Autechre: Classic or Dud?

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Great inventive IDM or geeky mindless crap?

I say the former, but i'm a Warp-head...

― dog latin, Monday, 23 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

I got one of their CD's because they were critically acclaimed, but only listened to it once. I guess I just don't like their style.

― james e l, Monday, 23 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

Bleep bloop, blip blip, bloop bloop. I borrowed an Autechre CD and I too found that the hype didn't live up to the bleeps. On the other hand, I heard Autechre being used as background music for a film at an art installation, and it seemed to work there. By itself, though? Can't see it. Maybe I'll grow into it.

― Sean Carruthers, Monday, 23 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

Er, rather, bleeps didn't live up to the hype. Time for me to go home, I think.

― Sean Carruthers, Monday, 23 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

mindless crap is what my dad said after listening to a bit of LP5 but for me it's great background music and also when your fucked up...

― Kevin Enas, Monday, 23 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

well, it's not the kind of stuff one likes after one play

search: LP5

― dog latin, Monday, 23 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

Actually, I really like the idea of hype not living up to bleeps.

― Ned Raggett, Monday, 23 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

personally, subjectively, they were brilliant on _tri repetae_. almost a perfect piece of work, i think, with all of the more traditionalist melodic bits of their first two albums clashing with the beginnings of the DSP shitstorm that was to come on later releases. everything since has been hit and miss, with even the better releases (lp5, ep7, envane) having tracks that just sound like 'generic autechre.'

as for "inventive," well, the IDM list be damned, they pretty much defined how IDM has sounded for the past 4 years or so by dint of every semi-talented derivative jacking their style (phoenicia, entire schematics roster, everything i've heard on musik aus strom, especially the horribly derivative but not even close to the mark flagship duo funkstorung, etc, etc). their fault or their misfortune, you be the judge.

― your null fame, Monday, 23 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

I quite like Autechre. Chiastic Slide and Tri Repetae are great. And the earlier more ambient stuff from Amber and Incunabula is quite nice too. I haven't been that into the shift toward more digital, more abstract, less beat oriented music in their last few releases. I like that they're evolving, I'm just not too keen on the result.

― bnw, Monday, 23 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

I've always found them strangely dissapointing. I do like most of Tri Repeate, but I find Amber dull (hard for me to imagine how so many consider that classic) and the post-Tri stuff I've heard generally just slides by me. I ADMIRE what they're doing with the thick sounds on EP7 -- it sounds very complicated and new -- but it's just not enjoyable listening for me. I keep it around, though, because I figure some day it just might click. But for now I'm calling Ae a dude.

― Mark, Monday, 23 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

I would say Classic based on Tri Repetae and Chiastic Slide, but I think they make more of a Search and Destroy kind of band than a Classic Or Dud. They have some fantastic material and a chunk of not so fantastic. To my mind, the problem with them is that when you first hear their sound, it blows your ass to the back wall, but a monrh later it doesn't sound nearly as good, especially after you hear all the shameless imitators mentioned above? But then, is it their fault that it's easy to do a third rate imitation of their sound? And does that irrevocably alter how we hear the songs themselves?

― Dave M., Tuesday, 24 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

Classic for the first four albums. 'Amber' is my favorite (not dull at all, it's perfect twilight music). Again a band who release too much stuff and you start to lose interest (and I won't start on all the 2nd rate copycats). But the first four are just perfect and all have a different atmosphere. Also have become victim to what someone on the Hips,head,heart-thread called the Kraftwerk-don't-have-a-soul fallacy. Autechre always struck me as one of the great soul bands, they always try to home in on a very peculiar sense of melancholy (fading of a beautiful day, the sadness of machines) or nostalgia (a lot of times the music shimmers with the feeling of being a child again). Any band that does that is Classic in my book.

― Omar, Tuesday, 24 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

Listening to the last strains of Cichli on Chiastic Slide as the sun comes up is awesome...

― dog latin, Tuesday, 24 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

If you look up Autechre in the dictionary you'll find the answer

― K-reg, Tuesday, 24 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

always admired what autechre were doing (the sheer bloody-mindedness reminded me of the fall) but could never love it. just too dry.

but in the last 6 months i've begun to change my mind, and i'm beginning to really love some of what they do (most of LP5, a lot of Chiastic Slide, and Clichi Suite are beautiful records i think).

it seems strange that it too such a long time for me to really like them, but then i did that with piano magic, happy mondays and tom waits too, and i love 90% of all their stuff too.

got tri repetae recently, but having difficulty getting into that one so far.

saw them at Brixton Fridge the other week, and they were excellent. every track seems to start off so uninviting, but gradually becomes wonderful

so, i think i'd head towards classic really

― gareth, Tuesday, 24 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

nah, i don't like tri repetae too much.

