Autechre For an off year...

  On 12/18/2011 at 5:18 AM, sweepstakes said:

Also, I think the sudden stream of reissues and remix-y type stuff does not bode well. I'm suddenly reminded of something they said in an interview in the last few years about "doing what we can with the time we have". I hope this is just a reference to Rob having 2 kids and living in a different city from Sean and not... something else. I hope it's temporary.

you're reading too much into the whole Lego Feet thing - it was reissued as a celebration of 20 years of Skam.

It's as simple as that.

  On 12/19/2011 at 8:17 PM, oscillik said:

  On 12/18/2011 at 5:18 AM, sweepstakes said:

Also, I think the sudden stream of reissues and remix-y type stuff does not bode well. I'm suddenly reminded of something they said in an interview in the last few years about "doing what we can with the time we have". I hope this is just a reference to Rob having 2 kids and living in a different city from Sean and not... something else. I hope it's temporary.

 

you're reading too much into the whole Lego Feet thing - it was reissued as a celebration of 20 years of Skam.

 

It's as simple as that.

True. But I'm also talking about the Quaristice Versions and the box set. They've never done stuff like that before. Even with Cichlisuite, it was supposed to be a remix EP for "Cichli" but it felt like competely new material. Where MoT (like the Quaristice stuff before it) in parts is very similar to tracks on the album. It just doesn't seem like they're putting as much work into it anymore.

I think they're just being generous.

Um, by charging money for rehashing the same material like a Hollywood movie franchise? After they've spoilt us by ~17 unbroken years of tireless innovation?

  On 12/19/2011 at 8:22 PM, sweepstakes said:

  On 12/19/2011 at 8:17 PM, oscillik said:

  On 12/18/2011 at 5:18 AM, sweepstakes said:

Also, I think the sudden stream of reissues and remix-y type stuff does not bode well. I'm suddenly reminded of something they said in an interview in the last few years about "doing what we can with the time we have". I hope this is just a reference to Rob having 2 kids and living in a different city from Sean and not... something else. I hope it's temporary.

 

you're reading too much into the whole Lego Feet thing - it was reissued as a celebration of 20 years of Skam.

 

It's as simple as that.

 

True. But I'm also talking about the Quaristice Versions and the box set. They've never done stuff like that before. Even with Cichlisuite, it was supposed to be a remix EP for "Cichli" but it felt like competely new material. Where MoT (like the Quaristice stuff before it) in parts is very similar to tracks on the album. It just doesn't seem like they're putting as much work into it anymore.

OK, the box set was mainly Warp's idea, and was put out to keep the EPs in print. This is fact.

As for the Quaristice Special Edition, I can't really say anything for certain here...I don't have facts on that.

As far as we know they could've had fuck all to do with the Gescom release.

  On 12/19/2011 at 8:57 PM, Bob Dobalina said:

As far as we know they could've had fuck all to do with the Gescom release.

Totally. I still think it was Rob flying solo on the MPC, but that's definitely true.

  On 12/19/2011 at 8:34 PM, sweepstakes said:

Um, by charging money for rehashing the same material like a Hollywood movie franchise? After they've spoilt us by ~17 unbroken years of tireless innovation?

That's more than a little hyperbolic.

Compared to RDJ and BoC, yes, Ae are being generous. MoT doesn't strike me as a complete rehash. Just because cichlisuite's source material is obfuscated to fuck doesn't mean everything has to be.

It's at least somewhat hyperbolic to say that that observation is "more than a little" hyperbolic.

And I like my Autechre with its source material "obfuscated as fuck." I guess you don't. I honestly wouldn't mind that the recontextualization of so many Oversteps sounds/loops/sequences/ideas/patches/reverb-algorithms in MoT if it wasn't so uninspired and boring as hell.

For example, all the tracks on Cichlisuite seemed to have something in common but it's not obvious at all and I still can't quite put explain what it is. And, most importantly, the music is top notch.

You're like the fans who want another Incunubula or Tri Rep.

They're obviously over the sound you want them to return to.

  On 12/20/2011 at 12:59 AM, Balance said:

You're like the fans who want another Incunubula or Tri Rep.

They're obviously over the sound you want them to return to.

I loved everything they put out from Legofeet (OK I didn't like Cavity Job) to Quaristice. I even liked the versions stuff although it really wasn't anything new. I think what they're "over" is making decent, new music.

OK that was a little troll-ish lol.

