the 90's, and I feel it's largely due to the very straight forward chord progressions and consonance that is present on nearly the entire record. A couple tracks that sounded a bit thin on first listen (F7, esc desc, th red a) are slowly sounding richer and more layered to me on subsequent plays, especially th red a.
But one thing that is fascinating about these guys - no matter what they do, their fan base is so diverse in their expectations and tastes that any record Ae ever release will have them divided in some way
― octobeard, Tuesday, 13 October 2020 22:11 (three years ago) link
I agree with your characterization of this record (except that "esc desc" was an immediate favorite for me!). It's probably the most consistent sounding Ae since, hell, I don't even know. Oversteps? Quaristice? The latter is the only Ae album I don't love but I can't deny its thematic consistency. NTS is still and will always likely be my favorite, but this one is already creeping close to the top 4.
― Paul Ponzi, Tuesday, 13 October 2020 22:40 (three years ago) link
this struck me as being plain and true, and it's one of my favorite things that i've read about autechre. i'm enamoured with M4 Lema, but it's taken a while to warm up to the rest of the album. some parts sounded dull and uninspired at first, then certain tracks have opened up on subsequent listens. the AE_LIVE (2015) sets are a late period pinnacle (imo), and the 2018 Melbourne set is fresh in my mind. i didn't know what to expect, and SIGN felt underwhelming (or heavy-handed/simplistic) at first. it's understated, shifting gears or unwinding... i don't know how to feel about it yet.
this is exactly my experience so far. I'm still working out my feelings for this record but the last few rounds of releases all clicked pretty immediately with me. esp the NTS sessions which felt so bottomless and exciting, like being able to dive into this fun sound world and wade around luxuriously. I'm finding it a little hard to shift back to a release that seems a bit less generous on those specific terms. not just in length but not going as far out, getting as abstract. I've only listened three times so far tho, I'm sure this will change with time and without preconceived expectations.
― (⊙_⊙?) (original bgm), Tuesday, 13 October 2020 23:22 (three years ago) link
i definitely felt some of that on my first few listens but it has come into its own for me. i think even though it's more tonal and emotionally direct, the instability and complexity are still there. i'm predisposed to like emotionally direct autechre though. just as an aside, 'schmefd 2' is very wrecked/difficult imo, up there with the weirdest stuff on nts. i think there may be a mangled vocal sample buried in there but if i try to identify it i feel like i'm aurally hallucinating.
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Tuesday, 13 October 2020 23:56 (three years ago) link
Gotta admit, was not expecting a Jon Pareles interview in the New York Times.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 14 October 2020 00:57 (three years ago) link
this hit pretty immediately for me and i wonder if it's because i've been gradually making my way through their catalog and just hit untilted. i am sort of thinking about it in the context of nts (again, the opener and "schmefd 2" are pretty clearly extensions of that stuff) but also not really at all, its beauty and space and its economy are striking to me against the whole of their discography as well
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 14 October 2020 01:14 (three years ago) link
Link for posterity:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/13/arts/music/autechre-sign-interview.html
― octobeard, Wednesday, 14 October 2020 01:18 (three years ago) link
this is my submission for whatever whiney poll harvests the most embarrassing posts on this thread but: imo elseq and nts are them rocketing through alien spaces, and this record feels like the return to earth, but earth has changed dramatically in the intervening years. it feels like there is an awful lot of longing and yearning in these tracks; of course that and anything i put on top of it is a projection, but what i get from it is the grief for something long gone xp
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 14 October 2020 01:21 (three years ago) link
I think Brad is on to something, or at least brings something up that's useful to me. I think of this new album (which was sounding pretty good on another listen tonight) in the context of their catalog as a whole: following the epic NTS Sessions, or a sparer, slightly more melodic return to an earlier style, or even just album number x in a long line of albums I've loved or liked or appreciated. But I wonder what I would think if this was the first album I heard, or if I did listen to it, like Brad, after progressing through all of their stuff chronologically. One of the greatest tricks Autechre (or any challenging music, really) plays is making music that reveals itself over time, whether the duration of a track, or over the course of an album, or even years later after several other albums have been released. That is to say, I've got my favorite Autechre tracks, albums and moments, but in some ways when I listen to them it's always like hearing them for the first time, depending on my mood, or whatever else I've been listening to, or thinking back, as I listen, to music they have made before. I don't know, maybe that's not unique to Autechre, probably not, but it really does feel like one long evolution. Weren't there people tin-hatting that "All End" would be the last thing they ever did, because it felt like some sort of abstract apotheosis? In some ways it might have felt that way because it came at the end of a particularly long release which itself came at the end of a long, winding, fascinating catalog. Certainly the new album in the context of that specific track feels like a fresh branch, and NTS Sessions (or "All End") some sort of breaking point or culmination, with the new one a subtly fresh start from a familiar root.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 14 October 2020 02:11 (three years ago) link
> I think Brad is on to something
Nah, that's just the plot of Planet of the Apes.
― koogs, Wednesday, 14 October 2020 02:49 (three years ago) link
This quote from the NYT article seems to be a common theme with some here:
How do you feel about the album when you listen to it now?SEAN BOOTH It’s strangely jarring. It’s sort of too real. All this Covid stuff has put me in a really different place from where I was when we were just compiling it. Back then we were saying, “This is totally right.” But now I’m wondering if it’s too right. And I’m really feeling a bit self-conscious if I’m being totally honest. It’s difficult to listen to because it’s too emotionally resonant. I was going for making something pure and new and sort of surprising, and now I’ve ended up with something that’s almost predictable. So I’m reluctant to play it too much because I feel like that place it puts me in is perhaps a little bit too cathartic.
SEAN BOOTH It’s strangely jarring. It’s sort of too real. All this Covid stuff has put me in a really different place from where I was when we were just compiling it. Back then we were saying, “This is totally right.” But now I’m wondering if it’s too right. And I’m really feeling a bit self-conscious if I’m being totally honest. It’s difficult to listen to because it’s too emotionally resonant. I was going for making something pure and new and sort of surprising, and now I’ve ended up with something that’s almost predictable. So I’m reluctant to play it too much because I feel like that place it puts me in is perhaps a little bit too cathartic.
― octobeard, Wednesday, 14 October 2020 03:33 (three years ago) link
― koogs, Tuesday, October 13, 2020 7:49 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink
i hate every ape i see
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 14 October 2020 04:40 (three years ago) link
^^^ I'm reading that as sung by Justin Timberlake
― Tim F, Wednesday, 14 October 2020 05:13 (three years ago) link
The capitalized album title, Brown said, is “an initialization, but we don’t want to tell anybody what it stands for.”
― assert (MatthewK), Wednesday, 14 October 2020 07:01 (three years ago) link
I think Brad is on to something
Def! And the quote octobeard pasted really resonates. It will find its place and be 'totally right', maybe just not now, or not as fast, as previous releases.
I held out on listening to this too much, with the vinyl on the way.
― Ilxor in the streets, Scampo in the sheets (Le Bateau Ivre), Wednesday, 14 October 2020 07:31 (three years ago) link
These are edited excerpts from a far-ranging two-hour conversation with Autechre.
edited from two hours down to five minutes!
― neith moon (ledge), Wednesday, 14 October 2020 07:43 (three years ago) link
yeah srsly
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Wednesday, 14 October 2020 15:00 (three years ago) link
I've felt a vague irritation with myself for not buying the NTS sessions. It wasn't even hideously expensive, was it? I was probably in a bad mood.
Are there links to tracks from the new album? I'm still in a bad mood so only want to buy if there's a chance I will play.
― djh, Wednesday, 14 October 2020 19:50 (three years ago) link
It's streamable on https://autechre.warp.net/ now
― J. Sam, Wednesday, 14 October 2020 19:55 (three years ago) link
Oh, cool, ta.
― djh, Wednesday, 14 October 2020 20:42 (three years ago) link
Here's what I think anyway: https://thequietus.com/articles/29078-autechre-sign-review
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Thursday, 15 October 2020 12:16 (three years ago) link
That was good! It's ironic that Autechre is ultimately one of the easier and more fun acts to write about, imo. (Not that writing about them doesn't take work, as I'm sure your review did!)
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 15 October 2020 12:41 (three years ago) link
Thanks Josh. I deliberately tried to keep as much 'sounds like a mechanical Jonah tapping out rhythms on the inside of a whale made of silly putty' descriptions to a minimum, as it's way too easy and obvious to do that. Plus much as it's fun to describe these things, everyone seems to hear these things quite differently. Am I the only one who immediately thought 'motorcycle' when 'M4 Lema' came on?