― dog latin, Tuesday, 24 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

autecism-the development of the entire life cycle of a parasitic fungus on a single host

― Kevin Enas, Wednesday, 25 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

Hm, then who is the host? Mr. Aphex Twin? Or just idm geeks in general?

― bnw, Thursday, 26 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

that's what the dictonary said..i'd go with idm geeks

― Kevin Enas, Thursday, 26 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

I'd like to amend my previous comment. Based on the other comments here, I went out and picked up Tri-Repetae and I have to admit that I'm liking it quite a bit. I don't know what the other album I heard was, now. I'll probably check out the new one too. Thanks for changing my mind on this one.

― Sean Carruthers, Wednesday, 9 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

Heh, you're doing lots of amending lately... excellent. :)

― Josh, Wednesday, 9 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

Clasik They laid down their basic schematic a decade ago, which was duely appropriated by a whole generation of Electronica outfits as a viable escape route from the ambient ghettos of the early nineties. But somehow, they both manage to avoid sounding anything like their legion of imitators, and remain undeniably Autechre. Geniuses in their own petri dish - remote, but perfect

― K-reg, Thursday, 10 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

So anyone heard the new one? I was going to skip on this one, but it's getting really good reviews. Is it a departure or can it be compared with an oldie? Oh and most important: does it have some humanity (I always dread a full Autechre move into pure abstraction).

― Omar, Monday, 14 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

i think the new one is the business. it is kind of a departure. its unmistakably them but less electro-ish. in a strange taxidermy way it reminds me of piano magic. very decayed sounding. busted cd type feel as well.

difficult to compare to other releases. perhaps the closest is chiastic slide (particularly hub)

i'd definitely recommend it. is rivalling Discovery for favourite album of moment.

― gareth, Monday, 14 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

three weeks pass...

Someone explain the appeal please? Much as I love the Warp-label, Autechre's brand of IDM just leaves me cold. Too ornate, too wrapped up in its own 'cleverness', too much fidgeting about playing around with FX. This music has no flow. Listening to Confield gives me a headache, as has every other release of theirs I've heard. Occasionally they hit on a groove, a sound, a pattern and everything momentarily clicks, but 5 seconds later and it abruptly changes direction. Is it like Geometry, or computer programming? I'm bemused, confused, and fail to connect with this music.

― Stevo, Sunday, 10 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I still haven't listened to the new album much - I haven't found myself in the right mood - but it might be fair to say the music indeed "has no flow", the way you're probably thinking. Unless this sort of willful difficulty is your thing, I think it would help to start with their earlier CDs and work your way forward. (That might make the current stuff more palatable, but then it might not for you.) Incunabula and probably Tri Repetae (and "Garbage", dammit I wish my Trie Repetae disc 2 hadn't snapped in half) have lots of songs that unfold more nicely, without so much focus on subverting rhythmic expectations (and sonic ones too).

― Josh, Thursday, 14 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

i come from the opposite perspective on this one josh. i only picked yp incunabula recently and found it rather uneventful, and i find tri repetae is too harsh. chiastic slide is like tri repetae but somehow more personable. i think the ideal starting point is probably LP5. this seems very accessible (although again, on initial hearing it just gave me a headache!), it eventually seeped in and i love that album now.

the new one is simultaneously a continuity of LP5 in terms of denseness and a complete break in that there seems to be no flow or groove whatsoever. the flow may have been convoluted before, now it just sounds broken and rusted. its a wonderful record (particularly the middle section) but probably not the best place to start. LP5 i think remains their highlight.

― gareth, Friday, 15 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Sean of Autechre in recent De:Bug declare: "we make the ultimate folk music". I like that idea a lot. No flow/broken sounds like another chinese puzzle, going to get it anyway. Another thing: I skipped on LP5, since i was suffering from autechritis at the time (I mean really, a record every year is too much), still worth checking out?

― Omar, Friday, 15 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

yeh, lp5 is the best one!

as for autechre writing folk music, i wrote a confused piece on this, which you can find here

― gareth, Friday, 15 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Dude! Confused? Not all. It's true isn't it? It such a nice framework for this sort of music.

