What is it about Autechre?

[Helios]

I've briefly mentioned this on the BoC board, but I want to have a focused discussion on what it is people like about Autechre. It seems that most people who love BoC, also love Autechre, and I just can't understand what is appealing about them. The music is extremely glitchy, noisy, sharp and just all around frustrating and grating to listen to (especially when comparing to BoC).

I wanted this to be specifically about Autechre, but I think the same thing applies to Plaid and other "weird electronica" artists. I used to listen to many acts in this genre, and I've found myself just always going back to BoC to clean my ears. With the exception of some Aphex Twin (key word: some), I can't get behind any of these guys.

Folks, what am I missing?

[mono]

Which Autechre have you listened to? Early Ae is hardly noisy and seldom glitchy (just a bit, maybe, some weird sounds).

[Cupz]

http://www.mixcloud.com/VLR/is-it-washa ... hre-mixup/

Listen to this in full and all will be explained.


Also, there are ALLOT of Autechre threads on this board.

Use that button and take your pick.

[tiny sparrow]

I actually had the same view for the longest time. I just could not get into them at all. The first track that I actually liked was Nil from the album Amber. Something about that track made me have goosebumps and made me realize that Autechre can produce some really good music.

I will say that I definitely don't like all of Autechre (just as I don't really like all of BoC.) Some of Autechres music is entirely too glitchy and noisy (and I have 'Confield' on CD.) A lot of their tunes have a certain trance-like quality that I find really intriguing. I think it's something that you really have to just dig into and find what you like. There's enough variety in their music to please everyones taste.

I'll always love the tracks 'Rae' and 'Leterel'.

BoC's new track 'Palace Posy' kind of reminds me of parts of Autechres album 'Oversteps'.

[mono]

BoC's new track 'Palace Posy' kind of reminds me of parts of Autechres album 'Oversteps'.

Yeah! I immediately thought of Autechre when I first heard that track, specifically Chiastic Slide-era Autechre - a bit of Draun Quarter, a bit of Pule. The rhythm is also a bit like what you hear in Chiastic Slide.

I also love Nil, by the way! For me it was the key track to getting into Amber, the whole album as opposed to just a few tracks.

By the way, is the melody in Cichli a sample of the end of Nine Inch Nails' "Terrible Lie"?

[Betacord]

Count me as another who is quite fond of 'Nil'!

I'm quite selective about Autechre myself... Helios, I can only but really recommend going back and checking earlier albums if you haven't already - Incunabula, Amber, Tri Repetae - to see if there's anything at all of interest there.

Often, when someone says they like or don't like Autechre, my internal response is always "Which Autechre?" - such a massive degree of change sound-wise that it's likely easier to refer to an era than to the band themselves...

If a person's first experience of Autechre is, for example, 'Gantz Graf', they take a view of the entire style based on it without hearing anything from earlier and then sometime later they're played a track such as 'Eutow' without being told it's Autechre, I expect they'd never guess it.

There are at least a small handful of certain Autechre tracks I genuinely rate higher than certain Boards of Canada tracks - but (at the moment at least) by and large these are all circa the 1st half of the 1990s!

[circleofthesun]

I GOT YOU AAAALL IN CHECK! I HAVE THAT HEEEAD BOB SHIT THAT'LL HAVE YA BREAKIN' YA NEEEECK!

[euue]

The music is extremely glitchy, noisy, sharp and just all around frustrating and grating to listen to (especially when comparing to BoC).

sometimes this is the appeal
but yeah, do check out amber, or the first peel session (with the grey cover, not the white one) -- totally different beasts than their more recent stuff. that grey peel session might be a good segue from boc, too, since it's some of their more clearly hip hop influenced stuff.
basically listening to their stuff chronologically opens it up

[saturdayindex]

I think it's simply because Autechre is well-produced, highly intelligent, VERY unique music--just like BOC. So they may not share many musical elements, but they share philosophical elements.