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Thursday, 15 October 2020 12:48 (three years ago) link
(not that the piece doesn't fall into this trap - it's almost impossible not to project strange imagery into these things)
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Thursday, 15 October 2020 12:49 (three years ago) link
Am I the only one who immediately thought 'motorcycle' when 'M4 Lema' came on?
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Thursday, October 15, 2020 8:48 AM (ten minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink
Nope!
Great review btw
― Paul Ponzi, Thursday, 15 October 2020 12:59 (three years ago) link
imo elseq and nts are them rocketing through alien spaces, and this record feels like the return to earth, but earth has changed dramatically in the intervening years. it feels like there is an awful lot of longing and yearning in these tracks
I reviewed this for Stereogum, and came to a lot of the same conclusions as Brad.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Thursday, 15 October 2020 16:46 (three years ago) link
Great piece!
― Tim F, Thursday, 15 October 2020 19:44 (three years ago) link
cheers Paul and Tim. it means a lot that you guys liked it
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Thursday, 15 October 2020 19:51 (three years ago) link
Yes, both of these reviews were great. I like that Phil mentions both Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream, because I absolutely hear this now. I'm sure those people influenced Ae from the jump, but on this record those influences seem just as explicit as the electro, hip hop, and musique concrete influences have been on Ae albums past
― Paul Ponzi, Thursday, 15 October 2020 20:00 (three years ago) link
Nice piece, dl. I'm interested that what you heard as a motorcycle I heard as them trying repeatedly to boot up their machines - so, basically a hard drive grinding.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Thursday, 15 October 2020 20:05 (three years ago) link
Tangerine Dream
It's funny, the first time I listened to the album I absolutely thought it sounded like a soundtrack, or at least more than the group usually does.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 15 October 2020 20:21 (three years ago) link
alright this made me laugh
https://i.redd.it/hyiiw4b597t51.jpg
― frogbs, Thursday, 15 October 2020 20:38 (three years ago) link
they do look a bit like grizzled mobsters in their recent photos
― octobeard, Friday, 16 October 2020 01:15 (three years ago) link
Xps enjoyed your take too unperson, and as I think I mentioned elsewhere, it’s uncanny that so many reviews address the “human” element of their music on this one.
Looking forward to the vinyl hitting my doormat so I can enjoy this with less critical ears
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Friday, 16 October 2020 08:15 (three years ago) link
Good review DL! And unperson's too, I think Schulze is a good call.
I've a feeling SIGN won't end up being a lot of people's fave AE album. It is a sort of return to the basics, but it's extremely good and lush to ease into right now.
― Ilxor in the streets, Scampo in the sheets (Le Bateau Ivre), Friday, 16 October 2020 08:24 (three years ago) link
Yeah good reviews - better than this short & ambivalent one: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/oct/16/autechre-sign-review-warp
It's on spotify now so i can stream it around the house \o/
― neith moon (ledge), Friday, 16 October 2020 09:04 (three years ago) link
Typically excellent Philip Sherburne review on Pitchfork today
― Paul Ponzi, Friday, 16 October 2020 11:46 (three years ago) link
Here's an excerpt of the Japanese bonus track n Cur. Sounds a lot like Gas Königsforst 5 to me:https://diskunion.net/DU-X1_audio_player.html?id=1008189907&disc=1&track=12
― J. Sam, Friday, 16 October 2020 12:08 (three years ago) link
that Sherburne review is so good. he's summarised Ae so well in those opening paragraphs
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Friday, 16 October 2020 12:43 (three years ago) link
Also for posterity:
https://i.imgur.com/8F5J1vd.jpg
― pomenitul, Friday, 16 October 2020 14:34 (three years ago) link
This really seems to be hitting a critical mass, good for them. I do feel like a poser though, they've long been on my list to check out and I'd feel weird starting now because of all of this attention. I watched all the NTS Sessions discourse from afar but that seemed like a lot to start with.
― soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 16 October 2020 14:38 (three years ago) link
Physical copy arrived in this morning's mail, as promised. I like when preorders actually work as designed. (I remember preordering the last Mastodon album and it came something like 10 days after street date.)
― but also fuck you (unperson), Friday, 16 October 2020 14:48 (three years ago) link
Another excellent piece on SIGN, from a slightly more musicological perspective:
http://5against4.com/2020/10/16/autechre-sign/
― pomenitul, Friday, 16 October 2020 15:05 (three years ago) link
Start with Tri Repetae.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 16 October 2020 15:10 (three years ago) link
start with LP5! ;-)
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Friday, 16 October 2020 15:25 (three years ago) link
i got my physical copy today too and it's so nice to listen to on vinyl without a screen and a tracklisting in front of me, and without having to use my critical listening brain
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Friday, 16 October 2020 15:26 (three years ago) link
I started with LP5 and that worked perfectly--to me it's their most even balance of futuristic experimentation and melodic accessibility. But I don't think you can go wrong starting with any of their 90s stuff
― J. Sam, Friday, 16 October 2020 15:33 (three years ago) link
I agree.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Friday, 16 October 2020 15:33 (three years ago) link
Start with Tri Repetae, then go LP5, and if you like what you hear, move about at will.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 16 October 2020 15:36 (three years ago) link
really agree with starting with lp5
tri repetae is the apotheosis of their early sound but it def took me a while to figure that out, lp5 was way more immediate and one of their most beautiful tracks ever is in the opening run
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Friday, 16 October 2020 16:09 (three years ago) link
My boss was intrigued by Autechre and asked for some select tracks. I put together a playlist, but it was really difficult. How does one put together a short sample of a 30 year+ career like theirs? Those LP5 tracks which once sounded so cold and clinical to me are more like chill hip hop rhythms. What would an uninitiated person think of Cichli? And how do I contextualise the post-Confield material? Have to admit, it wasn't easy at all to come up with anything comprehensive.
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Friday, 16 October 2020 16:11 (three years ago) link
I’d really like to see the tracklist you put together!
― Ilxor in the streets, Scampo in the sheets (Le Bateau Ivre), Friday, 16 October 2020 16:12 (three years ago) link
FWIW this is what I ended up with: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5zFEsaK4t8cbDNM7VrEdWX?si=omrSJr6jSe6NSPyvvBqnRg
Arch CarrierCichliEutowPirGarbagemxd-sho qubFold4, Wrap5Maphive6.1Raegr46IE.CRKribSlipM4 Lemaviolvoic
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Friday, 16 October 2020 16:13 (three years ago) link
went for the more pretty/melodic stuff with a few curveballs thrown in.
Perfect opener imo, good set!
― Ilxor in the streets, Scampo in the sheets (Le Bateau Ivre), Friday, 16 October 2020 16:13 (three years ago) link
I started with Tri Repeatae, didn't really like it. felt it was way cold and the super high-pitched tones on "Stud" annoyed the hell out of me. it's still probably my least favorite album of theirs. which I think speaks to how great their catalogue is.
― frogbs, Friday, 16 October 2020 16:17 (three years ago) link
Fwiw, one reason I always lean to Tri Repetae as a recommendation is, no surprise, strictly personal, in that after the first two albums and especially them being clumped in with the IDM scene (specifically on those two Artificial Intelligence comps), "Clipper" specifically was something that clicked with me as totally new and mysterious. Made me a fan for life, tbh.
Which is the first Autechre album/track to really embrace that "ball bearings spilling out onto the floor" sound? I can't remember the chronology offhand. Is that LP5?