So there you have it: we're the new folkies! :) Let's all grow beards.

― Omar, Friday, 15 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

'Incunabula' is impressing me Josh, making more immediate sense than 'Confield'. 'Tri-Repetae' has moments of fractured beauty that long to be dwelt on, but frequently aren't. I find Autechre cold, abstract, and introverted, but I can't quite dismiss them. There is a dark clinical beauty that does attract. Like being drawn to an alluring, handsome stranger only to discover she/he is suffering from schizophrenia.

― Stevo, Friday, 15 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

1 listen into Confield and all i can say: it's doing my head in! Very, very good. 1st track esp. is amazing (sort of gamelan-on-ice planet stuff, beautiful melody harking back to 1st album...nice, nice). Bit of a surprise because it sounds more direct in a way than mid-period Autechre. And they came up with some new cool sounds too.

― Omar, Monday, 18 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

nine years pass...

Just got sent this:

Autechre - 'EPS 1991-2002' WARPCD211
5 X Deluxe CD - 47 Tracks - 5hr 39min 59sec
47 track digital bundle available now
CD shipped & released 11th April 2011

Order CD with instant WAV/MP3 download at Bleep
Download MP3/WAV at Bleep (includes videos)
Download digital at iTunes

Visit Autechre.ws

(Made in The Designers Republic™)
CAVITY JOB, BASSCADEP, ANTI EP
(Disc 1)

Cavity Job
Accelera 1 & 2
Basscadet (Bcdtmx)
Basscadet (Basscadoublemx)
Basscadet (Tazmx)
Basscadet (Basscadubmx)
Lost
Djarum
Flutter

Tracks 1 – 2 originally released as Cavity Job (p)1991 Autechre.
Tracks 3 – 6 originally released as Basscad EP (p) 1994 Warp Records Limited.
Tracks 7 – 9 originally released as Anti EP (p) 1994 Warp Records Limited.
GARBAGE, ANVIL VAPRE
(Disc 2)

Garbagemx
PIOBmx
Bronchusevenmx
VLetrmx
Second Bad Vilbel
Second Scepe
Second Scout
Second Peng

Tracks 1 – 4 originally released as Garbage (p)1995 Warp Records Limited.
Tracks 5 – 8 originally released as Anvil Vapre (p) 1995 Warp Records Limited.
PEEL SESSION, ENVANE
(Disc 3)

Milk DX
Inhake 2
Drane
Goz Quarter
Latent Quarter
Laughing Quarter
Draun Quarter

Tracks 1 – 3 originally released as Peel Session (p)1995 BBC.
Tracks 4 – 7 originally released as Envane (p)1997 Warp Records Limited.
CHICHLISUITE, EP7
(Disc 4)

Yeesland
Pencha
Characi
Krib
Tilapia
Rpeg
Ccec
Squeller
Left Blank
Outpt
Dropp
Liccflii

Tracks 1 – 5 originally released as Cichlisuite (p)1997 Warp Records Limited.
Tracks 6 – 12 originally released on EP7 (p)1999 Warp Records Limited.
EP7, PEEL SESSION 2, GANTZ GRAF
(Disc 5)

Maphive6.1
Zeiss Contarex
Netlon Sentinel
Pir
Gelk
Blifil
Gaekwad
19 Headaches
Gantz Graf
Dial.
Cap.IV

Tracks 1 – 4 originally released on EP7 (p)1999 Warp Records Limited.
Tracks 5 – 8 originally released as Peel Session 2 (p)1999 BBC.
Tracks 9 – 11 originally released as Gantz Graf (p)2002 Warp Records Limited.

― dentarthurdent (dog latin), Tuesday, 15 February 2011 14:13 (fifteen years ago)

ooh, they've split the EP7s across two discs. Bad show.

― dentarthurdent (dog latin), Tuesday, 15 February 2011 14:14 (fifteen years ago)

(closes eyes, mutters 'i do not need or want expensive box-sets, i do not need or want expensive box sets...')

― ledge, Tuesday, 15 February 2011 14:33 (fifteen years ago)

('I have all these tracks already, i have all these tracks already')

― dentarthurdent (dog latin), Tuesday, 15 February 2011 14:41 (fifteen years ago)

Seems a little odd not to include the Seefeel or Beaumont Hannant mixes of Basscadet, but maybe that can be justified. Putting "Anvil Vapre" before "Garbage" seems like flat-out bad sequencing.