My point is... you're talking like I'm stuck in the past and they've moved on. But they've been making really high quality yet varied stuff for a long time, and I've been onboard with all of it up to now. Pre-Oversteps Autechre isn't like this big grey blob of samey sounding stuff. The new stuff is much, much different from the older stuff, to the point where it doesn't sound like the same people to me anymore. I don't want them to return to the past. I just want them to return their quality control to the same high standards they've upheld for a long, long time.

  On 12/20/2011 at 12:46 AM, sweepstakes said:

It's at least somewhat hyperbolic to say that that observation is "more than a little" hyperbolic.

And I like my Autechre with its source material "obfuscated as fuck." I guess you don't. I honestly wouldn't mind that the recontextualization of so many Oversteps sounds/loops/sequences/ideas/patches/reverb-algorithms in MoT if it wasn't so uninspired and boring as hell.

For example, all the tracks on Cichlisuite seemed to have something in common but it's not obvious at all and I still can't quite put explain what it is. And, most importantly, the music is top notch.

I'm fine with them obfuscating, and I'm fine with them "versioning" their newer material. Quadrange/Versions and MoT felt like Ae exploring different potential compositional avenues rather than different aspects of sound design. This was, basically, the stated intent of the Quaristice era stuff, and Oversteps seems like a continuation of that.

Do I like MoT as much as Envane or Cichlisuite? No. Does that mean it's objectively worthless? No. If I don't like it enough to buy it, I don't buy it, but I'm not going to begrudge Autechre for actually releasing material and making their process public and purchasable when their cohorts are content to tease and rest on their laurels.

  On 12/20/2011 at 12:46 AM, sweepstakes said:

It's at least somewhat hyperbolic to say that that observation is "more than a little" hyperbolic.

And I like my Autechre with its source material "obfuscated as fuck." I guess you don't. I honestly wouldn't mind that the recontextualization of so many Oversteps sounds/loops/sequences/ideas/patches/reverb-algorithms in MoT if it wasn't so uninspired and boring as hell.

For example, all the tracks on Cichlisuite seemed to have something in common but it's not obvious at all and I still can't quite put explain what it is. And, most importantly, the music is top notch.

The one magical thing that MoT and Oversteps do that no other AE has done for me is induce a really strong vague inescapable sense of deja vu, these albums perfectly capture an adaptive kind of feeling, like walking down a cold street in a sweaty jacket watching my breath on my way to go buy a pack of socks at target, maybe i'l grab the new R. Kelly cd while i'm there..

Hmmm I FAR prefer Oversteps to Chiastic Slide for example, I think my original point stands but you use the phrase quality control to obfuscate this.

  On 12/20/2011 at 1:22 AM, baph said:

I'm fine with them obfuscating, and I'm fine with them "versioning" their newer material. Quadrange/Versions and MoT felt like Ae exploring different potential compositional avenues rather than different aspects of sound design. This was, basically, the stated intent of the Quaristice era stuff, and Oversteps seems like a continuation of that.

 

Do I like MoT as much as Envane or Cichlisuite? No. Does that mean it's objectively worthless? No. If I don't like it enough to buy it, I don't buy it, but I'm not going to begrudge Autechre for actually releasing material and making their process public and purchasable when their cohorts are content to tease and rest on their laurels.

It seems that you're saying that, rather than trying to polish what they're doing to perfection, they're publishing it as-is, warts and all? I'd be OK with that, but it just didn't feel that way to me. It felt like they were really happy with it and they felt like they were shedding some aesthetic burden. It's possible that I'm reading too much into it. I hope what I'm hearing is just that they're changing approaches, which is what it sounded like from the interviews, and just trying to find their footing in the new paradigm. I felt that with the Elektron fest of Untilted, which they honed into great things by the following album, so maybe we'll see a similar aesthetic trajectory.

That said, I see very little, if any, continuity between Quaristice and Oversteps.

But you're right, I should give them more credit in a time when so many of the people who made excellent electronic music just a few years ago have really, truly, objectively not bothered to release anything new.

  On 12/20/2011 at 1:28 AM, RadarJammer said:

The one magical thing that MoT and Oversteps do that no other AE has done for me is induce a really strong vague inescapable sense of deja vu, these albums perfectly capture an adaptive kind of feeling, like walking down a cold street in a sweaty jacket watching my breath on my way to go buy a pack of socks at target, maybe i'l grab the new R. Kelly cd while i'm there..

Yeah, I could see that. Especially "redfall". I think by focusing on melody and harmony they're achieving a much different aesthetic, and probably one that lends itself better to cross-referencing with other things by virtue of aesthetic. Texturally, I think these releases were pretty timely as they have a lot of the same kind of neon synthetic tone feel that a lot of current electronic stuff is based on. This feels like a conscious decision. Even the physical artwork has that LOUD green inside.