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 16 October 2020 16:18 (three years ago) link
Chiastic Slide is where they fully formed into the Autechre we know today imo
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Friday, 16 October 2020 16:19 (three years ago) link
Hmm, just googling around and found this dude, who ... seems to do a pretty good job summing things up?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ea3FP5NqUqM
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 16 October 2020 16:21 (three years ago) link
my impression is Tri Rep gets recommended the most because of "Garbage" on the bonus disc, which is probably the best way to convert the uninitiated (you like that, do you? well here's 30 hours of Autechre music, none of which sounds like this)
― frogbs, Friday, 16 October 2020 16:22 (three years ago) link
dl, I like your list but would definitely have included "VI Scose Poise" (first track from Confield) on it; I think it's one of the most beautiful pieces in their catalog.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Friday, 16 October 2020 16:24 (three years ago) link
Have to admit Tri Repetae too me a while to grow into as well. It's a very textural, granular and tone-free album; so depending on your tolerance for industrial sturm und drang it may or may not float your boat. I listen to it mainly for Leterel and Eutow, with Overand and C/Pach being pleasant surprises. But it's quite a different album from Amber's pretty ambience. Chiastic Slide is when they really started sounding like alien music as opposed to 'what humans think alien music sounds like'. 'Rettic AC' as the second track is like a statement of intent. 'Hub' is as far from a 'dance' tune as it gets. And even 'Cichli', for all its melodic wonder, is really a five-limbed thing
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Friday, 16 October 2020 16:24 (three years ago) link
dl, I like your list but would definitely have included "VI Scose Poise" (first track from Confield) on it; I think it's one of the most beautiful pieces in their catalog.― but also fuck you (unperson), Friday, October 16, 2020 5:24 PM (twenty-one seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink
― but also fuck you (unperson), Friday, October 16, 2020 5:24 PM (twenty-one seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink
It is very nice indeed, especially as a delicate opener to Confield (an album I still struggle with); but somehow I've always heard it as a retread of things like Drane2 off LP5, Krib off Cichli Suite and possibly Aphex Twin's Nannou.
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Friday, 16 October 2020 16:28 (three years ago) link
something i just noticed when playing back VI Scose Poise is that it's a shame it doesn't somehow segue into Cfern in a more pleasing way. it sounds like the two tunes almost have the same chord structure and should somehow blend together more satisfactorily
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Friday, 16 October 2020 16:36 (three years ago) link
Tri Repetae++ was my introduction to Autechre, which I decided to check out after falling in love with Boards of Canada's Music Has the Right to Children. It didn't quite do it for me at first – it felt too harsh, too industrial – and I likewise found 'Stud' especially hard-going, but repeated (heh) spins dispelled my reservations. So I suppose whichever one you decide to start with, don't forget that it's unlikely to click straight away.
― pomenitul, Friday, 16 October 2020 16:39 (three years ago) link
Whenever they release a new album I realize I spend so much time moving forward with them that I don't spend nearly as much time as I'd like listening back. To be fair, when you do things like release 8 hour albums it is a lot to ask to just put that in rotation with your other stuff. In some ways I think of each one as its own little island and don't necessarily consider how they connect as the Autechre archipelago, because it's just easier that way.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 16 October 2020 16:55 (three years ago) link
Was so looking forward to listening to this but I'm in meetings all day ;_;
― change display name (Jordan), Friday, 16 October 2020 17:08 (three years ago) link
My first exposure to Ae was Chris Cunningham's video for "Second Bad Vilbel," which I thought was some pretty uniquely damaged posthuman electronic music. Cunningham's own feeling that the video was inadequate, apparently shared by Booth and Brown, made them seem like artists with an impossibly high standard (I thought the video was cool). So I tracked down a copy of the 2CD Tri Repetae, then out of print, and basically found it too cold and austere for me to take over the length of a (long) album. I had read about Confield's notorious difficulty and was curious about it but probably figured that if I didn't like TR I probably wouldn't like Confield either. Then when Quaristice came out the novelty of shorter tracks sounded appealing, so I tried it, but it didn't leave much of an impression.
Then in 2018 everyone was abuzz about NTS Sessions, and I was looking for something difficult and decided to try Confield after all. I did, finding it "makes me smile" funny, both in terms of the zany sounds and so-dark-it-comes-out-the-other-side senses. From there I headed straight into NTS Sessions, which was a proper listening adventure. I continue to enjoy not really knowing quite how to evaluate Ae — I don't seem to get inside their music as much as some of you here but I keep coming back to it nonetheless.
― eatandoph (Neue Jesse Schule), Friday, 16 October 2020 17:58 (three years ago) link
half the fun is that they're an enigma,a puzzle to be toyed with in the hope of unlocking it
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Friday, 16 October 2020 18:27 (three years ago) link
Really enjoying SIGN right now (on my second listen). I can't tell if autechre has become more accessible or if I've become better at listening to them but I feel like over the last several albums I've been enjoying them almost immediately whereas before that it would take me months or years to appreciate them.
― silverfish, Friday, 16 October 2020 18:31 (three years ago) link
This is definitely a big part of the appeal for me, especially 00s autechre.
― silverfish, Friday, 16 October 2020 18:33 (three years ago) link
This is their first release in 20 years (jeez) that I enjoy!
― I want to luhbahguh babum gum (Leee), Friday, 16 October 2020 22:23 (three years ago) link
PHRASING
― assert (MatthewK), Saturday, 17 October 2020 00:01 (three years ago) link
https://diskunion.net/DU-X1_audio_player.html?id=1008189907&disc=1&track=12
Audio snippet of n Cur. Sounds lovely! They always send quality bonus tracks for the Japanese releases
― octobeard, Saturday, 17 October 2020 19:37 (three years ago) link
yeah I remember Sean in the AMA thing they did answering a question about why they put such great exclusive tracks on Japanese CDs and he said something about the price of CDs in Japan being much higher so the bonus is extra enticement (paraphrasing here), but also about how people used to say their bonus tracks were shit, so they decided at some point to up their bonus track game (paraphrasing again)
I guess I'm the only sad bastard who read all 87 pages of that AMA huh
― Paul Ponzi, Saturday, 17 October 2020 19:50 (three years ago) link
nope
― assert (MatthewK), Saturday, 17 October 2020 19:55 (three years ago) link
grabbed this from WATMM, a poster known as alco. made me laugh:
alco review by alco: this is the new "autechre" album by them, the brothers. it's called "sign" which is short for "signs." i believe this is an m night shaymalan (or whatever) reference and i believe the "liquid" and "aquatic" aesthetic is a direct reference to this film. iirc the film is about aliens who visit earth but the water is too wet for them and they freak out. hence the autechre album "sign," in other words the wet one by the brothers. this album was given to me in strictest confidence by sean, one of the two brothers who go by "the 'chre." no one has heard it. he did a pre-release with fake tracks that rob sent him but the actual album is a solo album by sean himself. i asked if he was mad at rob and that's why he did this but he just said "nah" and "do you even know what you're talking about." rude, but typical. i believe this is "mancunian" but i'm from usa so i'm not sure. track 1 "m4 diffain." this one is pretty cool, seriously. it starts off with your typical ae bullshit - little goofy fart type sounds and "dsp." but not so fast, this isn't your typical ae, this is new parameters ae. which means the first song abruptly changes to really fast vocal arpeggios and it is by "oneohtrix magix whatever" and everyone loves it. my mom called me from arizona and asked me what i was listening to and i told her but she didn't believe me. the end result of this conversation is that i am removed for her will and all of her vast fortune will be inherited by my brother who died several years ago. very strange stuff but this is what autechre is all about. this is "beat fuckery" of the highest order. second track "Fruity Loops" version 7. sean sent me a post it in the mail saying this title is misleading and that he used version 8. i don't believe him. this clearly has version 7 vibes. for instance, there are synths on here with 2 oscillators and i know FL8 doesn't do this. this track is one of the "pads" tracks where he's copying rob. this means it's "lush" rather than "mental" and i feel a lot of emotions as a result. this causes me to feel like i am underwater but the water is made up of dreams instead of wetness. i'm swimming in my dreams and all around me are fish which are my different memories that are all sad and exquisite. there is a shark and that is my father. i'm scared but i miss him too. that's just how it works when you hear an "feels" track by sean (one of the brothers). ok on to the next track which is called "sign" but the "gn" is replaced by "00" bc sean can't type (cf the name "autechre" - lol idiot). so this is the title track. it's also known as "the bubble track" or the "bubstep track" by the "bubble brothers." i came up with these names, i think they're pretty funny and i'm sending them off to warp records to see if they can be included in the promotional material for the record "sign" by autechre. i know one of the warp guys passed away (RIP) but i don't know which one so i will address my email "to whom it may concern." this track is obviously an hommage (mancunian: "piss take") to "analog bubblebath" by that one guy who told madonna to squeal like a pig. i appreciate that but the song has no tempo bc sean forgot to set it in "max" which is stupid bc it seems like he should know how to do that by now. this is where having rob in the studio would really come in handy but you gotta appreciate sean's effort. A for effort on this one, m9. "esc desc" is weird bc it made me press "esc" which is one of the buttons on my keyboard (not sure if universal, as a creative/continental i am on "macintosh"). so anyway one of the new "features' of apple's new os is that when you press escape you can't use your iphone bc it's updated to the new ios which won't work on your phone bc it's now immediately obsolete. so, i wasn't using my phone and i didn't notice this but it's one of those things where everytime i use my phone i associate it with this track so i think this one sucks pretty bad bc it fucked up my phone. very "ambient" i guess. "au 14" which, i believe, means "autechre 14" which refers to how long the brothers have been making music. 