― with hidden noise, Tuesday, 15 February 2011 14:47 (fifteen years ago)

Tracks 1 – 4 originally released as Garbage (p)1995 Warp Records Limited.
Tracks 5 – 8 originally released as Anvil Vapre (p) 1995 Warp Records Limited.

― ledge, Tuesday, 15 February 2011 14:48 (fifteen years ago)

ah, my mistake!

― with hidden noise, Tuesday, 15 February 2011 15:20 (fifteen years ago)

This is disappointing. At least include all vinyl-only tracks, not only Cavity Job.

I don't feel this is worth the double-dip.

― Sebastian (Royal Mermaid Mover), Tuesday, 15 February 2011 15:45 (fifteen years ago)

Sorry boothbrown, I already have all the original releases.

― StanM, Tuesday, 15 February 2011 16:01 (fifteen years ago)

only own the Anti EP but not sure what I would do with this package - EP collections on several CDs just seem so impractical

― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Wednesday, 16 February 2011 08:49 (fifteen years ago)

This is disappointing. At least include all vinyl-only tracks, not only Cavity Job.
I don't feel this is worth the double-dip.

OTM.

Better to have the original Anti and break the seal on it to show what bollicks the Criminal Justice Thingy is.

― Asparagus Peee (Leee), Friday, 18 February 2011 02:40 (fifteen years ago)

one year passes...

http://thequietus.com/articles/10978-autechre-new-album-details-exai

― besides Sunny Real Estate (dog latin), Thursday, 13 December 2012 17:00 (thirteen years ago)

I couldn't decide which C or D thread to pick so I made a new one

Autechre Exai

― ledge, Thursday, 13 December 2012 17:00 (thirteen years ago)

ten months pass...

http://youtu.be/lC7LGzCZ-q0

classic

― braunld (Lowell N. Behold'n), Monday, 14 October 2013 17:51 (twelve years ago)

track at 18:00 is pretty sick

― eris bueller (lukas), Monday, 14 October 2013 18:35 (twelve years ago)

that whole video is rad, oh man that brings back memories, esp. the whistles and the whole dudes-with-long-fringe-swept-back-w-headbands thing, damn haven't seen that look in a minute

― the tune was space, Monday, 14 October 2013 20:11 (twelve years ago)

two weeks pass...

http://ge.tt/9ZkPRWw/v/0

more ore

― braunld (Lowell N. Behold'n), Tuesday, 29 October 2013 07:14 (twelve years ago)

one year passes...

http://p.autechre.ws/proxy?lnk=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.discogs.com%2Fartist%2F41-Autechre

― djh, Thursday, 5 March 2015 18:51 (eleven years ago)

Skipping 1790 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

Oh, hell yeah

― Clever Message Board User Name (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 19 May 2026 19:57 (two weeks ago)

Man, it’s been TEN YEARS?!?

― Clever Message Board User Name (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 19 May 2026 20:00 (two weeks ago)

A band with this many neurodivergent fans should really know better than to release a CD package in a different size

― EsBeeKid (Whiney G. Weingarten), Tuesday, May 19, 2026 2:50 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

otm. I find it pretty triggering, myself

― Paul Ponzi, Tuesday, 19 May 2026 20:04 (two weeks ago)

Looked up what I paid for NTS Sessions on CD from the AE Store: US$57.47, shipped. Of course it did not include a 12"x12" book of different-sized squares and circles (which might comment on the fetishization of physical media product originally rejected by this release).

― eatandoph (Neue Jesse Schule), Tuesday, 19 May 2026 21:00 (two weeks ago)

never knew the NTS sessions were released on disc

― Brenton Wood Conference (Boring, Maryland), Tuesday, 19 May 2026 21:04 (two weeks ago)

I got all 4 on vinyl for $105 shipped...somehow I don't think they were in particularly high demand

― frogbs, Tuesday, 19 May 2026 21:08 (two weeks ago)

They sold out pretty quick I think. Vinyl first, CD a few weeks later. I still haven't opened mine because I don't trust my turntable not to wreck it.

― assert (matttkkkk), Wednesday, 20 May 2026 01:19 (two weeks ago)

I didnt realise it got a vinyl release(?!)

