new Autechre ep

I was listening to the radio tonight and the DJ played a Peter Hammill song after a listener had pointed out its similarity to Gantz Graf. He wasn't far off. It was the song Jargon King from the 1983 album A Black Box. Funny, that. BTW, Dial, the second song on the new Autechre EP, sounds like it was influenced by 2-step garage.

i was taught to say it "aw-ticker"

I vascillate between Awww-tech-urr and Awwwt-ikur.

say it in french: au-tech-re audio technology recherche

I'd say I like their melodic, 'pretty' material a lot more

I must have missed this phase of their output. I would never use the work "pretty" to describe the Ae I've heard, but I'm missing a couple in the middle. Of the 4 or 5 I have, I think Confield is by far the best & found all the criticims of it very confusing. It really reminds me of the Brian Eno/John Hassel Fourth World: Possible Musics record, where a single repeating bassline anchors all this drifting rhythmic stuff. And it just doesn't strike me as noisy, but then, I may be missing a key part of their picture.

agree with mark. i'm kind of the total opposite to Matt DC - i only like them from Chiastic Slide onwards. Confield was a fantastic album and i really didn't understand the criticisms either - in fact i didn't understand those giving it props either - all this talk about 'complexity' and 'cul de sacs' - with Confield i hear a very english record - it reminds me of the sundays first album, and also pickettywitch and earlys 70s pop - no, not sonically, but thematically, emotionally - arndale centres, driving up the A1, or on the GNER going through Retford - or that funny little bridge at Goole that separates the industry of yorks from the emptyness of lincs - or that big pool of water near rochdale when you get the bradford- manchester train. perhaps, what some people say of BOC is somehow evoked more by Confield for me then...

now Gantz Graf! not as immediate for me as Confield, didn't have the same initial impact, but the last portion of the 3rd track is wonderful. the main track is ok, the 2nd i like, but the way the 3rd changes is great. so far this has been a d/l on my parents pc back at home, so i've not played that much, i'll buy this week so i'll get to know it more then

i actually picked up incanabula and another early thing fairly recently, and i found that difficult to get into, the black dogisms, the artificial intelligence schtick - i didn't like it that much. i really they think they are a group that got better with time

Amber still has a couple really pretty tracks on it. "Slip" comes to mind. I'd agree though that a lot of that Artifcial Intelligence era idm didn't age well.

pretty: pir, pen expers (my auto-response re: any autechre q)

Chiastic Slide and the Peel Sessions material both have some very pretty melodies and music.

I don't know if I would say they got consistently better or worse with time, for me they got great and then remained very compelling. And I agree with Mark about Confield.

Yes Pir is pretty. So are 'Arch Carrier', 'Cichli', 'Krib' and 'Slip'. I thought Pen Expers was highly overrated - it just sounds like a hoover sucking up coins to me. The Gantz Graf EP is bollocks imho. Confield took me about a year of constant listening to understand and vaguely enjoy. That said, my favourite period is everything from Chiastic Slide till EP7. That was a lovely AE period where the experimentation and melodies fitted perfectly.

Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd.

And I keep meaning to order GG -- I've given cap.iv quite a few listens, and it is as most of you say fantastic. Though I do get a bit wistful for Amber-era ae, though interestingly enough I don't much like Amber itself. What I mean is that the directions they went towards on AeP and AeG; on the one hand, dancefloor fare with an uncanny sense of beat/melody, and on the other, melody they could've mined for ages.

And re: Incunabula, there can never be enough Black Dogism IMO.