14 years already, hard to believe! i got into them back in 2019 kind of before they were well known. trent reznor emailed me and asked me to check them out and let him know my thoughts. i was like whatever man. but i'm glad i did because i'm a huge fan of stupid music that's just a bunch of sounds like if 5 rooms away some one wearing a suit of armor was vigorously fucking his collection of shields. au 14 is kind of lame though bc the beat has no bass, it's just like a 606 snare with their typical boss rsd10 delay on it like dude i've already heard this a million times. i'm guessing sean took this one from the archives to celebrate ae's 14th bday. lame. nothing out of ten. so at this point in the record i had to flip over the digitals. the other side was messed up so i can't really comment. all i can say is that very clearly sean was trying to do a bunch of vocals and i guess warp let him do this bc he's in his 60s and they feel bad for him bc all the cool music is made by young people who are fashionable and use social media. some of the lyrics are really interesting though, i'll grant that. for example "psin AM" is about waking about and taking a leak and it's just kind of a cool slice of life thing like this is just sean giving his fans a peak at what it's like to be one of the ae brothers. i respect that. it's fan service but it's honest. then, weirdly, there's one called "th red a" which is another dumbass sean typo for "thread" and it's about posting on reddit and getting into creepy pasta and stuff. he sings about "slenderman" and whatever that one corny thing is where it's just like a shitty room with yellow walls and people on reddit are like "omg wow this is the scariest thing i've ever seen" and there are multiple youtube videos all with millions of views that are like "the room on reddit that will haunt you." apparently sean is into this kind of trash. fucking wanker lol ok final track bc i have to go. to be honest i was just kind of skipping through most of this record and not really paying attention. nothing against sean but i just don't really like autechre or respect the band. the last track is typically called like "r gantz toodeetoo" or some corny shit like come on dude just call your tracks cool stuff like "bong garden" or "mother amulets" or "give me back my bike ii" it's unbelieveable that they keep releasing music with names like they do. anyway, this one is actually really good. i actually played it at 1% speed bc i wanted to enjoy it more. as a listener i feel there is no "proper" way to hear music, whatever i feel like doing is what i'm gonna do. so i played this out of one speaker at one percent. on the other speaker i was listening to squarepusher bc i really love some 100 year old man making wacky spasmatic beats like he's 11. it's so cool to me. plus, gotta love slap bass dude, it's so wacky as well. anyway, on this one sean steps away from the max bullshit and writes a proper tune with lots of cool synth sounds. you can tell he has a jupiter 8 bc it sounds very good. i'm also hearing a neve channel on this one, definitely got that signature rupert style sound. the beat is interesting, it's all samples of sean saying "cummies" but he makes it sound actually pretty serious and solemn. as i listened to this i envisioned myself as an old man, sitting in a retirement home staring at the wall. i can't make sense of a goddamn thing bc my brain has deteriorated so badly. thus, i am listening to caretaker. as old ballroom music plays with some reverb on it i have all these fragmented memories. i'm a child and it's "tree of life" and brad pitt is playing with me. my wife comes to visit me but i'm really mean to her for no reason and she goes home and cries bc while my organic vessel persists there is no longer love between us. i am gone. a nurse comes in to medicate me and it's discovered i've shit myself. this is normal. they change me and it's like i am a baby once more and i see my mother poiring baby powder on my ass and dick and stuff and i feel embarassed. luckily she puts a diaper on and doesn't linger staring at my literal baby dick. but then i'm an old man but i have the features of a baby. for like 5 seconds i remember where i am and what's going on. i hear the autechre song playing and it's like i am underwater again. i see all my memories drifting by, the fish memories, but now they are all corpses, the scales of their rotting flesh glimmering in the light. the smell is toxic, the water cold and inhospitable. i hear "cummies" "cummies" but it's like a sick beat that's completely fucked up. i don't know who i am but i know i never lived the life i wanted. i failed, i was a failure. "cummies" "cummies" "cummies" the beat gets more dissonant and i can feel the end. the last "cummies" beat plays as i close my eyes and drift away, a half lived life lost forever.
this is the new "autechre" album by them, the brothers. it's called "sign" which is short for "signs." i believe this is an m night shaymalan (or whatever) reference and i believe the "liquid" and "aquatic" aesthetic is a direct reference to this film. iirc the film is about aliens who visit earth but the water is too wet for them and they freak out. hence the autechre album "sign," in other words the wet one by the brothers.
this album was given to me in strictest confidence by sean, one of the two brothers who go by "the 'chre." no one has heard it. he did a pre-release with fake tracks that rob sent him but the actual album is a solo album by sean himself. i asked if he was mad at rob and that's why he did this but he just said "nah" and "do you even know what you're talking about." rude, but typical. i believe this is "mancunian" but i'm from usa so i'm not sure. track 1 "m4 diffain." this one is pretty cool, seriously. it starts off with your typical ae bullshit - little goofy fart type sounds and "dsp." but not so fast, this isn't your typical ae, this is new parameters ae. which means the first song abruptly changes to really fast vocal arpeggios and it is by "oneohtrix magix whatever" and everyone loves it. my mom called me from arizona and asked me what i was listening to and i told her but she didn't believe me. the end result of this conversation is that i am removed for her will and all of her vast fortune will be inherited by my brother who died several years ago. very strange stuff but this is what autechre is all about. this is "beat fuckery" of the highest order. second track "Fruity Loops" version 7. sean sent me a post it in the mail saying this title is misleading and that he used version 8. i don't believe him. this clearly has version 7 vibes. for instance, there are synths on here with 2 oscillators and i know FL8 doesn't do this. this track is one of the "pads" tracks where he's copying rob. this means it's "lush" rather than "mental" and i feel a lot of emotions as a result. this causes me to feel like i am underwater but the water is made up of dreams instead of wetness. i'm swimming in my dreams and all around me are fish which are my different memories that are all sad and exquisite. there is a shark and that is my father. i'm scared but i miss him too. that's just how it works when you hear an "feels" track by sean (one of the brothers). ok on to the next track which is called "sign" but the "gn" is replaced by "00" bc sean can't type (cf the name "autechre" - lol idiot). so this is the title track. it's also known as "the bubble track" or the "bubstep track" by the "bubble brothers." i came up with these names, i think they're pretty funny and i'm sending them off to warp records to see if they can be included in the promotional material for the record "sign" by autechre. i know one of the warp guys passed away (RIP) but i don't know which one so i will address my email "to whom it may concern." this track is obviously an hommage (mancunian: "piss take") to "analog bubblebath" by that one guy who told madonna to squeal like a pig. i appreciate that but the song has no tempo bc sean forgot to set it in "max" which is stupid bc it seems like he should know how to do that by now. this is where having rob in the studio would really come in handy but you gotta appreciate sean's effort. A for effort on this one, m9. "esc desc" is weird bc it made me press "esc" which is one of the buttons on my keyboard (not sure if universal, as a creative/continental i am on "macintosh"). so anyway one of the new "features' of apple's new os is that when you press escape you can't use your iphone bc it's updated to the new ios which won't work on your phone bc it's now immediately obsolete. so, i wasn't using my phone and i didn't notice this but it's one of those things where everytime i use my phone i associate it with this track so i think this one sucks pretty bad bc it fucked up my phone. very "ambient" i guess. "au 14" which, i believe, means "autechre 14" which refers to how long the brothers have been making music. 