― rameau in the main room (dog latin), Wednesday, 20 May 2026 05:38 (two weeks ago)

Oh, you're talking about NTS

― rameau in the main room (dog latin), Wednesday, 20 May 2026 05:40 (two weeks ago)

I had really hoped for a vinyl reissue just because I have so much space on my record shelves that needs taking up with more bleep bloop music

― rameau in the main room (dog latin), Wednesday, 20 May 2026 05:41 (two weeks ago)

yeah but it comes in a 12x12 hardback case, we can totally file it with our bleep bloop vinyl

― brimstead, Wednesday, 20 May 2026 06:22 (two weeks ago)

So do we think Ae will ever release another studio album again? At the time I had half expected them to release more 12-track albums as a continuation of SIGN/PLUS

― rameau in the main room (dog latin), Wednesday, 20 May 2026 08:29 (two weeks ago)

didn’t I just read somewhere that they are now only focusing on live performances? (so SIGN/PLUS are the last studio releases)

― Brenton Wood Conference (Boring, Maryland), Wednesday, 20 May 2026 12:37 (two weeks ago)

ah here by our own unperson

https://open.substack.com/pub/burningambulance/p/elseq-10?r=8btm1&utm_medium=ios

― Brenton Wood Conference (Boring, Maryland), Wednesday, 20 May 2026 12:38 (two weeks ago)

didn’t I just read somewhere that they are now only focusing on live performances? (so SIGN/PLUS are the last studio releases)
― Brenton Wood Conference (Boring, Maryland), Wednesday, 20 May 2026 13:37 (thirty minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

boo hiss (imo)

― rameau in the main room (dog latin), Wednesday, 20 May 2026 13:08 (two weeks ago)

I mean, that kind of proclamation is absolutely worthless. That's like Peter Gabriel saying he is focusing on studio work (when he is not touring), or focusing on live performance (because he just put out an album). Unless Rob and Sean plan to tour forever, I assume the creative bug will bite and they will gravitate back to studio work, and given their recent habit of releasing albums 2/4/8 hours long (Sign/Plus aside) we'll have plenty to sate us.

― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 20 May 2026 13:16 (two weeks ago)

for those of us hoping for a new studio album that's not the guy you wanna see them compared to

― frogbs, Wednesday, 20 May 2026 13:31 (two weeks ago)

ha!

― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 20 May 2026 13:54 (two weeks ago)

also correct me if I'm wrong but I think all of their recent live sets are completely new material, so it's not like they aren't being creative. I get the idea behind releasing a bunch of similar sets at once - it does make for a pretty cool listening experience, instead of listening to one album 15 times you can hear 15 different iterations of the same live set - but I just don't think that's the way most people want to consume music. SIGN/PLUS have thousands of ratings on RYM but the live sets have like a hundred apiece and I'd imagine a lot of them are the same people. so even if they're putting in the same amount of work and the music itself is as good as anything else they've done (which it sounds like it is?) I don't think people are really hearing it. basically if they're gonna do this I think they need to pick the best one and release that physically.

― frogbs, Wednesday, 20 May 2026 13:56 (two weeks ago)

it's obviously a "me" problem, but even as a huge huge fan, I don't have the patience/time/care/lifestyle to sit and listen to a 60+ minute single track in one go like I would a 12-track album. With the latter I can pause, come back to, skip over to the part I like best. It's not the same as being there in the moment for the live experience which is super immersive. I can't see myself carving out an hour to sit in my house with the curtains drawn and my phone turned off to listen to them playing a whole set in Grafenhainichen or whatever - that doesn't interest me any more than the endless King Crimson and Pearl Jam live albums out there either

― rameau in the main room (dog latin), Wednesday, 20 May 2026 14:16 (two weeks ago)

See, I could totally imagine getting into various Autechre live recordings if I was better at recognizing the tracks, or had time to listen to them enough to be able to do that. As it is I barely know many Autechre track names, tbh. Something like Pearl Jam or Crimson, say, it's easy to recognize a song like "Red" or "Larks Tongues" or whatever, so I can enjoy different takes of them. But Autechre ... it's tough, lol. Especially if it's just, yeah, one long track.

― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 20 May 2026 14:25 (two weeks ago)

Fwiw, that's why I've liked Ae live. Unperson sort of dismissed the concept in his essay, but I find hearing them live, in low/no lights, nothing on stage, etc., sort of ideal, because it forces you to be present and just enjoy the sound(s) in a way few acts ultimately do. Like, it's basically just as dl writes: "sit in my house with the curtains drawn and my phone turned off to listen to them playing a whole set in Grafenhainichen." It's one thing if I'm at home, where it's easy to opt-out and break the spell, but opting in, hearing them live, I'm committed.

― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 20 May 2026 14:30 (two weeks ago)

it's obviously a "me" problem, but even as a huge huge fan, I don't have the patience/time/care/lifestyle to sit and listen to a 60+ minute single track in one go like I would a 12-track album. With the latter I can pause, come back to, skip over to the part I like best.

I am pretty much the same and that is why I actually spent way more time listening to the TTT- fan edit than any of the individual live shows, even if that isn't how autechre want me to do it. Once I listened to TTT- enough I actually recognize the different sections of the live shows and can appreciate it more.

― silverfish, Wednesday, 20 May 2026 14:33 (two weeks ago)

xp oh yes, 100, i'm up for seeing them live (in fact I bought tickets for their Cardiff "show"* later in the year). just struggling to find excitement in listening to their live shows at home - the exception is if it were a show I have myself attended, in which I would find it interesting as an artefact. I don't think they've released any of the Bristol ones though.

*weird calling it a show as there's nothing to see

― rameau in the main room (dog latin), Wednesday, 20 May 2026 14:34 (two weeks ago)

huh i was not aware of the TTT thing

― rameau in the main room (dog latin), Wednesday, 20 May 2026 14:35 (two weeks ago)

what's the idea of these? are they a sort of "best of" the live sets or something?

― rameau in the main room (dog latin), Wednesday, 20 May 2026 14:37 (two weeks ago)

see here for TTT- : https://www.reddit.com/r/autechre/comments/1qopq4b/ae_2022exclusives_ttt_v21_spreadsheet/

Basically kind of a best of of the live shows, it includes every section of the live shows, over 5 hours

― silverfish, Wednesday, 20 May 2026 14:41 (two weeks ago)

I went to a Francisco Lopez “performance” in a totally dark room, where we were also all given blindfolds and told to lie down on the floor for the duration. And it wasn’t ambient music either, it was quite loud. That was enough of that type of thing for me.

― wipes chooser (unperson), Wednesday, 20 May 2026 14:46 (two weeks ago)

It's definitely not my favorite type of show either, tbh, but it more or less works for Autechre, imo. Even if the lights were on there is nothing to see, really, just them behind their laptops. So might as well turn off the lights, lol. Also, it's not pitch black, at least not the times I've seen them do this. Just dark enough that it would be obnoxious to play with your phone, I'd say.

― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 20 May 2026 14:56 (two weeks ago)

the thing is live albums, even the really well recorded ones, can't possibly match the experience of being there. for one nobody has that sort of sound system in their home. For two, mentally you're just in a much different place when you're out in a crowd. I've heard live recordings of shows I was at and my thought is always, "I don't remember it sounding like that"

― frogbs, Wednesday, 20 May 2026 15:17 (two weeks ago)

Substitute for the live experience, no, but there are plenty of live albums I (and I'm sure you) listen to as much as an artist's studio output because they offer a different take on familiar material. But as I admitted, I lack the attention span or attention to detail to tell one long epic Ae live set of the same era apart from another. It's hard enough for me to follow 8 hours of NTS over the course of several listens!

― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 20 May 2026 16:36 (two weeks ago)

I enjoy the live sets as tune in / out music if I’m working - many variations so they don’t become tedious - and very much so in person. Absolutely loved NTS and have listened to it more than most of their releases ever, I think. What I find pretty uninspiring is SIGN/PLUS, I’ve tried many times and they just pass time, some interesting sounds and occasional good melodies but the overall interest level is similar to, say, Envane these days. It’s clear to me why they feel done with the form.
Not to diss Envane, it’s a great EP, but it’s not blowing the doors off.

― assert (matttkkkk), Wednesday, 20 May 2026 20:10 (two weeks ago)

Also, it's not pitch black, at least not the times I've seen them do this. Just dark enough that it would be obnoxious to play with your phone, I'd say.

yep. and the idea is clearly to just get people to focus a bit, like in a movie theater. it's fine. not sure why it gets people so heated, but gosh, I suppose everything does now.

― (⊙_⊙?) (original bgm), Wednesday, 20 May 2026 20:20 (two weeks ago)

I also thoroughly enjoy the live set drops. nice for late nite listening paired with your drug of choice.

