Alex Connolly
Member
Welcome to the NeoGAF Autechre discussion thread. To the few, the Rochdale duo are electronica maestros. To many, they are - at least from their fifth or sixth album - indecipherable.
This thread is for all; the veteran fans, the newbies, the detractors, the old-schoolers and the new path converts. We've a broad and deep discography to delve into, one spanning over twenty years of growth and change, of side-projects like Gescom, of an extraordinary number of remixes and rare tracks.
But why should an enigmatic electronic outfit get a thread all of their own? Simply due to their variety and astronomical change over the years. The Autechre journey from their roots in hip-hop/b-boy and graffiti culture in the late 80's/early 90's rave years to the forefront of today's avant garde electronica is an incredible path; disappointing for some, enlightening for others.
Autechre are an English electronic music duo consisting of Rob Brown and Sean Booth, both natives of Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1987, they are one of the most prominent acts signed to Warp Records, a label known for its pioneering electronic music and through which all Autechre albums have been released.
While heavily associated with IDM (intelligent dance music), Booth and Brown are ambivalent to relating their sound to established genres. Their music has exhibited a gradual shift in aesthetic throughout their career, from their earlier work with clear roots in techno, electro and hip hop to later albums that are often considered experimental in nature, featuring complex patterns of rhythm and subdued melodies. Oversteps, their most recent album, was released in early 2010.
Autechre have also recorded under various pseudonyms. One of the duo's earliest recordings was a 12" under the alias Lego Feet, released in 1991 on Skam Records. The majority of releases by the mysterious "umbrella project" Gescom, most of them on Skam, have been attributed to Booth and Brown, among other artists.
Brown and Booth met through Manchester's graffiti scene in 1987 when they both lived in Rochdale. Heavily influenced by electro and hip hop, they began trading mixtapes and then creating their own compositions while collecting a handful of cheap equipment, most notably a Casio SK-1 sampler and a Roland TR-606 drum machine. Their first release was Lego Feet, a 12" recorded under an alias of the same name brought out by Manchester's Skam Records. Their first release as Autechre was the single "Cavity Job" in 1991, released on Hardcore Records. Two more tracks appeared during the following year, under the now finalised Autechre name, on the Warp Records compilation Artificial Intelligence, part of the series of the same name. The compilation contained "The Egg", later reworked for their first full length release under the title "Eggshell".
Booth and Brown pronounce the name Autechre with a Rochdale accent (/ɔːˈtɛkər/ aw-tek-ər). However, they have explained that the name can be pronounced in any way one sees fit. Booth explains: "The first two letters were intentional, because there was an 'au' sound in the track, and the rest of the letters were bashed randomly on the keyboard. We had this track title for ages, and we had written it on a cassette, with some graphics. It looked good, and we began using it as our name."
Influences/Reception
A wide variety of influences have been noted as discernible in Autechre's music. The duo's roots in tagging, early hip-hop and electro music, and b-boy culture in general are still evident, with many reviews noting hip-hop rhythms - sometimes heavily obscured or processed, and sometimes explicit even in later work. All of Autechre's live webcasts have featured large amounts of early hip-hop and electro. In a review of Oversteps, The Wire noted "Treale" as being "a reminder of Booth and Brown's musical apprenticeship as teenage B-boys".
As Autechre's music and studio setup progressed, reviews started to note influences from farther afield; experiments in algorithmic and generative synthesis, musique concrète, and FM synthesis drew comparisons with Iannis Xenakis and Bernard Parmegiani from critics such as Paul Morley. Autechre also cite Coil as a major influence, with an unfinished collaboration of unknown completeness occurring around the release of LP5 and EP7.
Autechre's music has attracted diverse reactions. Though generally hailed, praise is not universal even within the coterie of artists normally labelled IDM: Aphex Twin, for example, claims that Squarepusher "doesn't like Autechre". Opinion has also been divided on the specific qualities of the duo's music. Of LP5, for example, reviewers said both that "all the songs are cut from the same sonic cloth" and that it was "one of their most diverse ... works to date".
Autechre are well aware of the incongruous reactions their work elicits, saying that descriptions of their music "usually run contrary to each other" and that "every time we have an album out, we get conflicting reports". As with many artists, they have themselves raised questions about their earlier work; Rob Brown mentioned that Incunabula and Amber retrospectively sounded "cheesy" in a 2008 interview with Pitchfork Media prior to the release of Quaristice.
Music Videos
Basscadet - 1994 // Directed by Jess Scott Hunter
Second Bad Vilbel - 1995 (2002 Re-edit) // Directed by Chris Cunningham
Gantz Graf - 2002 // Directed by Alex Rutterford
Collaborations/Remixes/Rare (will update via thread input)
Autechre
Autechre & Mari Hamada - Aire
Autechre Play Weissensee Against Im Glück (Original Composition by Neu!)
Seefeel - Spangle (AE Remix)
Dominique Dalcan - Aveugle & Sourd (AE Remix)
Gescom - Keynell (AE Remix)
Saint Ettiene - Like a Motorway (Skin Up, You're Already Dead AE Remix)
Schaft - SKF10047 (AE Remix)
Autechre - Basscadet (Basscadubmx)
Beaumont Hannant - Psi-Onyx (Autechre Remix)
Gescom
Gescom - Boogie Down Bronx
Key Nell 1 (1996, Key Nell EP)
Pelt (1998, This EP)
Viral Rival (1998, This EP)
Chunge (1998, That EP)
Slow Acid (2003, ISS:SA EP)
Complete Discography
Albums
1993: Incunabula
1994: Amber
1995: Tri Repetae
1997: Chiastic Slide
1998: LP5
2001: Confield
2003: Draft 7.30
2005: Untilted
2008: Quaristice
2010: Oversteps
2013: Exai
EPs
1991: Lego Feet
1994: Anti EP
1995: Garbage (combined with Anvil Vapre for Tri Repetae++)
1995: Anvil Vapre (combined with Garbage for Tri Repetae++)
1997: Envane
1997: Cichlisuite (also known as Cichli Suite)
1999: Peel Session
1999: EP7 (CD combining vinyl EPs EP 7.1 and EP 7.2)
2001: Peel Session 2
2002: Gantz Graf (also released as a DVD)
2003: æ³o & h³æ (2xCD Minimax, collaboration with Hafler Trio)
2005: æo³ & ³hæ (2xCD, collaboration with Hafler Trio)
2008: Quaristice.Quadrange.ep.ae (digital exclusive 13-track EP bundle)
2010: Move of Ten
2011: EPs 1991 - 2002 (set of 5 CDs; includes Cavity Job, which is released on CD for the first time)
2013: l-event
Singles/Promos/Remixes
1991: "Cavity Job" (12" vinyl single limited to 1,000 copies)
1994: Basscadet (five remixes – six on vinyl – of "Basscadet" from Incunabula; also known as Basscad)
1996: "We R Are Why" (12" vinyl promo.)
1997: Radio Mix (hour-long DJ remix of own and other artists' tracks)
1999: "Splitrmx12" (12" vinyl promo limited to 3,000 copies)
2008: "Quaristice (Versions)" (Limited to 1,000 copies, contains remixes of 11 Quaristice tracks)
2008: Digital Exclusive (3-track EP available only in the Japanese iTunes Store)
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Thanks to:
Wikipedia
Various Review Sites
Youtube
The GAF Autechre Contingent with special thanks to Poimandres
I will update this thread with the help of the GAF AE fans, so link and list away so we can create the fullest, richest AE experience this side of xltronic.
Yay.