14 years already, hard to believe! i got into them back in 2019 kind of before they were well known. trent reznor emailed me and asked me to check them out and let him know my thoughts. i was like whatever man. but i'm glad i did because i'm a huge fan of stupid music that's just a bunch of sounds like if 5 rooms away some one wearing a suit of armor was vigorously fucking his collection of shields. au 14 is kind of lame though bc the beat has no bass, it's just like a 606 snare with their typical boss rsd10 delay on it like dude i've already heard this a million times. i'm guessing sean took this one from the archives to celebrate ae's 14th bday. lame. nothing out of ten. so at this point in the record i had to flip over the digitals. the other side was messed up so i can't really comment. all i can say is that very clearly sean was trying to do a bunch of vocals and i guess warp let him do this bc he's in his 60s and they feel bad for him bc all the cool music is made by young people who are fashionable and use social media. some of the lyrics are really interesting though, i'll grant that. for example "psin AM" is about waking about and taking a leak and it's just kind of a cool slice of life thing like this is just sean giving his fans a peak at what it's like to be one of the ae brothers. i respect that. it's fan service but it's honest. then, weirdly, there's one called "th red a" which is another dumbass sean typo for "thread" and it's about posting on reddit and getting into creepy pasta and stuff. he sings about "slenderman" and whatever that one corny thing is where it's just like a shitty room with yellow walls and people on reddit are like "omg wow this is the scariest thing i've ever seen" and there are multiple youtube videos all with millions of views that are like "the room on reddit that will haunt you." apparently sean is into this kind of trash. fucking wanker lol ok final track bc i have to go. to be honest i was just kind of skipping through most of this record and not really paying attention. nothing against sean but i just don't really like autechre or respect the band. the last track is typically called like "r gantz toodeetoo" or some corny shit like come on dude just call your tracks cool stuff like "bong garden" or "mother amulets" or "give me back my bike ii" it's unbelieveable that they keep releasing music with names like they do. anyway, this one is actually really good. i actually played it at 1% speed bc i wanted to enjoy it more. as a listener i feel there is no "proper" way to hear music, whatever i feel like doing is what i'm gonna do. so i played this out of one speaker at one percent. on the other speaker i was listening to squarepusher bc i really love some 100 year old man making wacky spasmatic beats like he's 11. it's so cool to me. plus, gotta love slap bass dude, it's so wacky as well. anyway, on this one sean steps away from the max bullshit and writes a proper tune with lots of cool synth sounds. you can tell he has a jupiter 8 bc it sounds very good. i'm also hearing a neve channel on this one, definitely got that signature rupert style sound. the beat is interesting, it's all samples of sean saying "cummies" but he makes it sound actually pretty serious and solemn. as i listened to this i envisioned myself as an old man, sitting in a retirement home staring at the wall. i can't make sense of a goddamn thing bc my brain has deteriorated so badly. thus, i am listening to caretaker. as old ballroom music plays with some reverb on it i have all these fragmented memories. i'm a child and it's "tree of life" and brad pitt is playing with me. my wife comes to visit me but i'm really mean to her for no reason and she goes home and cries bc while my organic vessel persists there is no longer love between us. i am gone. a nurse comes in to medicate me and it's discovered i've shit myself. this is normal. they change me and it's like i am a baby once more and i see my mother poiring baby powder on my ass and dick and stuff and i feel embarassed. luckily she puts a diaper on and doesn't linger staring at my literal baby dick. but then i'm an old man but i have the features of a baby. for like 5 seconds i remember where i am and what's going on. i hear the autechre song playing and it's like i am underwater again. i see all my memories drifting by, the fish memories, but now they are all corpses, the scales of their rotting flesh glimmering in the light. the smell is toxic, the water cold and inhospitable. i hear "cummies" "cummies" but it's like a sick beat that's completely fucked up. i don't know who i am but i know i never lived the life i wanted. i failed, i was a failure. "cummies" "cummies" "cummies" the beat gets more dissonant and i can feel the end. the last "cummies" beat plays as i close my eyes and drift away, a half lived life lost forever.
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Monday, 19 October 2020 09:14 (three years ago) link
many lols here. in a poll I'd be torn between
sean sent me a post it in the mail saying this title is misleading and that he used version 8. i don't believe him. this clearly has version 7 vibes.
this causes me to feel like i am underwater but the water is made up of dreams instead of wetness.
and
i'm a huge fan of stupid music that's just a bunch of sounds like if 5 rooms away some one wearing a suit of armor was vigorously fucking his collection of shields.
― Paul Ponzi, Monday, 19 October 2020 09:37 (three years ago) link
^lol. But surely “Trent Reznor emailed me and asked me to check them out” wins though?
Album is great by the way!
― the article don, Monday, 19 October 2020 12:17 (three years ago) link
oh my god that post, bravo
― it bangs for thee (Simon H.), Monday, 19 October 2020 12:23 (three years ago) link
I just like the idea of Warp letting Sean do a vocal track because they feel sorry for him
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Monday, 19 October 2020 12:42 (three years ago) link
lol at that post, guess I have to listen to this eh
― Chip-vill-A (imago), Monday, 19 October 2020 14:10 (three years ago) link
That post is screaming for a vocal rendition.
― pomenitul, Monday, 19 October 2020 14:18 (three years ago) link
I'm feeling both reactions on the thread...on the one hand, I'm into the album and it's a pleasant October surprise for Autechre to allow warm tones and human sentiment into their music.
On the other hand, it sounds like it could be the soundtrack to a Villaneuve movie. Which isn't really a slight, but it's maybe the first album in forever that sounds like it could (or would) have been made by someone else.
― change display name (Jordan), Monday, 19 October 2020 14:46 (three years ago) link
FP'd you for flashbacks to Hans Zimmer's crime-against-humanity reworking of Pink Floyd's 'Eclipse'.
― pomenitul, Monday, 19 October 2020 14:48 (three years ago) link
lol
Trailers don't count though, they're their own special musical hellscape
― change display name (Jordan), Monday, 19 October 2020 15:27 (three years ago) link
Fair enough, exception granted.
― pomenitul, Monday, 19 October 2020 15:28 (three years ago) link
This is definitely more ambient and soundtrack-y than most of their stuff. I've occasionally wondered if they would ever do (or if someone was interested in using them for) soundtrack work. I think they'd be good at it.
― silverfish, Monday, 19 October 2020 15:55 (three years ago) link
I think I killed my enjoyment of this record by listening to both it and Oversteps for the first time last week, and Oversteps is by miles the more interesting and prettier record.
― Matt DC, Monday, 19 October 2020 16:00 (three years ago) link
they both have a lot in common to be fair. for a while i was convinced some of the tracks on SIGN were remixes/re-versions of Oversteps tunes, but apparently not
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Monday, 19 October 2020 16:20 (three years ago) link
Wow apparently I need to revisit Oversteps
― change display name (Jordan), Monday, 19 October 2020 16:24 (three years ago) link
right now I'm hearing Depeche Mode's Behind The Wheel sung over the top of psin AM
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Monday, 19 October 2020 17:02 (three years ago) link
I also want to somehow make the claim that this is the first Ae album where very smart people can't make the by-now common observation that this is still hip hop influenced music deep down; but I'm not sure what to think of this myself even
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Monday, 19 October 2020 17:42 (three years ago) link
I think I've said before a couple of times this on this board but Oversteps/Move of Ten is probably the most underrated autechre era. I'm happy that they came back to this and I would love for SIGN to be their starting off point for going deeper into this sound.
― silverfish, Monday, 19 October 2020 18:05 (three years ago) link
that idea is terrifying to me for some reasonxpost
― lukas, Monday, 19 October 2020 18:07 (three years ago) link
This is their droniest album, which explains why I'm liking this.
― I want to luhbahguh babum gum (Leee), Monday, 19 October 2020 18:52 (three years ago) link
I, ah, um, have you heard NTS Sessions? Also Amber feels way more droned out to me, e.g. Yulquen.
― assert (MatthewK), Monday, 19 October 2020 20:28 (three years ago) link
hey my copy finally arrived
― frogbs, Monday, 19 October 2020 20:48 (three years ago) link
still waiting for mine
― Paul Ponzi, Monday, 19 October 2020 21:53 (three years ago) link
already has more ratings on RYM than all the elseqs and NTS Sessions in case you're wondering how them releasing a digestible album is going
― frogbs, Tuesday, 20 October 2020 01:44 (three years ago) link
does anyone get excited when psin AM comes on? it's like the honeydew melon of this delicious fruit salad of an album.
― lukas, Tuesday, 20 October 2020 03:01 (three years ago) link
it sounds like something off of Black Dog's Bytes, and I mean that in the best possible way obv
― frogbs, Tuesday, 20 October 2020 03:34 (three years ago) link
I went back to Oversteps and it's tight, you all are right that the tones have more in common with the new one that I remembered, and it's got that lush reverb too. There are moments of 'Treale' that could genuinely be sampled & looped for a rap track too.
Thinking about how their drum sounds & patterns are what usually keeps ae sequestered in their own experimental/IDM zone. Taking out or de-emphasizing the beats on SIGN instantly put it in the same world as other ambient & soundtrack-y music, for better and/or worse.