Autechre will always be a favorite of mine. Especially their Tri Repetae through Chiastic Slide days.

Chiastic Slide is just pure brilliance to me.

[Green Pylon]

Yepp, AE are an unique musicians genius like BOC. To start listening softly pieces I recommend Rae, Leterel, Treale, Corc, Qplay, Flutter, Bladelores, Lowride, Arch Carrier, Puch, etc. they've lot of sublime songs. LP5 for me, is a landmark of electronic music.

If you like BOC, early AE should too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3PbaFgtQqs

[FernieCanto]

I started off with Untilted, and got into them straight off the bat. But I think that's because I just needed some wildly different music back then, but to this day, I'm very fondly attached to that album and their late career in general. But Oversteps, to me, is the album that takes the cake. It has its share of daring, cutting-edge late Autechre, but it's involving and poignant in a way that goes back to Amber -- another album I adore.

[rainier]

I think it's simply because Autechre is well-produced, highly intelligent, VERY unique music--just like BOC. So they may not share many musical elements, but they share philosophical elements.

Yup exactly. In a weird way I could almost say sonic youth and mbv paved the way to boc for me. When you open up to one thing off the beaten path you might open up to others too. I think that's the biggest connection between ae and boc.

[mono]

I think it's simply because Autechre is well-produced, highly intelligent, VERY unique music--just like BOC. So they may not share many musical elements, but they share philosophical elements.

Autechre will always be a favorite of mine. Especially their Tri Repetae through Chiastic Slide days.

Chiastic Slide is just pure brilliance to me.

Hmm... To me Autechre are more musical workers than BoC, which are more interested in manipulating the listeners and referencing this or that. "Musical workers" sounds a bit like Kraftwerk and like labcoat boffins but it's the same way of working as all this hip-hop culture of trying to outdo everyone at some technique in ways that are unheard of. BoC are more like journalists to me, checking the news and using that to move you towards this or that feeling.

[mikektm450]

http://www.mixcloud.com/VLR/is-it-washa ... hre-mixup/

Listen to this in full and all will be explained.


Also, there are ALLOT of Autechre threads on this board.

Use that button and take your pick.

Does any kind soul have a link/upload of this mix at a decent bitrate?

All links I can find are now dead, as it was back in 2006 VLR posted it originally.

It sounds amazing!

[saturdayindex]

I think it's simply because Autechre is well-produced, highly intelligent, VERY unique music--just like BOC. So they may not share many musical elements, but they share philosophical elements.

Autechre will always be a favorite of mine. Especially their Tri Repetae through Chiastic Slide days.

Chiastic Slide is just pure brilliance to me.

Hmm... To me Autechre are more musical workers than BoC, which are more interested in manipulating the listeners and referencing this or that. "Musical workers" sounds a bit like Kraftwerk and like labcoat boffins but it's the same way of working as all this hip-hop culture of trying to outdo everyone at some technique in ways that are unheard of. BoC are more like journalists to me, checking the news and using that to move you towards this or that feeling.

In that sense, you're right, BOC are much more philosophical, Autechre doesn't really try to convey many semantic messages if at all.

[Cupz]

Does any kind soul have a link/upload of this mix at a decent bitrate?

All links I can find are now dead, as it was back in 2006 VLR posted it originally.

It sounds amazing!

Depends on what you call decent. I got mine @ 192kbps and I can upload it for you if you want.

[mikektm450]

Depends on what you call decent. I got mine @ 192kbps and I can upload it for you if you want.

Yes please.

[Distant Nebulus]

UNTILTED

[Cupz]

Depends on what you call decent. I got mine @ 192kbps and I can upload it for you if you want.

Yes please.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/976 ... shable.mp3

I'm such a nice guy.

[mikektm450]

Depends on what you call decent. I got mine @ 192kbps and I can upload it for you if you want.

Yes please.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/976 ... shable.mp3

I'm such a nice guy.

Agreed! Thanks!