  On 12/20/2011 at 1:53 AM, Balance said:

Hmmm I FAR prefer Oversteps to Chiastic Slide for example, I think my original point stands but you use the phrase quality control to obfuscate this.

See, and I LOVE Chiastic Slide, and I just don't think they're even comparable. It hits this spot for me that nothing else does, and all the stuff they were doing around that time is just pure magic for me. That doesn't mean that I don't think the later stuff is up to their standards, or even that I don't like it. I like everything they've done, really, except most of MoT and bits of Oversteps and the Quaristice outtakes. Maybe it's my own standards that they've fallen below and I guess I have some subconscious sense of entitlement about what I think they should be putting out.

Maybe it's just a matter of taste. I don't think Oversteps was without merit. I think it was their worst full-length yet but as I said, I loved everything they put out. I was thinking about this on my walk home - if someone else that I wasn't familiar with had put out Oversteps and MoT, I probably would've thought it was awesome, that it didn't quite hit the mark for me but that whoever made it had a lot of potential.

I just feel kind of like their old stuff is like this really good sandwich place, like the best I've ever had. And their sandwich menu is always rotating, and it's wildly different from day to day, but it's always consistently good. Some sandwiches better than others, but never, ever a bad or even mediocre one.

Then one day I walk in and they only serve desserts. And these new releases are like these, really good desserts. And I know that my friends, who aren't so into sandwiches, are going to like these desserts better than they ever liked the sandwiches, but they just don't have the same humble, understated vibe that the sandwiches always had. I just feel kind of let down and abandoned, even though all the other people in the shop are really enjoying the new sweets.

Some interesting points on Oversteps, sweepstakes. I suppose it can come across glib compared to Chiastic Slide, Draft and Confield, though arguably their early works (Incunabula, Amber and Tri Repetae) though not so directly emotional as Oversteps, could also be seen as being somewhat glib in comparison.

I think of it as a nice serene oasis that sits nicely in the Autechre landscape following the frenetic and sprawled works of the Quaristice soundpool and before that Untilted.

But it IS taste; Maybe you're palate will acclimatize itself to the Oversteps flavour.

Is anyone really complaining about anything besides MoT? I think most can agree that that EP is a bit subpar, but I think anyone trying to find a trend here in terms of quality has a little too much free time. Personally I love the quaristice versions, particularly quadrange which is my favorite ae EP besides garbage. And as for oversteps, I get the feeling that it's just something they were getting out of their system. I love it a lot, and really appreciate that they were willing to put their name on something so uncharacteristic and raw.

Yeah it does seem like there's a consensus on MoT and that's primarily what I was talking about, as well as the Quaristice remixes/versions/outtakes/dubs/whatever. I don't think Oversteps is subpar but it seems like a different sport altogether. I like your interpretation of it better than mine, like I said I'm probably inferring way too much from it.

Opinions are like that. Chiastic Slide is their only LP I think is below their usual standards. I'm guessing they called MOT an EP because it plays by the Oversteps rules, but doesn't have as much range and is meant as a companion?

I think it's totally generous for an EP.

What?! Chiastic Slide is my favorite album of theirs.

  On 12/20/2011 at 3:32 AM, Joseph said:

What?! Chiastic Slide is my favorite album of theirs.

Same here but I get the opinion that it was below standards. After hearing the Laxir remixes for the first time recently, I went back and gave Chiastic Slide another listen, and I noticed that they reused tons of samples from the remixes there.

the press kind of wailed on it but i'm sure no autechre fan worth his salt would be influenced by that ...

I really don't like it much, Hub is good and the ambient one.

For me it's right at the bottom of the pile.

All the songs sound the same, a bit bland and boring with some really nice moments though.

CichliSuite and Envane from around the same time are great compared to it.

I don't think you can even compare Chiastic Slide to Oversteps, they're way too different ! They seem to me like two albums released by two different bands - but I love em both !

Move Of Ten is another thing, I don't like it as well. Of course the EP was generous and I was really happy to have it so close to Oversteps, but some tracks just sound like bad bonus tracks of the album (I'm thinking off Pce freeze 2.8I, which to me is just an uninspired 5 minutes long loop). I guess their point was to do sort of a "fun" release after all the beauty and seriousness of Oversteps, but finally it's kind of a hit and miss to me.

But the "japan" related material released this year is WAY better than most of Move Of Ten and is also a nice evolution from their Oversteps-era sound design, I just hope those tracks are a teaser of what's to come (the possible new album already has strong chances of being a total killer)