― change display name (Jordan), Wednesday, 21 October 2020 20:04 (three years ago) link
I wouldn't say it's solely their drum sounds & patterns - they have quite a distinct style of sound design and sound creation, e.g. the amazing robot gargling on pendulu hv moda or the darwinian tangled bank of elyc6 onset. That's still present here, though less so in some tracks.
― neith moon (ledge), Thursday, 22 October 2020 08:01 (three years ago) link
Came today, picked it up on way in at 8, listening to it at just past midnight. Probably not ideal.
― koogs, Friday, 23 October 2020 23:09 (three years ago) link
not gonna say it's a grower, cuz i liked it immediately. but i still like it, and differently than when i first heard it. will unquestionably dig this out in ten years when i'm looking for "that 2020 feeling".
― lukas, Thursday, 12 November 2020 22:22 (three years ago) link
yeah the mood of this album hasn't lost its hold on me, i still listen to it a lot. it helps that even though it's more subdued and melodic, it still feels like everything could fall apart at any moment.
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Thursday, 12 November 2020 23:02 (three years ago) link
this is v nice. I was almost suspicious at first by how easy it went down but there's still a lot to hear on repeat listens
the other day my dad showed up during one of the quieter passages & dismissed it as massage parlour music. he didn't know why I found that hilarious
― You guys are ridiculous because I’m more on the left than you (Left), Friday, 13 November 2020 00:53 (three years ago) link
giving this a wee break and then coming back to it is very rewarding. Much like I find with Boards of Canada, the quality of these chord progressions start taking on an almost ancient quality, like they've always been there in the back of my head. When those big chords finally sound out during the intro to Metaz form8, it's like the door to a pyramid suddenly scrpaing away
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Friday, 13 November 2020 14:19 (three years ago) link
I don't know why I buy these albums on vinyl: most of the experience comes from listening on decent headphones which I can't do with records on my set-up.
realised this when 'r cazt' clicked with me last night just as I was falling asleep with the headphones still on. thought it was a bit of a dirge, but there are these wonderful higher notes that come in and punctuate the deeper chords later on and fill it with a jazzy human-ness
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Thursday, 19 November 2020 11:50 (three years ago) link
that said, the record arrived today and is sounding lovely.
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Friday, 20 November 2020 12:39 (three years ago) link
said it already but X4 has to rate as one of the best Ae tunes in years. Just so much going on in it, and I love the Arabic-style scale that flitters in and out during the middle section
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Friday, 20 November 2020 12:53 (three years ago) link
I need to check if it's sitting in my mailbox
― Mr. Cacciatore (Moodles), Friday, 20 November 2020 12:55 (three years ago) link
if you've got the vinyl version of this, try listening to it at 45 RPM. it's way more chaotic, like the Autechre you're used to
― frogbs, Monday, 23 November 2020 20:56 (three years ago) link
Never really dug into Autechre before now, but I'm loving SIGN so much. PLUS should get here tomorrow.
― soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Monday, 23 November 2020 20:57 (three years ago) link
My CD of PLUS was in my PO box this morning.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Monday, 23 November 2020 21:02 (three years ago) link
still waiting on my LPs, hoping they show up today
― Mr. Cacciatore (Moodles), Monday, 23 November 2020 21:03 (three years ago) link
My copy of SIGN, which I preordered, arrived yesterday. God knows when I can expect PLUS.
― assert (MatthewK), Monday, 23 November 2020 21:09 (three years ago) link
yeah PLUS just arrived for me
― frogbs, Monday, 23 November 2020 21:09 (three years ago) link
My PLUS and SIGN LPs showed up but the packaging was all mashed. Very annoyed.
― Mr. Cacciatore (Moodles), Monday, 23 November 2020 23:45 (three years ago) link
having had these albums a few weeks, i'm really starting to get interested in the final few seconds of some of these tracks, just the last few bars after the main bit of the track has finished. there's always been something really interesting about how Ae seem to peel back the layers of a track on the outro of tunes like Garbagemx or Cichli, but here it's often just the last 5 seconds, you barely notice them
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Tuesday, 24 November 2020 17:19 (three years ago) link
They also have an interesting tendency of having a new song movement or a bit of a track's chaos to coalesce into something more accessible right as a track ends.
ecol4 on PLUS is a fantastic example as well as Parhelic Triangle on Confield - the latter exposes a very pretty melody that really only begins surfacing in the last minute and then is laid bare as the beats are faded out.
SIGN and PLUS though seem to really focus on track endings though, more so than past records. Every single track on PLUS has an extended outtro (save ecol4 where the outtro is the beat getting exceptionally funky).
― octobeard, Tuesday, 24 November 2020 18:51 (three years ago) link
never even noticed that about parhelic triangle before.
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Wednesday, 25 November 2020 15:42 (three years ago) link
pic.twitter.com/tnKBm0C4Lr— Emily Jeanne (@emilyjeannedb) October 8, 2020
― cosmic vision | bleak epiphany | erotic email (map), Friday, 27 November 2020 22:52 (three years ago) link
M4 Lema played on radio 3 "New Music Show" on saturday night
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000q39k
― koogs, Sunday, 6 December 2020 16:18 (three years ago) link
I did it!
https://i.imgur.com/Ij7rV5A.jpg
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Monday, 21 December 2020 11:33 (three years ago) link
with thanks to map for the idea
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Monday, 21 December 2020 11:34 (three years ago) link
omg that shirt
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Tuesday, 22 December 2020 16:40 (three years ago) link
also i got so focused on plus i nearly forgot how good sign is
pretty much every time I listen to either PLUS or SIGN, I afterwards put on the other one. This definitely feels like one double album to me.
― silverfish, Tuesday, 22 December 2020 16:46 (three years ago) link
haha that is wonderful xp
― ffolkes (map), Tuesday, 22 December 2020 16:59 (three years ago) link
nice color too
took me a while to pick a colourway but settled on Tri Repetae green. Got it from a website called Red Molotov
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Tuesday, 22 December 2020 17:12 (three years ago) link
At this point, I have a clear preference for SIGN over PLUS, but the front half of SIGN and back half of PLUS could make a nice combo.
― Mr. Cacciatore (Moodles), Tuesday, 22 December 2020 17:32 (three years ago) link
Might need to make a custom combo track list and call it PLUS-SIGN but honestly SIGN is so perfect on its own it's much harder for me to do it, which is a first for me since Untilted.
― octobeard, Tuesday, 22 December 2020 20:52 (three years ago) link
Vote in the poll!
― but also fuck you (unperson), Friday, 25 December 2020 14:18 (three years ago) link
well chuffed : for xmas mk1 got me the 2cd/t-shirt bundle.(every year he gets me something techno/electronica that he thinks i will like, and he has been spot on - giant swan, jon hopkins, daniel avery, special request etc).unfortunately the bundle got lost in chaos of the uk postal system, but the replacement has arrived at his g/fs.thankfully there was a download included, so all is good, other than i cant rock the warp t-shirt just yet.
― mark e, Friday, 25 December 2020 14:54 (three years ago) link
Nice one! Hope you enjoy it. And happy Christmas to you and your boys Mark E
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Friday, 25 December 2020 23:47 (three years ago) link
Cool shirt DL!
― Everything's Blue In This Whorl (Raymond Cummings), Saturday, 26 December 2020 11:46 (three years ago) link
Gescom set yesterday - announcement was: https://www.facebook.com/amkslive/posts/354631809319654
+ they uploaded the wav too:https://autechre.wetransfer.com/downloads/060ed6ed78020802587bcef0306ca13220210102215750/403ba0
― StanM, Sunday, 3 January 2021 09:55 (three years ago) link
Well, I certainly know what I'm listening to during breakfast today.
― Everything's Blue In This Whorl (Raymond Cummings), Sunday, 3 January 2021 12:56 (three years ago) link
it's not really breakfast music imho but I hope you enjoy it anyway :-)
― StanM, Sunday, 3 January 2021 14:04 (three years ago) link
Lol
― Everything's Blue In This Whorl (Raymond Cummings), Sunday, 3 January 2021 14:06 (three years ago) link
I had fun.