― (⊙_⊙?) (original bgm), Wednesday, 20 May 2026 20:22 (two weeks ago)

My job lets me listen to music while I work but it's frequently interrupted by calls, or having to stop and listen to audio. Also Ae is best listened to with full focus rather than as background noise. I should go on more walks this year and listen to some of these live ones

― rameau in the main room (dog latin), Wednesday, 20 May 2026 21:29 (two weeks ago)

paired with your drug of choice

Yeah, this is where we part company (and that's fine! live your life!).

― wipes chooser (unperson), Wednesday, 20 May 2026 21:30 (two weeks ago)

(Bill Hicks voice): “caffeine is a drug!”

― Brenton Wood Conference (Boring, Maryland), Wednesday, 20 May 2026 21:35 (two weeks ago)

precisely! “of choice,” babyyy

― (⊙_⊙?) (original bgm), Wednesday, 20 May 2026 22:06 (two weeks ago)

anyway, just a pairing that i enjoy with these live sets, the music is also cool, so certainly not required

― (⊙_⊙?) (original bgm), Wednesday, 20 May 2026 22:09 (two weeks ago)

my way into the live sets was to go on runs with them playing. they're just about the right length for it. i'm sure hiking or just walking somewhere would be comparable. one of them, can't remember which, has a tempo that just matches my pace when i'm pushing myself, and i swear it very slowly increases through the whole thing, so by the end i'm zooming.

but it's been the same story for me with their studio releases. nts and elseq were great to just dump into a single gigantic playlist and cycle through over weeks of runs. i've done a lot of running to autechre lol. i find it a lot easier to focus on music when i'm moving at this point. i usually take a little thc gummy before i run so being a little altered does still factor in haha.

― shaking babies (map), Wednesday, 20 May 2026 22:25 (two weeks ago)

on the 'music for robots by robots' thing.. i hear that. i also get the 'alien music' thing. i like how unperson writes about the structure of the tracks. they don't really build or anything. they just kinda drift, then change with varying degrees of abruptness, a handful of times until they end.

i think i've gone on about this before but the one thing that feels human to me about their music is how funky it is. it's disgustingly funky. tumbling down a muddy ravine funky. the robots or aliens or whatever they are getting down.

― shaking babies (map), Wednesday, 20 May 2026 22:34 (two weeks ago)

OTM. And yes just finished reading unperson's excellent piece about Elseq and it's making me look forward to diving back into some of the tracks mentioned.

― rameau in the main room (dog latin), Wednesday, 20 May 2026 23:07 (two weeks ago)

they’re totally funky. you can even nod your head to some of the more nightmarish trax like “lentic catachrrsis” - a funky nightmare

― (⊙_⊙?) (original bgm), Thursday, 21 May 2026 03:26 (two weeks ago)

elseq rocks ya

― flopson, Thursday, 21 May 2026 23:54 (two weeks ago)

yeah, I've been relistening to elseq as the gonkcast podcast is slowly going through elseq currently one elseq at a time. After 10 years and then hearing them talk about it for almost an hour I feel like I finally get elyc6 0nset.

― silverfish, Friday, 22 May 2026 13:06 (two weeks ago)

what do people make of the gonkcast thing? it's a great idea and they come across as nice people but i don't always feel like i get a great deal out of the discourse. i liked theior interview with Shane Parish though

― rameau in the main room (dog latin), Friday, 22 May 2026 14:54 (two weeks ago)

you know what they say, talking about Autechre is like dancing about Autechre

― frogbs, Friday, 22 May 2026 14:55 (two weeks ago)

I like gonkcast, I wouldn't say that the discourse is necessarily that insightful overall but just listening to them go through every track on a release makes me take some time to focus on specific aspects I wouldn't have gotten to by myself. I also just find it useful to put into words a lot of what I find interesting about autechre. I've always had a hard time explaining why I think autechre is so great.

― silverfish, Friday, 22 May 2026 15:33 (two weeks ago)

For me it’s often the tension between the sharp precision of the sounds and the raw instinctual feel of the composition / groove. Their whole career has been wrestling with the tools to achieve free expression. It’s why I find the early records less interesting, they began to break free around Chiastic.

― assert (matttkkkk), Friday, 22 May 2026 19:47 (two weeks ago)

also just find it useful to put into words a lot of what I find interesting about autechre

my one autechre-fan friend and i call this autechre poetry

― flopson, Saturday, 23 May 2026 02:24 (two weeks ago)

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