Autechre: Classic or Dud?

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

?

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.

ah, my mistake!

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

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

Sorry boothbrown, I already have all the original releases.

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

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.

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

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

Autechre Exai

http://youtu.be/lC7LGzCZ-q0

classic

track at 18:00 is pretty sick

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

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

more ore

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

Currently doing...something...on Alaskan radio:

http://www.ksuaradio.com/listen/

http://www.factmag.com/2016/05/18/autechre-alaskan-radio-appearance/

https://twitter.com/warprecords/status/732995434352873472

the one playing now is good

Man, I can't get this stream going to save my life

Me neither.

here ya go

with public radio PSAs :P

that SC bit is just a variation on what already exists in the 2nd half of most of the 'official' live sets..

Yeah this might be the first record that I don't preorder instantly

5 new, EPs, I guess? just landed:

https://autechre.bleepstores.com/

xxxpost: saved as Autechre ft. Paul Stanley, thanks

three tracks over 20 minutes? my god

over four hours! 4:07:38

separate thread for this?

yeah, this is more like 5 lps than 5 eps.

but i wasn't taken by the sample.

Dedicated thread up:

Autechre: Elseq

Autechre: Elseq (www.ilxor.com)

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.

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

ha!

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

huh i was not aware of the TTT thing

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

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

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.

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.

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"

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!

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.

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.

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

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

paired with your drug of choice

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

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

precisely! “of choice,” babyyy

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

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.

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.

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.

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

elseq rocks ya

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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