This is very “chopping up classic hip-hop beats for our own distended beat tape” isn’t it? I enjoyed it but it’s definitely not the kind of thing I’d revisit as often as, say, Elseq
― Everything's Blue In This Whorl (Raymond Cummings), Sunday, 3 January 2021 14:07 (three years ago) link
yeah, Gescom isn't necessarily = Autechre either, I just put it here
― StanM, Sunday, 3 January 2021 14:15 (three years ago) link
Revisiting this album is so strange. I cant believe it was released just over a year ago
― Urbandn hope all ye who enter here (dog latin), Tuesday, 16 November 2021 11:53 (two years ago) link
I know they made noises about their frustration of this being seen as their "lockdown album", but there's something so intrinsically wrapped up in this album's sound and the conflicting sense of hyper-connected isolation everyone was feeling at the time. I think this has to be by far their most iconic album, at least since Confield
― Urbandn hope all ye who enter here (dog latin), Tuesday, 16 November 2021 11:58 (two years ago) link
In retrospect, I think releasing the two albums separately was a mistake. I never really absorbed PLUS the way I've historically devoured a new Ae album because I was still listening (a lot) to SIGN when it finally arrived in the mail. Kind of a Kid A / Amnesiac situation
― Paul Ponzi, Tuesday, 16 November 2021 12:44 (two years ago) link
I'm cool with it although I know it was frustrating for US listeners who had to shell out twice on P&P for vinyl.I really like PLUS even if it is a more "traditional" Ae album in every sense of the word: It's the album I'd been wanting them to make for a while, in that it's a concise suite of beat-based leftfield techno in the classic era vein. I'd rank at least two of the tracks here in among my all-time fave Ae tracks and there's enough character and diversity on there to make it a strong record on its own. That said, I don't know if as an album it has a unifying, definitive sound or style in the way, say Untilted might
― Urbandn hope all ye who enter here (dog latin), Tuesday, 16 November 2021 12:53 (two years ago) link
Might have a listen to the Gonkcast about these
I'm cool with it although I know it was frustrating for US listeners who had to shell out twice on P&P for vinyl.
yes, that too!
I'd rank at least two of the tracks here in among my all-time fave Ae tracks
Which two?? I ask as someone eager to revisit this album soon
― Paul Ponzi, Tuesday, 16 November 2021 13:20 (two years ago) link
lol every Autechre album is their "lockdown" album.
I agree I didn't give either of these albums, but particularly the second one, the attention they deserved, not just because there were two of them and the second distracted from the release of the first, but also because "NTS Sessions 1–4" sort of ... burnt me out. Not that I'm burnt out on Autechre, those recordings just took so much energy and time on my part, and was so rewarding, and felt like such a defining statement, that "Sign" and "Plus" sounded to me almost like reunion albums.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 16 November 2021 14:08 (two years ago) link
feel like there's a misprint on my memory because I do not remember PLUS coming out only two weeks after SIGN. I thought it was like, 3 months!
on RYM, PLUS has less than half the ratings of SIGN. I wonder if that would have happened had they just been released at the same time.
anyway, I agree with DL's take - PLUS is more what I was hoping for after they truly went off the deep end, but I think SIGN is probably more special, and in retrospect was really the album I was waiting for them to make
― frogbs, Tuesday, 16 November 2021 14:11 (two years ago) link
It's weird how I still think of SIGN and PLUS as second tier autechre albums, but I listen to them constantly. I just put them on late at night when doing the dishes or cleaning or whatever and it just sets this nice mellow vibe. Been listening to them a lot lately in particular since they are such great fall/early winter albums.
― silverfish, Tuesday, 16 November 2021 14:27 (two years ago) link
SIGN/PLUS are just okay, but in fairness I should spend more time with them.
Elseq and NTS Sessions were both home runs for me.
― Legalize Suburban Benches (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 16 November 2021 15:14 (two years ago) link
plus ended up being the one i connected with the most. sign is gorgeous but i need to be in a specific mood to enjoy its combination of sedateness and restlessness. plus is classic weird rugged autechre i.e. the heart music.
― Linda and Jodie Rocco (map), Tuesday, 16 November 2021 15:21 (two years ago) link
I love SIGN but the whiplash effect of alternating between ambient track and beat-based track for most of the album has always felt a bit disconcerting to me. I think it would have been cool if they had fully committed to a percussionless sonic palette, but I can pretty much assemble that album by playlisting the beatless tracks from SIGN and PLUS
― J. Sam, Tuesday, 16 November 2021 15:27 (two years ago) link
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, November 16, 2021 9:08 AM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink
could not have put this better myself. Exactly my experience, and not just because I view NTS Sessions as their absolute pinnacle. I got way too obsessed with that box when it came out. It's one of my favorite albums (if you could even call it that) of all time.
That said, I really do love SIGN
― Paul Ponzi, Tuesday, 16 November 2021 18:47 (two years ago) link
J. Sam OTM
― Legalize Suburban Benches (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 16 November 2021 18:48 (two years ago) link
yea Autechre really answered the question "is it possible for an artist to put out too *much* great music at once?" it was just overwhelming. Underworld did it too the following year but Autechre's music hits way more of a niche spot
idk how even to compare these two to NTS & elseq. obviously the latter albums contain more "good stuff" and have some insane highs but if I just wanna pop some Ae on both SIGN and PLUS hit the spot
in fact SIGN strikes me as the kind of album that would be getting a lot of excited buzz if a new artist had done it. not to say Autechre is overlooked but I do wonder how it would be received if it was just made by some guy on Orange Milk Records
― frogbs, Tuesday, 16 November 2021 18:53 (two years ago) link
Heck, I could still listen to "All End" on repeat and be happy.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 16 November 2021 18:59 (two years ago) link
Nothing against the NTS Sessions, they're great and they contain some lovely stuff, but yeah they're not exactly the most immediate of accessible things Ae have released by any stretch, and that's in terms of sonics and sheer volume of material. SIGN/PLUS you can just put on and vibe out to without it having to be an epic intense listening session.
― Urbandn hope all ye who enter here (dog latin), Tuesday, 16 November 2021 19:00 (two years ago) link
Or basically what frogbs said. I wouldn't say NTS is all gold at all
― Urbandn hope all ye who enter here (dog latin), Tuesday, 16 November 2021 19:01 (two years ago) link
I wouldn't claim to love every individual track on NTS but, when I view it holistically, it's clearly a masterpiece. I guess you could say its more than the sum of its parts, but that's not quite right, either, since a lot of those parts represent some of the most astonishing music I have ever heard
― Paul Ponzi, Tuesday, 16 November 2021 20:18 (two years ago) link
when I view it holistically, it's clearly a masterpiece
I think 4 really helps it out here, it seems like as a whole it has an order to it that I don't get from Elseq, which to me is just a big grab bag of long (and really good) Ae tracks
― lukas, Tuesday, 16 November 2021 20:21 (two years ago) link
NTS is one of the few Ae releases where I know every track by name and can recall how it sounds when I read the title. It felt like the apex of their achievement and I would have been fine with it as a "last word". I've probably listened to SIGN/PLUS least of all their releases in the year following, every now and then I remember it and put it on, but after NTS most of the tracks just feel like the start of something. I say this as an Ae obsessive since about 1997.
― assert (matttkkkk), Tuesday, 16 November 2021 22:47 (two years ago) link
It felt like the apex of their achievement and I would have been fine with it as a "last word".
yeah
― lukas, Tuesday, 16 November 2021 22:56 (two years ago) link
This is all very surprising to me. NTS is enjoyable but on the whole I find it largely an impenetrable murky affair. Save for maybe a couple of tracks like violvoic, I couldn't tell you what each track is like from memory. All End is hugely hugely overrated and it surprises me that people hold it up as being remarkable. OTOH SIGN/PLUS is very memorable to me, with each track having a defining characteristic that makes it sound unique.
― Urbandn hope all ye who enter here (dog latin), Tuesday, 16 November 2021 23:28 (two years ago) link
Honestly, while NTS etc is remarkable for its achievement as a sheer monolithic work of artisanship, SIGN/PLUS to me is their most enjoyable and their most listenable since before Confield.
Revisiting SIGN today though, I was brought right back to October 2020, and the emotions I was feeling then. There's an ache, an emptiness to tracks like gr4 which will forever be synonymous with that lockdown interim period in the UK where we could just about start mingling again, and then just a few weeks later were plunged back into it. What a dark, melancholy time it was.
― Urbandn hope all ye who enter here (dog latin), Tuesday, 16 November 2021 23:34 (two years ago) link
never forget that when you don't have the time for "all end" you can always listen to "bladelores"
― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Tuesday, 16 November 2021 23:36 (two years ago) link
I love bladelores
― Urbandn hope all ye who enter here (dog latin), Tuesday, 16 November 2021 23:38 (two years ago) link
This isn't an original opinion or anything but All End just feels redundant when you've got... the entire genre of drone music to compare it to, as well as the rest of Ae's catalogue - I don't see what makes it remarkable other than it's length and that it's by Ae
― Urbandn hope all ye who enter here (dog latin), Tuesday, 16 November 2021 23:40 (two years ago) link
NTS has tracks like gonk steady one and column thirteen that take the late-period Ae exploratory vibe and add massive hooks, just exhilarating stuff. And I like the sound of the record - super clear and widescreen without being brittle or harsh - much more than sign/plus.
― lukas, Tuesday, 16 November 2021 23:46 (two years ago) link
I dunno what to tell you about All End. I've listened to plenty of drone and that track doing what it does, sounding like it does, coming where it does in the album just does it for me. There's some sort of aural illusion happening with that track, my brain keeps hearing melodies and harmonies that aren't there.
― lukas, Tuesday, 16 November 2021 23:48 (two years ago) link
Yeah, I liked it to watching Derek Jarman's "Blue."
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 17 November 2021 00:29 (two years ago) link
Comparing NTS to SIGN is like comparing Trans Europe Express to Radioactivity. I strongly prefer Radioactivity but I know a lot of people would disagree
― Urbandn hope all ye who enter here (dog latin), Wednesday, 17 November 2021 00:47 (two years ago) link
And ohmigod some of the tracks on NTS go on for sooo loooong without really doing anything. I don't know how they can justify something like bqbqbq being 11 minutes. It's interesting for all of the first minute
― Urbandn hope all ye who enter here (dog latin), Wednesday, 17 November 2021 00:55 (two years ago) link
super disagree on that, it's a maximalist piece which asks "what if this, but played out to its fullest extent" and I could listen to that all day. So many tracks mutate, or splinter into tangents, and the length basically forces you to work past your first impressions and listen for other things.and re: all end, sure there are other works of similar magnitude and concept, sure it's just a timestretch of a simple noise piece, sure there's any number of ways you could criticise it, but lukas is right that it's a ganzfeld on which I hallucinate my soul. I listened to it cranked, a few times in full, during a phase of my life where my emotions were basically unbearable and unprocessable, and it felt like being suspended as a cloud of atoms and was immensely healing to me. So I don't really care if it's clever or original or whatever, it's just wonderful. This kind of art is equally about selection as creation, and putting that up as an hour-length block was clearly an aesthetic decision. Wouldn't matter if it was a field recording of an electric fan.
― assert (matttkkkk), Wednesday, 17 November 2021 01:23 (two years ago) link
I agree with dog latin - I get that the length and drawn out patterns are part of the appeal but certain tracks on here just don’t do anything for me and they just go on soooo long. I love a good 3/4 of it though. Including “bqbqbq” (which you gotta admit is pretty funny to have as the 2nd track)
― frogbs, Wednesday, 17 November 2021 01:40 (two years ago) link
I think we can all agree that … we want more AE in 2022, though, right? 🙂
― Legalize Suburban Benches (Raymond Cummings), Wednesday, 17 November 2021 02:00 (two years ago) link
mattt otmfm
― lukas, Wednesday, 17 November 2021 02:02 (two years ago) link
I’d be down for more Autechre sure
― frogbs, Wednesday, 17 November 2021 02:05 (two years ago) link
Every time this thread comes to life I get a PTSD shock that the band might have dropped another 8 hours of music.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 17 November 2021 02:08 (two years ago) link
I still want a physical 5CD box of Elseq. I know it’s never coming but I hold out hope.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Wednesday, 17 November 2021 03:27 (two years ago) link
fwiw the individual NTS Sessions on vinyl are actually pretty cheap, you can get them for like $25 + shipping even though they are 3xLPs. I guess too many people (correctly) decided this was ridiculous to have on wax. but they're wrong. it's awesome on vinyl even changing a record and flipping a side in "all end"
― frogbs, Wednesday, 17 November 2021 03:29 (two years ago) link
because of the activity on this thread I am listening to PLUS and honestly I think it's as good as anything they've released, at least on a per minute scale. and it's probably the most accessible thing they've done since LP5, outside of Oversteps/Move of Ten. pretty much all the things they do well are on it. and it's got "lux 106 mod" which is arguably prettier than anything on SIGN! can't help but wonder how it would've been received had it been released first.
― frogbs, Wednesday, 17 November 2021 03:47 (two years ago) link
also its nice to hear Autechre making music that sounds funny again. "TM1 open" is like Hobbit disco
― frogbs, Wednesday, 17 November 2021 04:02 (two years ago) link
because of the activity on this thread I am listening to PLUS and honestly I think it's as good as anything they've released
been meaning to make this exact post all day
― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Wednesday, 17 November 2021 04:15 (two years ago) link
anyway now that I'm done I will be listening to Cluster, who in many ways were the original Autechre. no I will not elaborate on that
― frogbs, Wednesday, 17 November 2021 04:20 (two years ago) link
@unperson yes! My NTS Sessions CD set gives me warm wibbles and it's a shame we can't have the same with Elseq.
― raven, Wednesday, 17 November 2021 07:18 (two years ago) link
Listened to Plus yesterday, aside from a track or two it still mostly passes me by, possibly because I was never so much into "beat based techno in the classic era". Love the lush and pillowly Sign; I also think of NTS as a career peak and a monumental achievement that transcends its own few longeurs. What I go to most often for a quick and easy hit of ne plus ultra ae though is elseq 1 tracks 2-5.
― namaste darkness my old friend (ledge), Wednesday, 17 November 2021 07:54 (two years ago) link
I bet they press elseq on vinyl for the 10th ann in 2016
― assert (matttkkkk), Wednesday, 17 November 2021 08:03 (two years ago) link
*2026
Fuck, just realised that's not far off
― Urbandn hope all ye who enter here (dog latin), Wednesday, 17 November 2021 09:08 (two years ago) link
Unperson, that’s something I want too.
― Legalize Suburban Benches (Raymond Cummings), Wednesday, 17 November 2021 10:47 (two years ago) link
Speaking of which, I got notified today that my Copies of Chiastic and LP5 have been dispatched and OMG I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR LONGER THAN BQBQBQ
― Urbandn hope all ye who enter here (dog latin), Wednesday, 17 November 2021 12:21 (two years ago) link
Good news! Hopefully that means mine are en route too. I typically prefer Autechre on CD but I'm very excited to get these.
― Paul Ponzi, Wednesday, 17 November 2021 12:59 (two years ago) link
yeah i don't know why i even own Autechre on record, but these are very impotant albums for me and it will be a nice way to rediscover them
― Urbandn hope all ye who enter here (dog latin), Wednesday, 17 November 2021 13:19 (two years ago) link
Just another voice on the Internet saying "I'd like an Elseq CD set" (was even considering some Russian boot but now all I see on Ebay is a thumb drive in a box).
― eatandoph (Neue Jesse Schule), Thursday, 18 November 2021 00:47 (two years ago) link
Is "buy it and burn it" not an option? or unsatisfying without artwork?
― assert (matttkkkk), Thursday, 18 November 2021 00:49 (two years ago) link
the lack of a physical copy means that despite Ae being one of my favorite musical acts ever I'm barely familiar with elseq relative to the rest of the catalog
― Paul Ponzi, Thursday, 18 November 2021 00:57 (two years ago) link
xp -- probably mostly the latter for me, plus CD-Rs being more likely to degrade over time than factory-pressed discs (Russian boots in my limited experience have been factory-pressed)
― eatandoph (Neue Jesse Schule), Thursday, 18 November 2021 01:02 (two years ago) link
but lukas is right that it's a ganzfeld on which I hallucinate my soul. I listened to it cranked, a few times in full, during a phase of my life where my emotions were basically unbearable and unprocessable, and it felt like being suspended as a cloud of atoms and was immensely healing to me.
I recently programmed some LED lights to create a visual ganzfeld while in a sauna listening to All End for 20 mins, and this description feels like it matched my experience a bit
― octobeard, Thursday, 18 November 2021 06:03 (two years ago) link
my soul sibling
― assert (matttkkkk), Thursday, 18 November 2021 06:59 (two years ago) link
picking this up again after a year and I never realized how symphonic a lot of this album is. you could almost envision an orchestra playing it. guess I missed a lot of that because I'm not used to hearing stuff like that out of Autechre.
― frogbs, Monday, 22 May 2023 03:07 (ten months ago) link